Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has proposed to permit operations of self-driving cars by end of the year 2021. The automated lane-keeping systems (ALKS) to be operationalised in the UK would be first in the world to be legalised.
The ALKS technology controls the position of driver less cars in a single lane and limits its speed to 60 kmph.

Notes:
The Network for Greening the Financial system (NGFS) was launched at the Paris One Planet Summit on December 2017.
It is a group of Central banks and supervisors willing to share the best practices and contribute to the development of the environment and climate risk management in the financial sector. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently joined the NGFS Group as a Member.

Notes:
The Finance Ministry has recently released in advance the first instalment worth Rs 8,873.6 crore of the state disaster response fund (SDRF) for the current fiscal, to the states.
SDRF contribution is released in two equal instalments to the states, as per the recommendation of the Finance Commission. Normally, the first instalment of SDRF is released in the month of June. Around half of the amount released, can be used by the states for COVID-19 containment measures.

Notes:
The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has been built in Arouca Geopark, an UNESCO recognized site in northern Portugal.
The bridge spans to a length of 516 metres and is constructed at a height of 175 metres above the River Paiva. Previously the record was held by Charles Kuonen Bridge in Swiss Alps.

Notes:
The Government of India has fixed the food grain production target for crop year 2021-22 at a record high of 307.31 million tonnes. This high target has bene envisaged amidst the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the associated supply side disruptions.
This target is 1.3% more than the previous year’s estimated food grain production.

Notes:
‘VINCOV-19’ is an engineered therapeutic antibody which has been found to effectively neutralize SARS-CoV-2. It has been engineered in a collaborative effort by University of Hyderabad (UoH), CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CSIR-CCMB) and Vins Bioproducts Ltd.
This has obtained the approval from Drugs Controller General of India (DGCI) for clinical trials.

Notes:
Every year, the International Firefighters’ Day is observed each year on 4th May, to commemorate and remember the firefighters who have died while serving various communities.
It also aims to show solidarity and support to all the present firefighters across the globe, who continue to render selfless sacrifice and service. This day is depicted by a bi colored ribbon with red representing fire and blue representing water.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment along with transfer of management control in IDBI Bank.
However, the extent of shareholding to be divested by the Government of India and LIC shall be decided at the time of the transaction in consultation with Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

Notes:
Manas Bihari Verma – a reputed aeronautical scientist and Padma Shri Awardee died recently of suffering a massive heart attack. He was 78 years old.
He has been the man behind the country’s first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ and has closely worked with former president Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam.

Notes:
A Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack is an attempt to make an online service unavailable by overwhelming it with traffic from multiple sources.
A massive DDoS attack affected the websites of over 200 organisations across Belgium, including government, parliament, universities and research institutes. The DDoS attack started on 4 May and targeted Belnet, the government-funded ISP provider for the county’s educational institutions and government services.