Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is an intergovernmental organization, established in the year 1974 and is headquartered at Paris, France. It was established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The IEA has invited India to become its full-time member. If India becomes a full-time member of the forum, then it would be required to maintain a strategic oil reserves of 90 days.

 

Notes:
Under the Italy’s G20 Presidency, an Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit has been convened, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan. The meeting would be held in a virtual format.
India has been invited by Italy, to take part in the meeting for discussing the humanitarian needs in Afghan and to review the livelihood requirement in the country.

Notes:
The Union Home Ministry has recently enhanced the powers of the Border Security Force (BSF) to arrest, search and seize within 50 km from the international boundary in Assam, West Bengal and Punjab.
BSF is a Central armed police force under the Union. This power will also be applicable to the newly created Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Earlier, the BSF’s limit was fixed up to 80 km from the international boundary in Gujarat and 15 km in Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has launched the PM Gati Shakti, a ‘national masterplan’ for multi-modal connectivity on 13th October 2021.
The master plan aims to use geo-mapping and real-time data on a single portal, to make sure that there is transparency and visibility over the project planning and implementation. Presently 16 government departments are part of the master plan.

Notes:
The Department of Biotechnology has recently launched ‘One Health’ consortium, to monitor important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic and pathogens in the country.
The project aims to study the use of existing diagnostic tests and the development of additional procedures for monitoring and understanding the spread of emerging diseases. One Health Consortium consists of 27 organisations led by DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad.

 

Notes:
Every year, 14th of October is celebrated as the World Standards Day, to commemorate all the experts who have contributed to develop the voluntary technical agreements that are published as International Standards. This year’s World Standards Day is observed under the tag line “our shared vision for a better world”.

Notes:
The Global Hunger Index is a comprehensive measure and track of hunger across the globe, prepared by Concern Worldwide and Welthungerhilfe. The index uses 4 indicators namely : Undernourishment, child wasting; child stunting; child mortality.
In the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 India has been placed at 101st position as against its previous ranking of 94 in 2020.

Notes:
The Rail Kaushal Vikas Yojana is a technical skill development programme organized and conducted by the Indian Railways, to unemployed youths of age 18-35 years. The scheme aims to enhance their employability and entrepreneurship
Recently, the Indian Railways’ Banaras Locomotive Works had successfully conducted the training for its first batch of trainees, and distributed self-employment toolkits cum certificated to the trainees.

Notes:
Actor William Shatner flew aboard a Blue Origin rocket-ship on a suborbital trip and landed in the Texas desert to become at age 90 the oldest person ever in space.
Blue Origin, U.S. billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos’s company carried out its second tourist flight. Shatner was one of four passengers aboard the fully autonomous New Shepard spacecraft. The four astronauts travelled above the internationally recognized boundary of space known as the Karman Line, about 100 km above Earth.

Notes:
China has launched a 3-person manned mission to its space station, for a duration of 6 months in the spaceship named Shenzhou-13. The spaceship was launched by Long March-2F rocket. The crew members are missioned for the setting up of the orbiting structure of China’s own space station.
The activities of the crew include spacewalks and installation of key equipment.