Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The Assam Cabinet has approved the creation of a directorate and posts under the newly-established Indigenous Faith and Culture Department.
The directorate is set to begin the process of preserving indigenous faiths such as Bathou of the Bodo community and Heraka of the Zeme Naga community. These are considered to be endangered because of conversions to mainstream religions.  Arunachal Pradesh had formed the Department of Indigenous Affairs five years ago to insulate the indigenous faiths.

Notes:
The Government of Madhya Pradesh has announced a scheme named “Mukhyamantri Ration Aapke Dwar Yojana”, under which physically challenged and senior citizens of the state would be supplied with ration at the doorsteps, transported by vehicles.
Also, ration would be transported to villages in vehicles where there are no fair price shops.

Notes:
The UN En­v­­i­ron­ment Programme (UNEP), along with the leading rese­a­r­ch institutes released the 2021 Production Gap Report.
The report measures the gap between governments’ plan­ned production of coal, oil, and gas and the global production levels consistent with meeting Paris Agreement limits. As per the new report, governments plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than the consistent level to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Notes:
A micro-snail species named Georissa mawsmaiensis has been discovered in Mawsmai, a limestone cave in Meghalaya.
Before 170 years, Georissa saritta, a member of the same genus, was collected and described from the Musmai valley near Cherrapunjee. The researchers involved in the discovery are from the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru.

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.

Notes:
International Union for Conservation (IUCN), Global conservation body alerted Assam government on the threats faced by Bengal florican.
As per IUCN, Development activities and the state government’s plan to set up a university at Kokilabari seed farm near Manas National Park in Assam has posed a threat to the Bengal florican. IUCN urged that the Kokilabari seed farm, which is a haven for the Bengal florican, should be protected by declaring it a community reserve.

Notes:
Defence ministry signed agreement with the US to procure MK 54 torpedo and expendables worth Rs 423 crore, for Indian Navy.
These weapons are the outfit of P-8I Aircraft which has been used for Long-range Maritime Surveillance, Anti-Submarine Warfare and Anti-Surface Warfare. The Indian Navy has a total of 11 P-8I aircraft in its fleet, which are manufactured by the US aerospace company Boeing.

Notes:
India has become the top source of Chinese rice imports during January-August this year. The shipments during the month of August alone accounted for 45 per cent of the total imports.
This data has been released in the USDA’s Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report on China’s rice prices. It said Indian rice made up 23 per cent of total imports by China during January-August this year.

Notes:
Under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) of the Ministry of Rural Development, a total of 152 Centre for Financial Literacy & Service Delivery (SAKSHAM Centres) were launched across 77 districts of 13 states.
The Centres would act as one stop solution for basic financial needs of Self-Help Group (SHG) households in rural areas. The main objective of the Centre is to provide financial literacy and deliver financial services to SHG members and rural poor.

Notes:
Tech major Intel has recently launched a skill development program named “Intel Unnati”, which is designed to upskill and equip Engineering students with industry relevant data.The company has planned to establish 100 Intel Unnati Data Centric Labs under the program in next one year.