Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Jaishankar arrived in Armenia on the last leg of his three-nation tour to Central Asia. This is also the first-ever visit by an External Affairs Minister to Armenia.
He proposed that the strategic Chabahar Port in Iran be included in the North-South Transport Corridor, to enhance the connectivity. The Minister’s tour is aimed at further expanding bilateral ties and discussing regional issues including the developments in Afghanistan.

Notes:
The Government of Mizoram has launched a 10-day campaign named “All Mask” to re-sensitise citizens on the importance of wearing masks to combat the virus. This is being observed throughout the state.
This comes at the backdrop of 1000 new Covid-19 cases being reported in the state daily, for more than a month continuously.

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 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:
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 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:
The Indian Army has bagged a gold medal at the Cambrian Patrol Exercise, which was held in the UK. The 4/5 Gorkha Rifles represented the Indian Army in the exercise.
The competition witnessed representation from 96-armed force teams of nations across the globe. This competition tests the ultimate levels of human endurance and team spirit and is considered as the “Olympics of military patrolling”.

Notes:
Under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), the premium to be paid by farmers is fixed at 1.5% of the sum insured for rabi crops and 2% for Kharif crops, while it is 5% for cash/horticultural crops.
The balance premium is split between the Centre and states. The government has constituted a working group, to roll out an overhauled PMFBY from kharif 2022. The working group will find out reasons for high premium rates and suggest mechanism to rationalize them. This comes at the backdrop of exit of several states from the scheme

Notes:
As many as 10 reported cases of Legionnaires’ disease were reported in New York, USA. It is rare form of pneumonia caused by a bacteria called Legionella.
As per the country’s health department, the cases have been reported around the Long Island neighbourhood. People can contract Legionnaires by breathing in a vapour containing the Legionella bacteria. The symptoms include breath, high fever, cough, muscle aches and headache.

Notes:
The Delhi government is set to begin its ‘Red Light On, Gaadi Off’ campaign, which aims to reduce pollution in the national capital.
The campaign urges commuters to switch off the engines of their vehicles as soon as they stop at a red light. This was first introduced by the government last year. This year, the first phase of the campaign will run for a month till November 18. It will take place in two shifts – from 8am-2pm and then 2pm-8pm.