Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

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:
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:
The Prime Minister recently launched the Indian Space Association (IsPA)). It is an industry association of space and satellite companies.
The Founding members include Larson & Toubro, Nelco (Tata Group), OneWeb, Bharti Airtel, Mapmyindia, Walchandnagar Industries and Ananth Technology Limited. Other core members include Godrej, Hughes India, among others. Lt Gen Anil Bhatt (Retd) has been appointed the director-general of the association.

 

Notes:
The Union Home Ministry began tripartite talks with Gorkha representatives from the Darjeeling Hills, Terrai and Dooars region and the Government of West Bengal.
The talks were held with the objective of resolving the demand of statehood in the North Bengal region. The talks were chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah. The second round of talks with the officials of the Government of West Bengal is scheduled in November 2021.

Notes:
Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh jointly launched Climate Resilience Information System and Planning (CRISP-M) tool.
It is used for integration of climate information in Geographic Information System (GIS) based watershed planning under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme. It was launched along with Lord Tariq Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia and the Commonwealth in the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office through a virtual event.

Notes:
The 6th ministerial meeting of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) began in Nur-Sultan, the capital city of Kazakhstan.
The CICA is an intergovernmental forum aimed at strengthening regional cooperation and ensuring peace, security, and stability in Asia. The first CICA summit was held in June of 2002. The members include 27 Asian countries, including India, China, Russia, nine observer states, and five international organizations.

Notes:
‘International Day for Rural Women 2021’ is celebrated on October 15. The day focuses on gender equality and empowering women in rural areas.
The theme for this year is “Rural women cultivating good food for all”. The United Nations General Assembly had established this day on December 18, 2007. According to a report by the United Nations, 40% of the total agricultural labour force in developing countries includes women.

Notes:
World Students’ Day is observed every year on October 15, in honour of former Indian president APJ Abdul Kalam, who was born on the same day in 1931.
The day aims to acknowledge the efforts of the President towards education and students. The United Nations declared October 15 as World Students’ Day in 2010. This year, the theme for World Students’ day is “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace”.

Notes:
The Office of the Economic Adviser is an attached office of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, under the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
The key function of the office includes Compiling and releasing monthly Wholesale Price Indices and Compiling and releasing monthly Index of Core Industries Production. The wholesale price-based inflation has eased to a six-month low of 10.66% in September 2021, primarily helped by moderation in food price.

Notes:
China beat Japan 3-1 in the Uber Cup final, held in Aarhus, Denmark, to reclaim Uber Cup title. This is China’s 15th Uber Cup title win out of 19 finals.
Indonesia lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the first time since 2002 after defeating the defending champions China 3-0 in the final match held in Aarhus, Denmark. Uber and Thomas Cup are the biennial international badminton championship played by the women and men’s national teams of the members of Badminton World Federation.