Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2021

Notes:
The country’s apex judicial body – The Supreme Court of India has intervened on deaths of Great Indian Bustards, due to collision with power lines running in their habitat.
A bench led by Chief Justice of India Sharad A. Bobde would examine the presence of overhead power lines in habitats of Great Indian Bustards and find possibilities for converting them into underground cables.

Notes:
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) recently released the World Energy Transitions Outlook report.
It was unveiled during the virtual Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue (BETD 2021). As per the report, all countries should switch over to renewable energy sources by using Covid as an opportunity.

Notes:
Under the Project TraceBioMe, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO) – Goa has initiated to map the genetic diversity of organisms in the Indian Ocean.
The project involves large scale sampling of water, sediments, planktons and various organisms in different location of the ocean to arrive at the genetic map.

Notes:
The United Nations Development Program-UNDP has launched ‘Sahi Disha’ campaign to promote women’s livelihoods and entrepreneurship in rural India.
The initiative is a five-year collaboration between UNDP and the IKEA Foundation. It has already supported one million women to access job and livelihood opportunities across five states including Delhi NCR and Maharashtra.

Notes:
Mizoram shares a 510-kilometer border with Myanmar. The Chief Minister of Mizoram Zoramthanga asked the Centre to grant political asylum to “political refugees” from Myanmar.
Earlier, the Home Ministry had directed that State governments have no powers to grant refugee status to any foreigner and India is not a signatory to the United Nations Refugee Convention of 1951 and its 1967 Protocol.

Notes:
22-year-old sensation Lee Zii Jia became the first Malaysian since Lee Chong Wei in 2017 to win the All-England Open Badminton Championship title.
He defeated World No.1 Momota Kento as well as defending champion Viktor Axelsen, to win the title. In the women’s singles Nozomi Okuhara of Japan clinched the title abd made Japan sweep four out of five titles.

Notes:
Israel held its 4th parliamentary election in the last two years. The exit polls conducted did not show any clear winner.
This election was triggered in December 2020, when the country’s parliament failed to agree a budget. It ended a seven-month power sharing arrangement between Netanyahu and his main rival Benny Gantz.

Notes:
Ministry of Tourism has engaged National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) to conduct study on “India and the Coronavirus Pandemic: Economic Losses for Households Engaged in Tourism and Policies for Recovery.
It aims to estimate the sector-wise direct and indirect impact of tourism activities on overall economy, and especially on household income. It also estimates the impact of gradual opening up of domestic tourism activities and sectors.

Notes:
The Government of Saudi Arabia has proposed a plan to end ongoing civil war in Yemen and has proposed a United Nations sponsored ceasefire. It is awaiting response from the rebel Houthi movement.
Saudi has proposed this plan after missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia especially on its oil refineries and production units. India has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s peace initiatives.

Notes:
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva has passed and adopted a resolution named ‘Promoting reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka’.
22 members of the council have voted in favour of the resolution while India abstained from voting among the 47-member council.