Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu government has announced plans to set up India’s first Dugong Conservation Reserve in the Palk Bay on the southeast coast of the state.

Dugong or Sea Cow is an endangered marine mammal that is facing extinction due to habitat loss, sea pollution and loss of seagrass. Dugong is found in Gulf of Mannar, which is a shallow bay area between south eastern tip of Tamil Nadu and western part of Sri Lanka, and at Palk Bay.

Notes:
India’s first satellite and ballistic missile tracking ship named ‘Dhruv’ is set to be commissioned from Visakhapatnam. The ship is built by Hindustan Shipyard in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO).

INS Dhruv can also map ocean beds for research and detection of enemy submarines. This nuclear missile tracking ship will be operated by the Indian Navy with the Strategic Forces Command (SFC).

 

Notes:
5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is being held in Vienna on Sept 7th and 8th. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla reached Vienna to attend the 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament by the Austrian Parliament, Inter-Parliamentary Union and the United Nations. The two-day conference will begin on Sept 7. The World Conference of Speakers of Parliament is held regularly every five years with the goal to reinforce the Parliamentary dimension of global governance.

Notes:
Bank of Baroda has topped the MeitY Digital Payment Scorecard for 2020-21 with a total of 86% marks on the scorecard. The scorecard ranks 44 banks (Public Sector Banks, Private Banks, Foreign Banks, Payments Banks, Small Finance Banks) on various parameters on the digital business.

Notes:
Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy, R. K. Singh met Minister for Climate, Energy & Utilities of Denmark, Dan Jorgensen in New Delhi. It was highlighted that energy transition towards green is an important part of India’s policy. India has set a target of 450 Giga Watt of Renewable Energy capacity by 2030. Currently, India’s whole renewable energy portfolio is at 146 GWIndia is also looking towards making Ladakh, Andaman Nicobar Island and Lakshadweep Island green in energy and transport. Both the ministers jointly launched ‘Centre of Excellence on Offshore Wind’ under the Green Strategic Partnership.

Notes:
World Suicide Prevention Day is observed annually on September 10. The theme this year is “Creating hope through action.” World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is an awareness day observed on 10 September every year, in order to provide worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides, with various activities around the world since 2003. World Suicide Prevention Day is organised by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP).

Notes:
Bank of Baroda has launched its digital banking platform ‘bob World’, aimed at providing all banking services under one roof. bob World’ will offer a wide gamut of banking products and services, to be rolled out in phases, under four key pillars — Save, Invest, Borrow and Shop.

Notes:
Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the pilot drive ‘Main Bhi Digital 3.0’ – A special Campaign for Digital Onboarding and Training for street vendors under PM SVANidhi scheme across 223 cities in the country. BharatPe, Mswipe, PhonePe, Paytm, Aceware are participating in this drive to issue UPI IDs, QR code and provide digital training.

Notes:
In Odisha, Nuakhai, an important agrarian festival in the state was celebrated on 11 September 2021. As per the customary practice, people offer the new grains of crops to the deities before their own consumption. As per rituals, a porridge prepared from a new paddy crop, which is called ‘Nabanna’ is offered to Goddess Samaleswari and blessing is sought for a bumper harvest.

Notes:
Fourteen districts of Chhattisgarh have signed MoUs with the Hyderabad-based Indian Institute of Millets Research to boost production of millets in their respective areas. These millets will be procured through Van Dhan societies of the Chhattisgarh Minor Forest Produce Co-operative Federation, and after processing, will be used in mid-day meal schemes, public distribution system and nutrition programmes. The 14 districts are Kanker, Kondagaon, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Sukma, Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon, Kawardha, Gaurela-Pendra-Marwahi, Balrampur, Koriya, Surajpur and Jashpur.