Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) along with GIFT city has launched the FinTech Hackathon Series named “I-Sprint’21”. The first series of the Hackathon is “Sprint01: BankTech” with special focus on Banking.
The IFSCA was established in April 202 under the provision of IFSCA Act 2019. It is headquartered at GIFT City – Gandhinagar.

Notes:
Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov have been chosen for the Nobel Peace Prize 2021, for their efforts to safeguard and promote freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia.
Maria Ressa is a Filipino-American journalist, author, and the co-founder of a media company Rappler. Dmitry Muratov is a Russian journalist and a television presenter.

Notes:
The International Day of the Girl Child is observed annually on October 11, to highlight the gender equality impacts. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly declared October 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child, to recognise the challenges faced by girls.
This year, the UN urges the world to bridge the gender digital divide existing in diverse skills and jobs. It has highlighted on the gender digital divide in connectivity, devices, and use, skills and jobs.

Notes:
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development have released the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index for the year 2021, under the tag line “Unmasking disparities by ethnicity, caste and gender”.
The index measures poverty by considering various deprivations experienced by people across the globe. The 2021 report has stressed that Disparities in poverty among ethnic groups are very high in many countries.

Notes:
Darwin’s ground sloth (Mylodon darwinii), lived in South America between 1.8 million years and 12,000 years ago.
Though the six living sloth species are relatively small and herbivorous tree-dwellers, some species roamed from Alaska to South America. As per findings of a recent study, the extinct species was between 3 and 4 m long and weighed between 1 and 2 tons. The study also contradicts that all sloths were necessarily herbivores.

 

Notes:
As per the Finance Ministry’s Monthly Economic Review, India is well-placed on the path to swift recovery with growth impulses visibly transmitted to all sectors of the economy. The FInance Minister also said that economic activity is gaining further momentum in September.
India’s merchandise exports crossed the $30-billion mark for the sixth consecutive month in fiscal year 2021-22. The rate of growth of bank credit stood at 6.7 per cent year-on-year in the fortnight ending September 10, 2021, compared to 5.3 per cent in the corresponding period of the previous year, it added.

Notes:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recently launched the ‘Desh ke Mentor’ programme to provide career guidance to the students of class 9 to 12.
The Delhi government school students will be mentored by subject experts for providing various career options. Every mentor will adopt up to 10 students to provide career counselling. Actor Sonu Sood has been named by the Delhi government as the brand ambassador of the initiative.

 

Notes:
World Arthritis Day (WAD) is observed every year on October 12 to spread awareness about the existence and impact of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.
The Day was first observed in 1996 and this year the theme of the day is Don’t Delay, Connect Today: Time2Work. As per EULAR (European Alliance of Associations For Rheumatology), there are an estimated one-hundred million people who are undiagnosed and trying to cope with overlooked symptoms.

Notes:
The Malabar series of exercises, which began as an annual bilateral naval exercise between India and the US in 1992.
The Indian Navy is set to participate in the Second Phase of Multilateral Maritime Exercise Malabar along with the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force, Royal Australian Navy and the United States Navy. It is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal from 12 – 15 Oct 2021. First Phase of the exercise was conducted in the Philippines Sea in August.

Notes:
As per the International Monetary Fund’s ‘Fiscal Monitor’ Report, the global debt has jumped to a new high of USD 226 trillion. Advanced economies and China contributed more than 90 per cent to the accumulation of world-wide debt in 2020.
India’s debt increased from 68.9 per cent of its GDP in 2016 to 89.6 per cent in 2020. It is projected to jump to 90.6 per cent in 2021. The debt of governments, households and non-financial corporations added up to USD 226 trillion in 2020.This is the highest increase on record.