Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Retired commodore Amit Rastogi, took over as the chairman and managing director of the National Research Development Corporation.
Amit Rastogi has been appointed to this position, after his service of 34 years in Indian Navy. NRDC is an enterprise of DSIR, Ministry of Science & Technology. It was established in 1953 to promote the development, promotion and transfer of technologies from various national R&D institutions.

Notes:
The Delhi government is set to create the Rojgar Bazaar 2.0 portal, as a job matching platform for entry-level jobs.
As per the Delhi government, it will offer end-to-end employment related information to those searching for jobs in the national capital. The site will use artificial intelligence to draw up the best job matches and provide access to skill training, career guidance and skill credentialing.

Notes:
Nebra Sky Disc is said to be the oldest map of stars available on earth and is set to be displayed at the British Museum at London.
It is said that the disc was buried along with two swords, axes, two spiral arm-rings near Nebra in Germany about 3600 years ago. It is thought to be buried as a dedication to God.

Notes:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a 100-million-euro ($116 million) mental healthcare drive, including 24-hour suicide helpline.
La Lloreria, or the Crying Room was inaugurated in Madrid, which aims to remove the attached to mental health, crying and seeking help. As per Government Data, In 2019, as many as 3,671 people died from suicide in Spain. One in 10 adolescents has been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Notes:
Blue Flag exercise is a biennial Defence Exercise involving Air Force missions from eight countries. As many as 85 Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel are taking part in the exercise along with five upgraded Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Israel’s Ovda Airbase to meet the Indian contingent participating in the exercise. The US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Greece and Israel are the other participating countries.

Notes:
People of Thailand are using capsules of a herbal medicine called green chiretta (Andrographis paniculata) to treat asymptomatic and mild COVID.
In Thailand, Green chiretta – nicknamed the “king of bitters” is a common herbal medicine. In early 1990s, researchers concluded after a clinical trial that chiretta is equally effective as paracetamol to treat fever and sore throat in patients with inflammation of the pharynx and tonsils.

Notes:
Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso announced a 60-day nationwide state of emergency in response to a wave of violent crime.
The President announced that Police and the armed forces were being mobilised. As per official figures, the number of murders in the first eight months of this year are twice those in the same period last year. Some weeks ago, a prison fight in the port city of Guayaquil made 119 inmates dead.

Notes:
Tech Major Microsoft has launched a start-up program called AI Innovate along with an AI Playbook that will help start-ups in the country adopt the technology.
Microsoft has also been involved in two similar programs for agri-tech and health-tech startups. As per a 2020 report by Nasscom, data and AI have the potential to add $500 billion to the economy by 2025 and can account for 10% of the country’s GDP.

Notes:
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced the launch of the NPCI Tokenization System (NTS).
The Token Reference On File (TROF) service will help millions of RuPay cardholders maintain the security of their financial data. This will enable tokenization of cards as an alternative to storing card details with merchants. The card details of cardholders will be secure at the RuPay Network Secure vault.

Notes:
The Archaeological Survey of India is an agency under the aegis of Union Ministry of Culture. It is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation of cultural monuments in the country. ASI was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham.
ASI illuminated 100 monuments across the country in the Indian tricolour as India’s Covid-19 vaccination drive completed to administer one billion doses. The illumination was done as a mark of gratitude to Covid warriors who contributed in the fight against pandemic.