Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
Kasai River is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It was seen in the news because the Kasai River had turned red recently.

The bodies of hippos and dead fish were seen floating in the river. The pollution was first detected in a tributary of the Kasai River, named the Tshikapa. The Kasai is a tributary of the Congo River. The pollution originates from a major spill at three mining facilities around in Angola. Researchers also fear the potential for lasting contamination of groundwater.

Notes:
At the 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), the Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak met virtually.

They signed a USD 1.2-billion package of public and private investment in green projects and renewable energy. A new Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership has been agreed to mobilise private capital into sustainable infrastructure in India.

Notes:
Guinea, the west African nation is a major global supplier of bauxite, which is crucial for the manufacturing of aluminum and iron ore.

Guinea exported 82.4 million tons of bauxite in 2020, making it the world’ largest exporters. Almost all bauxite is used to make alumina, which is used primarily to make aluminum. Aluminum prices rose to their highest level in 10 years after a military coup in Guinea threatened to damage the supply chain.

Notes:
In a survey conducted by the Morning Consult, the Indian Prime Minister has obtained an approval rating of 70 per cent. The survey calculates the approval and disapproval rating of global leaders, based on a 7-day moving average of adults in each country, which is analysed by online interviews.

Indian PM’s approval rating is highest among 13 global leaders polled in the survey and is ahead of the heads of Mexico, Italy, Germany, UK etc.

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:
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India GC Murmu has been elected as the Chairman of the Assembly of Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) from 2024-2027 with India set to host the 16th Assembly of ASOSAI in 2024.

Notes:
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav has virtually inaugurated the first functional smog tower in India at Anand Vihar, Delhi. A smog tower is a structure designed as large/medium scale air purifiers to reduce air pollution, usually by forcing the air through filters. The tower has been built by Tata Projects Limited with NBCC (India) Ltd. as the project management consultant.

Notes:
Union environment minister, Bhupendra Yadav has launched a portal called PRANA on September 7, 2021. PRANA Portal will be used to track the progress of the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in order to comply with India’s commitment to ensure clean air and blue skies to everybody. This portal was launched on the occasion of ‘International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies’ in non-attainment cities (NAC). Non-attainment cities are those cities that failed to meet the National air quality standards in a five-year period.

Notes:
UCO Bank has partnered with Finwizard Technology, which runs Fisdom, to offer wealth management products and services via its mBanking Plus App. Under this collaboration, customers of UCO bank can make seamless investments in mutual funds via its mBanking Plus App. Kolkata-based UCO Bank is one of the leading public sector banks in India with over 3 crore customers Currently, the bank has around 22,000 employees and 3,069 pan India branches with overseas presence in Hong Kong, Singapore and Iran.

Notes:
International Literacy Day is observed and celebrated widely every year on September 8. The first International Literacy Day was observed in the year 1967. This date was declared as International Literacy Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in the year 1966. This day is observed to remind the international community about the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies.  International Literacy Day also highlights the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies. In 2021, the theme is ‘Literacy for a human-centred recovery: Narrowing the digital divide’.