Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

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:
As per media reports, China’s military conducted two hypersonic weapons tests recently. China first tested a rocket using ‘Factional orbital bombardment system (FOBS), to launch a hypersonic glide vehicle capable of carrying nuclear weapons.
China is also reported to have conducted a second hypersonic test in August. However, the Foreign Ministry of China cited the test as a routine spacecraft test to verify the technology of the spacecraft’s reusability.

Notes:
In a first, doctors at a health centre in New York temporarily transplanted a pig`s kidney onto a human.
It is considered as a significant step toward Animal-to-human organ transplants, known as xenotransplantations. The doctors altered the pig`s genes, to avoid immediate rejection from the human immune system due to the presence of a sugar molecule in pig cells called Glycan.

Notes:
Every year, the Uttar Pradesh state conducts State-level Sugarcane competition to award farmers for high yield per hectare.
This year, a farmer from western Uttar Pradesh has won the State cane competition with a sugarcane yield of 2,635 quintal per hectare. The award is given in four categories namely: ratoon, early plant, general plant and drip irrigation.

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:
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:
Besides the well-known tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus, another species of this genus, Aedes koreicus, is expanding throughout Europe.
A paper published recently claims that the dangerous mosquitos have been spreading towards southwest Italy since they were found in the north in 2011. The expansion of foreign mosquito species has caused worries in Europe due to spread of diseases.

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:
HDFC Bank, Mastercard and USAID has committed a sum of $100-mn credit facility for small businesses in India.
The new credit facility aims to expand lending to small businesses that need financing to maintain and grow their operations. It also lays emphasis on supporting women-led businesses and focus more on digitization of banking services.