Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro Limited emerged as the lowest bidder for the construction and maintenance of the first three buildings of the Common Central Secretariat under the Central Vista redevelopment project.
According to the Central Public Works Department’s bid documents, Larsen & Toubro quoted around Rs 3,141 crore.Tata Projects Limited is constructing a new parliament building while Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited is executing the redevelopment work of the Central Vista Avenue stretching from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate.

Notes:
Russia’s Energy Ministry signed an agreement with India’s Steel Ministry to increase coking coal supply to India up to 40 million tonnes per year.
The deal was signed at the Russian Energy Week Forum, held in Moscow. Russia currently supplies around 80 lakh tonnes of coal to India. The pact also aims for development of coal deposits, development of coal logistics and promotion of R&D in production.

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:
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:
The Indian Railways has recently ordered to dissolve Indian Railway Stations Development Corporation (IRSDC).
The Cabinet secretariat had recommended to integrate, and undertake structural reforms in various bodies under Railways Ministry. It also suggested merger of various institutions of the railways. The report on ‘Rationalisation of Government Bodies under the Ministry of Railways’ was prepared by Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Advisor.

 

Notes:
The Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Earth Science, and is located at Pune.
The institution has developed and launched a new ‘Decision Support System’ (DSS) aimed to enhance the existing ‘Air Quality Early Warning System’, for air quality measurement and management in Delhi – NCR.

Notes:
Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is one of the largest in the world. It is located in the island of Kyushu, and its peak is located 1,592 meters above sea level.
Japan’s Mount Aso volcano recently erupted, spewing a huge column of hot gas and ash over 3,500 metres into the sky. Japan’s meteorological agency raised alert level for the volcano to level 3 on a scale of 5, and asked people not to approach the mountain.

Notes:
The Internet Governance Forum (IGF) is a multi-stakeholder platform, which brings representatives together from various groups, to discuss public policy issues related to the Internet.
The Indian Government along with National Internet Exchange of India and other Stakeholders has decided to host its own Internet Governance Forum  in November this year. The India Internet Governance Forum (IIGF) will recognize every citizen as a stakeholder and enable them to participate in policy dialogue and decision making.

Notes:
Hardoi MLA Nitin Agrawal was recently elected Deputy Speaker of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, which has five months left in its tenure.
Agrawal became the MLA from Samajwadi Party (SP) in 2017, later switched to the BJP. In 2019, SP sought his disqualification from the Assembly under the anti-defection law and was rejected by the Speaker. Article 178 contains the position for Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of a state. More than two years of constitution in 2019, the 17th Lok Sabha remains without a Deputy Speaker.

Notes:
China played host to the Second UN Global Sustainable Transport Conference in 2021. The conference concluded with the Beijing Statement, which called for “adopting integrated, interdisciplinary, and cross-sectoral approaches, supported by greater international cooperation”.
China’s President Xi Jinping committed to establish a Global Innovation and Knowledge Center for Sustainable Transport as a contribution to global transport development.