Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

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:
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.

Notes:
Konkan Shakti 2021 is the first-ever tri-services joint exercise between India and the UK. The week-long exercise has begun recently.
The exercise will be a platform to share each other’s experiences and to showcase the cooperation between the two countries. The maritime component of the exercise will be conducted off India’s west coast and the Harbour phase will be held in Mumbai. The land phase of the exercise will be held at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand.

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:
South Korea has launched its first homegrown rocket. It is named as the Korean Satellite Launch Vehicle II, also known as Nuri.
The vehicle took off from Goheung, about 500km (310 miles) south of Seoul. Though it completed its full flight sequence, the vehicle failed in its goal of putting a dummy satellite in orbit. South Korea plans to carry out four more launches of the Nuri until 2027 to increase reliability.

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.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the ambitious Rs. 100 lakh crore PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. The plan was launched by the Prime Minister on October 13, which aims to create multi modal connectivity in India and bring infrastructure under one common platform.
The master plan envisages to create a centralised portal comprising of all infra-activities in India involving 16 central ministries and departments to achieve coordinated planning and project execution.

Notes:
ABHYAS – the High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) was successfully flight-tested by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The vehicle was tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Bay of Bengal in Odisha. It can be used as an aerial target to evaluate various missile systems. ABHYAS is designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), Bengaluru.

Notes:
National Small Matchbox Manufacturers Association announced that from December 1, the price of a matchbox would be increased to Rs 2 from the present Rs 1.
The proposed price increase comes after a gap of 14 years, as the price of raw materials have increased leading to a jump in cost of production. The raw materials include red phosphorous, wax, pottasium chlorate and splints (sticks). Fuel price led transportation cost is also a factor. Consumers will get more matchsticks up from 36 to 50 per box.

Notes:
Global Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Week is observed annually in October to empower people with the right information and to mitigate the challenges of misinformation.
This year (from October 24 to October 31) will mark the 11th annual observance of the event. The host for 2021 Global Media and Information Literacy Week is South Africa, co-organised by UNESCO. This year’s MIL theme is Media and Information Literacy for the Public Good.