Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2021

Notes:
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has recently released its annual review of India’s actions on climate change. NRDC is an international non-profit environmental organisation.
As per the report, India is largely on track to meet its Paris Climate Agreement targets. It said that the country is to meet its targets of reducing emissions by 33 to 35 per cent of its GDP by 2030 from the 2005 levels and achieve 40 per cent of installed power capacity from non-fossil fuels by 2030.

Notes:
The Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry has recently recommended that the National Fund to Control Drug Abuse may be used to carry out de-addiction programmes.
The fund was created in accordance with a provision of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, has a nominal corpus of ₹23 crore. The Act states that the fund would be used to combat illicit trafficking of narcotics, rehabilitating addicts, and preventing drug abuse. As the fund is being used only for policing activities, the Ministry proposed to add de-addiction to it.

Notes:
The Information and Broadcasting Minister of Bangladesh, Dr Hasan Mahmud recently inaugurated Bangabandhu Sambad Kendra at the Kolkata Press Club.
It was done on the occasion of the golden jubilee of the country’s independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The centre was inaugurated in recognition of the significant contribution of the journalists of the Kolkata Press Club in the liberation war of Bangladesh.

Notes:
The United Nations General Assembly has declared the year 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables, with Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the lead agency to celebrate this year, along with other relevant organizations.
This year seeks to spread awareness on the role played by fruits and vegetables in human nutrition, and in food security.

Notes:
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) was established in the year 1997 with its headquarters as Vienna, Austria.
The institution is in news recently, as it has launched Data Disclosure Framework (DDF) in association with the Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate. The DDF is a tool which describes the practices developed to handle and respond to the data requests from foreign criminal justice authorities for counter-terrorism investigations.

Notes:
US wildlife researchers have discovered that two California condors, a critically endangered bird, have given birth without any male genetic DNA.
Virgin births are formally called parthenogenesis or asexual reproduction, are recorded in other bird species, also in lizards, snakes, sharks, rays and other fish. Around 500 California condors remain in the US south-west region and Mexico.

Notes:
World Meteorological Organisation released the ‘State of Global Climate 2021’ report. As per the report, the last seven years have been the warmest on record.
It also highlighted that global sea-level rise increased since 2013, reaching a new high in 2021.  The report attributed the record sea-level rise to warming up and acidification of ocean waters. The report was released was released in Geneva as the COP26 conference began in Glasgow. WMO also launched the Water and Climate Coalition.

Notes:
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his United Kingdom’s counterpart Boris Johnson jointly launched a new flagship international initiative, at the COP26 World Leaders’ Summit.
Named ‘Green Grids Initiative – One Sun One World One Grid’ (GGI-OSOWOG), it is aimed at accelerating the development of interconnected electricity grids across continents, countries and communities. It aims to improve energy access of the poor through mini-grids and off-grid solutions.

Notes:
An integrated Single Window Filming mechanism has been created by the Ministry of Railways and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The objective of the scheme is to make the permission for filming across Railways premises easier and more efficient. Under the mechanism, filmmakers can submit online applications for filming at various railway locations under jurisdiction of any zonal railways in a centralized way.

Notes:
River Mandakini, a tributary of the Yamuna, starts in Madhya Pradesh’s Satna district and flows into the Yamuna in Uttar Pradesh Chitrakoot district.
The river flows through Sati Anusuiya, a perennial trough where many springs feed into it. It was seen in the news recently, as encroachment, concretisation and pollution are causing severe damages to the river.