Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
India’s premier Think Tank NITI AAYOG ha stated that the Government of India should provide additional incentives for purchase of Electric Vehicles (EVs), over and above the incentives already provided by under the existing scheme – Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and EV (FAME-II).
Also, the Niti Aayog has stated that the Government should include EVs and associated businesses under Priority Sector Lending (PSL) norms.

Notes:
Lag B’Omer, an annual religious holiday celebrated with all-night bonfires, prayer and dancing, at Mount Meron, Northern Israel.
Recently, around 40 people were killed and over 100 were injured in a stampede that broke out during the religious gathering attended by tens of thousands of people. Mount Meron is considered to be one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world.

Notes:
The International Energy Agency releases the Global Electric Vehicle Outlook. As per the new report, the number of electric cars, buses, vans and heavy trucks on roads is expected to hit 145 million by 2030.
The report also highlighted that the electric vehicle fleet could increase to 230 million by the end of the decade, if governments speed up their efforts to meet international climate goals. It also said that around three million new electric cars were registered last year, a 41% rise compared to 2019.

Notes:
Scientists of Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune in collaboration with Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) have developed a new high-yielding and pest-resistant variety of soybean named MACS 1407.
This seed is suited for cultivation in North Eastern states and in states like West Bengal, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

Notes:
‘Putola Nach’ is a traditional form of string puppetry, practised in the state of Assam. It has become a near-forgotten art form.
Recently, an Assam based trust ARMT has created three short videos using string puppetry for creating mass awareness on COVID appropriate behaviour. This project was undertaken in association with UNICEF- Assam.

Notes:
The USA Government has approved a major solar energy project in the California desert that would be capable of powering nearly 90,000 homes.
The USD-550 million Crimson Solar Project will be set up on 2,000 acres of federal land at California. It is being developed by Canadian Solar unit Recurrent Energy. This step aims to fight climate change, create jobs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Notes:
Padma river is main distributary of the Ganges, which forms the western boundary between India and Bangladesh before it enters Bangladesh.
Recently, a ferryboat with over 30 passengers overturned after hitting a sand-laden cargo vessel in the Padma River. At least 26 people dead in the accident occurred at the old Kanthalbari ferry terminal of Bangladesh.

Notes:
Significant Economic Presence (SEP) principle was introduced in the Finance Bill 2018-19. It widened the scope of ‘business connection’ to include download of data or software, if aggregate payments from such transactions exceed a prescribed amount, or a prescribed number of users.
India recently notified a revenue threshold of Rs 2 crore and a limit of 300,000 users for non-resident technology firms such as Google, Facebook, to pay tax in India.

Notes:
Scientists have discovered a new species of insectivorous mammal, a white-toothed shrew, from Narcondam Island of the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands.
Shrews are small and mouse-like mammals with insects as the primary diet. This is the first discovery of a shrew from this volcanic island (Narcondam Island) and it increases the number of White-toothed shrew species in India from 11to 12.

Notes:
The crops that are sown in the rainy season are called kharif crops in India. They are also known as the summer or monsoon crop. Kharif crops are usually sown with the beginning of the first rains in July, during the south-west monsoon season.
Tur/arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black matpe) and moong (green gram) are the major pulses in this season. The Ministry of Agriculture has recently formulated a special Kharif strategy to attain self-sufficiency in the production of pulses.