Answer: D

• India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) GC Murmu selected as an external auditor to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). His term will be for 3 years, starting in 2021.
• OPCW is an intergovernmental organisation and the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention. This convention is in force since 1997 and 193 members. Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands.

Answer: A

• Around 30 Countries from across the oceans have joined the GloLitter Partnerships Project to tackle marine plastic litter.
• GloLitter Partnerships Project was launched by the International Maritime Organization(IMO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO).
• The Government of Norway provided initial funding for the project.
• Aim: The project aims to help the maritime transport and fishing sectors to adapt to a low-plastic future. To achieve this goal, this initiative will assist developing countries to apply best practices for prevention, reduction, and control of marine plastic litter from those sectors.
• Participating Countries: 30 Countries will be participating in the project. India is one of the participating countries.

ANSWER: B

• The United States Trade Representative recently released the Special Report 301.
• According to the report, India has been put on the “Priority Watch List” along with eight other countries. Another twenty-three countries were also put on “Watch List”.
• It is published under Section 301 of Trade Act of 1974 and hence the name. It is being published since 1989. The report basically lists the countries that do not provide sufficient IP rights to American companies.

Answer: B

• The Uttarakhand government has suspended the Char DhamYatra, which was scheduled to begin in May. Only priests will perform the rituals inside the shrines.
• The Chota Char Dham is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit located in the Indian Himalayas, in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand.
• The circuit consists of four sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath.

Answer: C

• The Indian Navy recently launched Operation Samudra Setu II. The operation will aid in fulfilling oxygen requirements of the country.

About the operation

• Under the operation, warships have been deployed to carry liquid oxygen filled cryogenic containers.
• Important ships currently deployed in Operation Samudra Setu II : INS Talwar, INS Kolkata, INS Airavat, INS Jalashwa etc.
• This operation will augment the Oxygen Express mission that is already operating under Indian Railways.

Answer: B

• Lag B’Omer is an annual Jewish festival. It is celebrated in the Hebrew month of Iyar (Iyar is a month of 29 days. Iyar usually falls in April–May on the Gregorian calendar). The Lag B’Omer celebrations are associated with bonfires.
• Recently, more than forty-four people died here due to a stampede (in Meron of Israel). They were gathered at the reputed tomb of Shimon Bar Yochai for Lag B’Omer.
• Lag B’Omer commemorates two historic events of the Jewish history. They are the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Hewas one of the greatest teachers of Jewish Law and ethics) and also the death anniversary of 24,000 students of Akiva Ben Yosef (Jewish Sage). The students died of plague.

Answer: A

• The Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Awards was recently presented. These awards were introduced by Government of India in 1969.

2021 Awards

• Best Actor (Female): Deepika Padukone
• Best Actor (Male): Akshay Kumar
• Best International Feature Film: Parasite
• Best Director: Anurag Basu
• Best Film: Tanhaji

The late actor Sushant Singh Rajput won the “Critics Best Actor”. Actor Rajni Kanth is also being conferred with the award this year. He had already received Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. He has spent more than forty five years in the film industry.

• The Olive Ridley Turtles in 2021 are staying away from the Rushikulya river. Millions of Olive Ridley turtle nest near the mouth of Rushikulya river. The nesting time of Olive Ridley turtles is between January and May. This year, they are yet to begin their nesting. In 2020, they began nesting in March.
• The turtle is known for its unique mass nesting sites called the Arribadas. During Arribadas, thousands of females come together to lay eggs on the same beach.
• They have been categorised as “Vulnerable” under the IUCN Red List. The CITES has included them under Appendix I. The Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 has included them under Schedule I.