Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
Haryana Government has launched Ayurvedic telemedicine facility for Covid patients. As per the Health Ministry of the state, patients can consult Ayurvedic Doctors on phone by dialling 1075.
A Call centre has been set up to run the helpline and teams of senior Ayurvedic Doctors have been appointed for consultation. The tele consultation facility would be helpful for patients in isolation.

Notes:
Glyphosate is a herbicide, which used to kill weeds, especially used in cotton farms and to kill annual broadleaf weeds and grasses that compete with crops.
The Telangana Government has imposed a total ban on glyphosate, a controversial herbicide, as the chemical’s rampant use, especially in cotton, is polluting soil and causing health hazards to human beings.

Notes:
HDFC Bank and Common Services Centres (CSCs) launched a chatbot ‘Eva’ on CSCs Digital Seva Portal to support the Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs).
The chatbot will provide banking services in rural areas. It is a 24×7 service that will allow VLEs to access information about various products, processes and solve the queries about HDFC Bank’s services.

Notes:
British racing driver Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes defeated Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the Spanish Grand Prix 2021 tournament.
This is Lewis Hamilton’s third win in four races this season, the 98th of his career, after he set his 100th pole position. Max Verstappen finishes second with Valtteri Bottas in third place.

Notes:
Nine countries—Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia established a platform for political consultation and cooperation within NATO.
Named as Bucharest Nine, or B9, it is also regarded as the “voice of the Eastern Flank” in the NATO alliance. Recently, in the B9 summit, US President Joseph R Biden addressed the countries in virtual format.

Notes:
Iron Dome is a mobile air Defence system developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. It is used for countering rockets, artillery as well as aircraft, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles.
In the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, both sides launch air strikes and rocket attacks. Recently, videos in media showed rockets fired from Gaza being countered by the Israeli Iron Dome air defence system, like hitting an invisible shield.

Notes:
Dr Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted, a global nutrition expert of Indian descent has won the prestigious 2021 World Food Prize.
The veteran’s research on small native fish species in Bangladesh led to the development of nutrition-sensitive approaches to aquaculture and food systems.

Notes:
The Digital Currency Firm Diem Association has proposed to launch a US dollar stable-coin. Diem is the digital currency project promoted by Facebook and was initially named as Libra.
Stable coins are digital currencies which are pegged to an underlying fiat currency. USA based Silvergate Bank has proposed to issue the Diem USD stablecoin and manage the Diem USD reserve.

Notes:
The state Government of Chhattisgarh has launched the scheme named “Chhattisgarh Mahtari Dular Yojna”. Under this scheme, the state would bear the education expenses of the children who have lost parents to COVID-19.
A stipend of Rs.500 per month will be paid to such children who are studying in Classes 1 to 8 and Rs.1000 per month for Classes 9 to 12. This scheme is applicable for children studying in both Government and Private schools.

Notes:
The Government of Punjab becomes the first state in India to join the COVAX alliance, which will enable the state to source vaccines at best prices.
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) is an initiative aimed at providing equitable access to anti-Covid vaccines and is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi and the World Health Organization (WHO).