Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. unveiled a new server chip that’s based on advanced 5-nanometer technology. The new chip is based on micro-architecture provided by the SoftBank Group Corp.-owned Arm Ltd.
Named as Yitian 710, the Arm-based server chip is the third semiconductor introduced by Alibaba since 2019, following an artificial intelligence chip as well as a chip used for internet-of-things. China has been inviting companies to build a homegrown semiconductor industry and to achieve self-sufficiency.

Notes:
Valneva SE, a French vaccine company, announced the results from its Phase 3 trial of its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.
As per the company, the vaccine was as effective as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. VLA2001 is an inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine. The Sars-CoV-2 virus is killed using chemicals, heat, or radiation and delivered in an inactivated form. India’s Covaxin vaccine is also an inactivated vaccine.

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:
Talpiot Cemetery is seen in the news recently, as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited the place as he began his five-day visit to Israel.
It is the cemetery for Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the region during the World War I, located in Talpiot, Jerusalem. About 900 Indian soldiers are buried in cemeteries across Israel in Jerusalem, Ramle and Haifa. The Indian Army commemorates September 23 every year as Haifa Day to pay its respects to the three brave Indian Cavalry Regiments.

Notes:
The world-renowned Kung Fu Nuns of the Drukpa order of Buddhism has won the prestigious Martial Arts Education Prize 2021 from the UNESCO International Centre for Martial Arts for their brave acts of service.
Through martial arts, the Drukpa nuns empower young girls to defend themselves, build confidence, and take on leadership roles in their communities.

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:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched a web-based project monitoring portal for military engineer services (MES).
The portal has been developed by the Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-G). It will enable real time monitoring of projects along the process. All stakeholders not only from MES but also the Armed Forces can gain access to the project information.

Notes:
The Kinnow is a high yield mandarin hybrid cultivated extensively in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan.
Around 100 farmers in Punjab, especially in the kinnow belt, have started making Bio Enzymes from this Kinnow fruit. It is usually considered as a waste by farmers. But this fallen fruit can improve soil, water, air and depleting ground water. It also helps prevent excess usage of chemical sprays of fungicides and bacterial diseases on crops, especially vegetables and cereals.

Notes:
Barbados has elected its first-ever president Sandra Mason to replace Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as head of state.
Barbados is a former British colony that gained independence in 1966 but had maintained ties with the British monarchy. There have been calls from across the country for full sovereignty and homegrown leadership. Sandra Mason was a former jurist who has been governor-general of the country since 2018.

Notes:
Scientists have named a newly identified gecko species, the Jackie’s day gecko (Cnemaspis jackieii), after Jackie Chan.
This lizard is one of 12 new gecko species found in India and all 12 species are endemic to the Western Ghats. Due to its agile nature, similar to the ace martial artist Chan, it has been named so. It is one of 12 new gecko species found in India that the researchers describe in Zoological Research.