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:
Union Minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated 250mm Seer Water supply scheme in Kashmir. The project would benefit around 10000 people and will be completed under the ambit of Jal Jeevan Mission.
The Union Minister also inaugurated tourist hut of Pahalgam Development Authority at Golf Course Pahalgam. He also inaugurated Forest Departments Deodar sapling plantation drive being conducted under the banner of Green JK Drive, under which a total of 1 lakh saplings will be planted as part of the drive.

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:
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 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.

Notes:
In the World Bank’s ease of doing business report, under the construction permits category, India’s rank jumped to 27th out of 190 nations from 181st rank last year.
Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has recently announced that ‘Online building permission system’, which has been implemented in about 2,500 cities so far, will be made operational across all cities by March next year. This will help improve the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the country.

Notes:
Iran’s Air Force is set to conduct a large-scale, nationwide drills named Fadaeeyan-e Harim-e Velayat (Defenders of Velayat Sanctuary).
This is the 10th edition of the drills and it will be held in five airbases across the country. As per Iran’s Army Air Force Commander, all kinds of indigenous and upgraded systems and ammunition, heavy and semi-heavy smart bombs, all kinds of laser-guided and radar-evading missiles will be used during the drills.

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:
Union External Affairs Minister Jaishankar had his first visit to Israel as External Affairs Minister. He visited the country at the invitation of Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
The Minister unveiled a plaque at Ra’anana in northern Israel, in the memory of Indian soldiers who laid down their lives in the Battle of Tabsor during World War I.  The battle was fought in September 1918. India and Israel elevated bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during the visit of PM Modi to Israel in July 2017.

Notes:
According to the 2021 Global Agricultural Productivity Report (GAP Report), total factor productivity (TFP) is growing at an annual rate of 1.36 per cent.
This is below the Global Agricultural Productivity Index, whose annual target is at 1.73 per cent growth to sustainably meet the needs of consumers for food and bio-energy in 2050. TFP tracks changes in how efficiently agricultural inputs such as land, labour, fertiliser and machinery are transformed into outputs like crops and aquaculture products.