Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India has revised and eased the rules pertaining to storage and handling of ammonium nitrate and calcium carbide, for improved safety.
This revision comes at the backdrop of the deadly Beirut (capital of Lebanon) explosion which occurred due to storage of 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate at the port for 6 years.

Notes:
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India has recently brought the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021. Under the revised rules, the processing fee levied on educational institutions for filing patents has been reduced by 80%.
This move is aimed to encourage greater participation of the educational institutions in the innovation ecosystem in the country.

Notes:
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released a report titled ‘Fed to Fail? The Crisis of Children’s Diets in Early Life’.
As per the report, only half of children aged 6-23 months are being fed the minimum recommended number of meals a day. Only a third consume the minimum number of food groups they need to prosper. It also revealed that COVID-19 pandemic could worsen the situation.

Notes:
The Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has designed and developed indigenously, a charger for electric vehicles, named AC001. This is taken up for large scale manufacturing by Bharat Electronics.
Presently most of the charging components for electric vehicles are imported. The indigenous development and manufacturing of these components would boost electric mobility in India.

Notes:
The Government of India’s Government e Marketplace (GeM) initiative has been adjudged as the winner of CIPS Excellence in Procurement Awards 2021, under the “Best Use of Digital Technology” category. The award ceremony was held in London, UK.
GeM is a dedicated online marketplace for procurement of goods and services by Govt. Government Organisations, Departments and PSUs.

Notes:
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur addressed the Summit for Information and Democracy on the sidelines of the UNGA organised in New York. He participated in the discussion, by joining from Leh, Ladakh.
The ‘International Partnership for Information and Democracy’ was launched in New York on 26 September 2019. It aims to promote freedom of opinion and expression and access to free, pluralistic and reliable information. The partnership has been signed by 43 States, till date.

Notes:
The World Bank has proposed to fund the ambitious National Rail Plan over the next 30 years. India seeks fund around Rs 40 lakh crore, for 8,000 km of high-speed corridors and another 8,000 km of dedicated freight corridors (DFCs).
The National Rail Plan and the National Infrastructure Pipeline recommend a total of 13 bullet-train corridors across India, Currently, the high-speed railway line from Mumbai to Ahmedabad is being laid with loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Around 3,000 km of two DFCs are being laid with aid from the World Bank in the east and from JICA in the west.

Notes:
After two-thirds of Swiss voters have backed same-sex marriage in a referendum, Switzerland legalised same-sex marriage.
It became the 30th country in the world or one among the last countries in western Europe to do so. Switzerland has allowed same-sex couples to register partnerships since 2007, but some rights are restricted. This measure will allow same-sex couples to adopt unrelated children and for married lesbian couples to have children through sperm donation.

Notes:
The Quarterly Employment Survey (QES) for the Q1 2021-22, prepared by the Labour Bureau has been released by the Union Labour and Employment Minister Bhupender Yadav.
The survey provides the employment related information and data of establishments in organized and unorganized sectors, in 9 selected sectors of the country – Manufacturing, Construction, Trade, Transport, Education, Health, Accommodation and Restaurant, IT/ BPO and Financial Services.

Notes:
The Government of India has proposed to extend the term and applicability of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 till March 2022. The policy was originally to end on 31st March 2020.
The policy was first extended for one year till March 2021 and further to September 2021. For the third time, the term of the policy is proposed to be extended. This was announced by the Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal.