Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The Director-General of the World Health Organisation has set up the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins on Novel Pathogens (SAGO).
The SAGO will advise the Secretariat on technical and scientific considerations on emerging and re-emerging pathogens. An Indian epidemiologist, Dr Raman Gangakhedkar, will be part of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Scientific Advisory Group for determining the origin of covid-19 pandemic.

Notes:
During Brexit negotiations, all parties agreed that protecting the 1998 Northern Ireland peace deal, also called as the Good Friday agreement, was a priority.
Recently, the European Union has set out its proposals to change the way the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland (NI Protocol) is implemented. It was designed to prevent checks along the border between Northern Ireland (in the UK) and the Republic of Ireland (in the EU), after Brexit.

 

Notes:
BrokerChoose, a broker discovery and comparison platform has released its annual proliferation index. As per the index, India has the highest number of individuals owning cryptocurrency with 10.07 crore users.
The second position is occupied by USA with 2.74 crore crypto and Russia is placed at the third position.

Notes:
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually conducted the final breakthrough blast of the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh, recently. The construction of the tunnel is expected to be over by June 2022.
Sela tunnel is expected be the world’s largest bi-lane tunnel at an altitude of more than 13,000 feet. The construction is being undertaken by Border Roads Organisation (BRO). The tunnel goes through Sela Pass and will cut down the distance to the China border through Arunachal Pradesh by 10 km.

Notes:
World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF jointly released the 2021 State of The World’s Hand Hygiene report.
As per the report, all households in the world’s 46 least developed countries could have handwashing facilities by 2030 if the world invested less than $1 per person per year, in hand hygiene. An annual cost to governments on promoting handwashing with soap at home comes to 2.5% of the average government health expenditure in these countries.

Notes:
‘Mera Ghar Mere Naam’ scheme, which was launched by the Punjab Government for providing proprietary rights to people living in villages.
Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi extended the ‘Mera Ghar Mere Naam’ scheme those living within ‘lal lakir’ in cities also. ‘Lal lakir’ refers to land that is part of the village habitation and is used for non-agriculture purposes only.

Notes:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a 100-million-euro ($116 million) mental healthcare drive, including 24-hour suicide helpline.
La Lloreria, or the Crying Room was inaugurated in Madrid, which aims to remove the attached to mental health, crying and seeking help. As per Government Data, In 2019, as many as 3,671 people died from suicide in Spain. One in 10 adolescents has been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Notes:
The Indian Navy received its 11th P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing. The Navy has signed a contract of 12 P-8Is from Boeing in two batches.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also launched an ‘Integrated Unmanned Road Map for Indian Navy’ at the second edition of the Naval Commanders Conference. This will outline all unmanned aerial and underwater platforms and efforts of the Navy in modernisation.

Notes:
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to host a Hackathon titled “Aadhaar Hackathon 2021”.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT on Monday, the Hackathon is themed around two topics. The first theme is “Enrolment and Update”, which covers some of the real-life challenges being faced by the residents while updating their address. The second theme of the Hackathon is around the “Identity and Authentication”, for solutions to prove Identity without sharing the Aadhaar number or any demographics information.

Notes:
Russia is set to host the third meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. India will be represented at joint-secretary level at the meeting.
The Moscow Format was established in 2017 as a six-party system comprising Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and Pakistan. It was then expanded with the inclusion of more countries. Its meetings were held in Moscow in 2017 and 2018. India and Taliban may have their first face-to-face meeting at the occasion.