Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
According to a new report released by climate tech startup Blue Sky Analytics, India is at the top in emissions related to crop burning.
India was responsible for 13% of total global emissions for the 2015-2020 period. India also contributed to 12.2 % to cropland fire emissions in 2020. Blue Sky Analytics, an Indian climate tech startup founded by an IIT alumnus, is also a part of global coalition “Climate TRACE”.

Notes:
Ashfaqullah Khan, an Indian freedom fighter, was sentenced to death at the age of 27 for the Kakori train robbery. He was born on October 22, 1900 and he was remembered recently on his anniversary.
Ram Prasad Bismil and Chandrashekhar Azad were among the people who were part of the Kakori train robbery of 1925. He used to write poems in Urdu and Hindi, under the pen name Varasi and Hazarat.

Notes:
The United Nations has recently set up a special trust fund for Afghanistan, amidst its economic crisis.
The primary aim of the trust fund is to inject liquidity into Afghan households. As per the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP), Germany had pledged 50 million euros ($58m) to the fund. International Monetary Fund announced that Afghanistan’s economy is set to contract up to 30 percent this year.

Notes:
China has passed a new Education Law to reduce students’ homework and off-school tutoring. It aims to strike a balance between academics, rest and physical education.
China has been making large efforts to exercise strict controls over the citizens’ personal and social lives. There have been several legislations to limit the time kids and youth spend on playing video games.

Notes:
Tamil movie Koozhangal (Pebbles), directed by filmmaker Vinothraj PS, has been selected as India’s official entry for the 94th Academy Awards.
It was picked by a 15-member jury out of 14 entries. Koozhangal had earlier won the top honour, the Tiger Award for best film, at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). The movie follows an alcoholic husband who sets out with his young son to find his wife and bring her back.

Notes:
India’s low-cost airline Go First became the first airline to launch direct flights from Srinagar to Sharjah.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off the first international flight services from Srinagar to Sharjah, from the Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport in Srinagar. This is expected to enhance the economic bonds between India and UAE. Go First will operate four flights every week between Srinagar and Sharjah.

Notes:
Recent works on a mummy excavated in 2019 suggests that ancient Egyptians living during the time of the Old Kingdom (between 2700BC and 2200BC) were already carrying out sophisticated burials of dead bodies. This is 1,000 years earlier than the previously known information.
This discovery was featured in a 2020 episode of National Geographic’s Lost Treasures of Egypt. As per the researchers, the development will change the understanding of the evolution of the process of mummification.

Notes:
A satellite named Shijian-21, after the Chinese word “practice,” was launched by China recently. It was launched atop of Long March 3B rocket launched from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center.
This launched has been questioned by experts that it can be used as a weapon capable of grabbing hold of and crushing American satellites. As per the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the satellite is tasked with demonstrating technologies to neutralize space debris.

Notes:
India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier (IAC) Vikrant has recently begun its second phase of sea trails, ahead of its planned induction into the Indian Navy by August 2022.
The warship will operate MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 helicopters, MH-60R multi-role helicopters. It is a 40,000-tonne aircraft carrier and the largest and most complex warship to be built in India. IAC Vikrant successfully completed a five-day maiden sea trial in August.

Notes:
The World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley said that 22.8 million people, more than half of Afghanistan’s 39 million population, were facing acute food insecurity and “marching to starvation”.
Two months ago, it was announced that 14 million were in the edge of food crisis. The UN official also announced that millions of Afghans, including children, could die of starvation unless urgent action is taken. He also urged to free the frozen funds to be used for humanitarian efforts.