Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2021

Notes:
The Indian Army launched Operation Snow Leopard after China failed to move back and restore status quo ante in eastern Ladakh.
Col Santosh Babu was awarded Mahavir Chakra posthumously for resisting Chinese Army attack in Galwan valley in Ladakh sector during Operation Snow Leopard. Colonel Babu was the Commanding Officer of 16 Bihar regiment, which was deployed in Galwan Valley for the Operation.

Notes:
NITI Aayog-GIZ and BMZ launched the inaugural Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Urban Index and Dashboard 2021-22, under the umbrella of Indo-German Development Cooperation. The Index ranked 56 urban areas in the country on 77 SDG indicators across 46 targets of the SDG framework.
Shimla was adjudged the performer with a score of 75.50 in the SDG Urban Index. Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore got a score of 73.29 in the Index.

Notes:
According to the 2021 Global Nutrition Report (GNR, 2021), India has made no progress on anaemia and childhood wasting.
In 2016, 52.6 per cent of Indian women were anaemic. But in 2020, 53 per cent were found to be anaemic. Over 17 per cent of Indian children less than 5 years of age are affected. This figure is higher than the average for Asia at 9 per cent. Wasting is seen in children whose weight is low-for-their height.

Notes:
The Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana was launched by the Government of India in wake of COVID 19 related disruptions and lockdown. The scheme envisages to provide five kg grain per person per month free of cost to all NFSA beneficiaries.
Recently, the Government of India has announced to extend the scheme from December 2021 till March 2022.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Earth Science is implementing the scheme named Ocean—Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O – SMART). The scheme aims to provide forecasts  and services based on the continuous observation of oceans. There are 7 sub schemes to this umbrella scheme, which are implemented by 5 institutions.
Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved continuation of the scheme for the 2021-26 period at a cost of Rs 2,177 crore.

Notes:
USA is set to host the “Summit for Democracy” next month. The Biden administration has invited Taiwan to the Summit, according to a list of participants published recently.
This step has infuriated China, which views the democratically governed island as its territory. The summit is a first-of-its-kind gathering, announced in Biden’s first foreign policy address in office. There are 110 participants on the State Department’s invitation list for the virtual event, which does not include China or Russia.

Notes:
Indian Government’s think tank NITI Aayog has released a discussion paper called ‘Digital Banks: A Proposal for Licensing & Regulatory Regime for India’.
In the paper, Niti Aayog offers a roadmap to make digital banks (DBs) a reality in the country. It also cites that Digital banks will help India mitigating the deepening financial challenges. Digital banks are defined in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (BR Act).

Notes:
Union Minister for Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala conferred the National Gopal Ratna Awards recently.
The awards are presented to winners of the Best Dairy Farmer rearing indigenous cattle/buffalo breeds, Best Artificial Insemination Technician and Best Dairy Cooperative Society (DCS)/ Milk Producer Company/ Dairy Farmer Producer Organisation in the country.

Notes:
The death anniversary of Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar is observed as has been observed as ‘Mahaparinirvan Divas’, on December 6 every year.
Millions of his followers gather at his resting place Chaitya Bhumi, located in Mumbai to pay tributes. This year, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi is addressing the followers at Chaitya Bhumi through video conference.

Notes:
A first-of-its-kind programme to promote women in the field of research and development through lateral entry was launched recently.
Named the Women’s Involvement in Science and Engineering Research (WISER), it was launched by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) for encouraging women researchers in joint R&D projects.