Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
The Chota Char Dham is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit located in the Indian Himalayas, in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand.
The circuit consists of four sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The Uttarakhand government has suspended the Char Dham Yatra, which was scheduled to begin in May. Only priests will perform the rituals inside the shrines.

Notes:
Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched two new quick credit delivery schemes to provide funding for production related to supply of oxygen cylinders, oxygen concentrators, oximeters and essential drugs.
These new initiatives would help MSMEs quickly improve their facilities: SHWAS (SIDBI assistance to Healthcare sector in War Against Second wave of COVID19) and AROG (SIDBI Assistance to MSMEs for Recovery & Organic Growth during COVID19 pandemic).

Notes:
Stratolaunch is an American aerospace company, which has built the biggest airplane ever, named Roc. The aircraft is named after a giant bird of Arabian and Persian mythology.
The aircraft has two flights under its belt, with a wingspan of 385 feet and cruised at an altitude of 14,000 feet during the test feet and travelled at a speed of 199 mph during the test flight, which was conducted recently.

Notes:
The MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund) is administered by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
In view of the ongoing COVID pandemic, the Government of India has permitted the use of MPLADS funds for setting up oxygen manufacturing units in government hospitals, for the FY 2021-22.

Notes:
Legal expert and Former Attorney General shri. Soli J Sorabjee died recently, at the age of 91 years. He was tested COVID positive and died due to the infection.
In the year 2002, he was awarded with the second highest civilian award – Padma Vibhushan for his defence of the freedom of expression and the protection of human rights.

Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik declared working journalists of the state as frontline Covid warriors.
Around 7000 working journalists of the state have been covered under the Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana. Under the scheme, the journalists are provided a health insurance cover of Rs 2 lakh each. They would also get priority in the vaccination programme.

Notes:
Special 301 Report, released by the U.S, focusses on the effectiveness of the protection of US trading partners and enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR).
The US Trade Representative in its recent report placed India and eight other countries including China, Russia, Saudi Arabia on the Priority Watch List for IP protection and enforcement.

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:
World champion and Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu and Canada’s Michelle Li have been nominated as athlete ambassadors for International Olympic Committee’s ‘Believe in Sports’ campaign.
This duo has also been the global ambassadors for Badminton World Federation’s ‘i am badminton’ campaign.

Notes:
Researchers have found the fossil bone fragments of sauropods – a long neck dinosaur at West Khasi Hills District in Meghalaya. The fossil is assumed to be about 100-million-years old.
This finding makes Meghalaya the 5th state in India after Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu to report Sauropod bones.