Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a 100-million-euro ($116 million) mental healthcare drive, including 24-hour suicide helpline.
La Lloreria, or the Crying Room was inaugurated in Madrid, which aims to remove the attached to mental health, crying and seeking help. As per Government Data, In 2019, as many as 3,671 people died from suicide in Spain. One in 10 adolescents has been diagnosed with a mental health condition.

Notes:
The Indian Navy received its 11th P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing. The Navy has signed a contract of 12 P-8Is from Boeing in two batches.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also launched an ‘Integrated Unmanned Road Map for Indian Navy’ at the second edition of the Naval Commanders Conference. This will outline all unmanned aerial and underwater platforms and efforts of the Navy in modernisation.

Notes:
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to host a Hackathon titled “Aadhaar Hackathon 2021”.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and IT on Monday, the Hackathon is themed around two topics. The first theme is “Enrolment and Update”, which covers some of the real-life challenges being faced by the residents while updating their address. The second theme of the Hackathon is around the “Identity and Authentication”, for solutions to prove Identity without sharing the Aadhaar number or any demographics information.

Notes:
India’s Harbhajan Singh and Javagal Srinath have been awarded life membership of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
They have joined sixteen other cricketers who were given the honour this year. Harbhajan is India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests (417 wickets) and more than 700 plus international wickets.  Srinath is an ICC Elite Panel Match Referee at present. He is a fast bowlers with 315 ODI wickets and 236 Test wickets.

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:
Tech Major Microsoft has launched a start-up program called AI Innovate along with an AI Playbook that will help start-ups in the country adopt the technology.
Microsoft has also been involved in two similar programs for agri-tech and health-tech startups. As per a 2020 report by Nasscom, data and AI have the potential to add $500 billion to the economy by 2025 and can account for 10% of the country’s GDP.

Notes:
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has launched a toll-free helpline to help government job aspirants from economically weaker sections (EWS) and backward classes among others.
The toll-free number, 1800118711 will provide assistance to the candidates who have applied or seek to apply for examinations or recruitment. The helpline, which will remain operational on all working days during office hours, is part of celebrations under the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Notes:
India is ranked at 71st position out of 113 countries in the Global Food Security (GFS) Index 2021, with an overall score of 57.2 points. It is a global report released by Economist Impact and Corteva Agriscience.
Ireland, Australia, the UK, Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Canada, Japan, France and the US shared the top rank with the overall GFS score in the range of 77.8 and 80 points on the index. The GFS Index considers 58 unique food security indicators including income and economic inequality.

Notes:
Nabard has recently entered into a MoU with the Assam government for facilitation of Rs 13,200 crore infrastructure projects in the state over a period of three years.
NABARD has also sanctioned Rs 608 crore for different infrastructure projects in rural areas in Assam. The infrastructure projects include rural roads, rural bridges, flood protection projects and soil conservation projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) – XXVII.

Notes:
As per the Union Budget 2021-22, the total public health sector allocation stood at 1.2 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
The FICCI and KPMG in India released a report titled ‘COVID-19 Induced Healthcare Transformation in India’. As per the report, India needs to raise public health spending to 2.5 – 3.5 per cent of GDP to support healthcare transformation. The report also suggests to set up a district level Health System Index.