Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Power has recently released the “Framework for Implementation of Market Based Economic Despatch (MBED) Phase 1”. This framework aims to lower the cost of power purchase to consumers.
Under this framework, the state distribution companies (DISCOMs) will now be able to plan power purchases from the day-ahead market at power exchanges.

Notes:
Indian Born Dr.Abdul Qadeer Khan, also known as the father of Pakistan’s atomic weapons program died recently in Pakistan. He was born in the year 1936 in Bhopal and moved to Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan.
Dr. Khan is said to have made Pakistan a nuclear power, from its scratch.

Notes:
October 10 marks the World Day Against the Death Penalty. This year, the theme is focused on safeguarding the health and rights of women and girls around the world.
According to Amnesty International’s 2020 death penalty report, more than two-thirds of the world has now abolished the death penalty in law or practice. As many as 108 countries have completely abolished the death penalty for all crimes. As per the report, at least 483 people were known to have been executed in 2020.

Notes:
Paleontologists have discovered the fossilized upper molar tooth of Hippopotamus antiquus from Westbury Cave, in the UK.
It is an extinct species of hippo that lived in Europe during a warm period between 2 and 1 million years ago. The species is said to had been much larger than the modern African hippo, weighing around 3 tons. It is known to have been more reliant on aquatic habitats.

Notes:
WHO launched its ‘Strategy to Achieve Global Covid-19 Vaccination by mid-2022’ launched last week. As a part of the strategy, India will soon submit its covid-19 vaccination targets to WHOwith an updated national vaccination trajectory.
It will also include plans defining dose requirements, investment required for manufacturing the vaccines and their distribution through the government. As per WHO, all countries must meet its targets to vaccinate 40% of their population by end-2021 and 70% by mid-2022.

Notes:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held talks with the top Kyrgyztan leadership to boost bilateral ties, including defence cooperation.
India also agreed to provide a USD 200 million Line of Credit for development projects in the country. Jaishankar is on his four-day visit to Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Armenia with an aim to further expand bilateral ties with the three Central Asian countries.

 

Notes:
The Aerial Archaeological Mapping Explorer has been launched to offer virtual flights over ancient landscapes. The digital aerial archaeology tool will allow users to see landscapes from England’s past.
Historic England, the agency that looks after the tool, enables people to discover previously unknown details through virtual flights over England, about local landscapes, including prehistoric hill forts, Roman settlements and cold war military stations etc.

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:
The Union Ministry of Environment has released a draft notification on regulation of extended producer responsibility under the plastic waste management rules 2016. This covers three categories of plastics namely rigid plastic packaging: flexible plastic packaging of single layer / multilayer plastics.
As per the draft, quantity of waste that will have to be managed by producers and importers has been specified.

Notes:
JSW Steel Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal has been elected as the Chairman of the World Steel Association (WSA) for the 2021-22 period.
Jindal also becomes the first representative from India to serve as Chairman of the WSA. He precedes Yu Yong as the Chairman of WSA, whose members represent approximately 85 per cent of the world’s steel production. Established in 1967, it is headquartered in Brussels.