Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 7, 2021

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Union Cabinet has approved the continuation of 1,023 fast track special courts, including 389 exclusive POCSO courts, as a centrally sponsored scheme for another two years.
• Union minister Anurag Thakur said out of 31 states and union territories, 28 have started the scheme. West Bengal is one of the states which has not started the scheme.
• The scheme would continue from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2023, with an outlay of Rs 1572.86 crore — Rs 971.70 crore as central share and Rs 601.16 crore as state share. The central share is to be funded from the ‘Nirbhaya’ Fund. The scheme was launched on October 2, 2019.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• Indian Naval Ship Khanjar becomes the first Indian Navy ship to call at the heritage coastal port of Gopalpur in Odisha. The two-day visit was organised as part of Aazadi ka Amrit Mahotsav as well as Swarnim Vijay Varsh celebrations to commemorate the 75th anniversary of Independence and the 50th anniversary of the 1971 War.
• The visit of the ship was aimed at enhancing ties and spreading awareness with the local populace on aspects of coastal security and maritime operations. During the visit, ship’s officers interacted with Port Officials and discussed aspects related to berthing facilities for OTR of Naval ships and security overview of port infrastructure.
• The ship’s team also undertook a cleanup drive at Gopalpur beach and tree plantation in the port premises. In addition, books and dry provisions were distributed to Samarth Orthopedically Handicapped Welfare Association, at Chatrapur in Ganjam district.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Indian Econometric Society (TIES) Trust has selected two renowned economic scholars for the Prof. C.R. Rao Centenary Gold Medal award. Renowned economists Jagdish Bhagwati and C Rangarajan have been conferred with the inaugural Prof CR Rao Centenary Gold Medal (CGM).
• Bhagwati is a professor of economics, law and international relations at Columbia University while C Rangarajan is the former chairman of the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister and former governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
• TIES Trust had constituted a jury to shortlist the awardees. Based on the jury’s recommendations, it announced that inaugural award to two distinguished scholars. The medal is presented once in two years to an Indian or Indian-origin scholar for lifetime contributions to the fields of theoretical and applied aspects of quantitative economics and official statistics.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• Indian men’s hockey team defeated Germany to win their first-ever Olympic medal in 41 years. India wins the bronze medal in men’s hockey after beating Germany 5-4 at Tokyo Olympics.
• Before this podium finish for bronze, India last climbed up the Olympic podium in 1980, when it won its 8th gold at the Games.
• Simranjeet Singh scored two goals for India at the Oi Hockey Stadium, along with Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh also adding their names on the scoresheet.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• Indian wrestler Ravi Kumar Dahiya bagged the silver medal after losing in the final of men’s 57kg freestyle category to Russian Olympic Committee’s (ROC) Zavur Uguev.
• This is India’s fifth medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the second silver of the campaign.
• Ravi Kumar is the fifth Indian wrestler after KD Jadhav, Sushil Kumar, Yogeshwar Dutt, and Sakshi Malik to finish on the Olympic podium.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• Padma Shri awardee and noted author Padma Sachdev, the first modern woman poet of Dogri language, passed away. She received the Padma Shri, the country’s fourth-highest civilian award, in 2001 and was awarded the Kabir Samman for poetry for 2007-08 by the Madhya Pradesh government.
• She authored many books in Dogri and Hindi, and her poetry collections, including ‘Meri Kavita Mere Geet’, won her the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1971.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• Supreme Court of India on August 3, 2021, held that the Governor of state can pardon prisoners, including in the death sentence cases. Governor can pardon the prisoners even before they have completed a minimum of 14 years of prison sentence.
• Court also said that the Governor’s power to pardon overrides a provision given under Section 433A of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
• Section 433A mandates that the sentence of the prisoner can be remitted only after 14 years of jail. The court observed that Section 433-A of the Code cannot and does not affect the constitutional power of the President or Governor to grant pardon under Articles 72 or 161 of the Constitution.
• Such power is in the exercise of the power of the sovereign. However, Governor will have to act on the aid and advice of the State Government.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

• A 19-year old Pakistani climber Shehroze Kashif became the youngest person in the world to reach the summit of K2, the second-highest peak in the world.
• Shehroze Kashif from Lahore achieved the feat of scaling the 8,611-metre high peak with the aid of bottled oxygen.
• Before Kashif, Sajid Sadpara, the son of the legendary climber Muhammad Ali Sadpara, was the youngest person to have climbed K2 at the age of 20.
• Kashif also scaled the world’s 12th-highest mountain, the 8,047-meter Broad Peak, at the age of 17. In May this year, he became the youngest Pakistani to scale Mount Everest.
• Pakistan, Nepal, and China are home to the 14 highest peaks in the world, also known as the 8,000ers. Five 8,000-metre peaks, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, are in Pakistan.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• The IndusInd Bank has been empanelled by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to act as an ‘Agency Bank’. As an Agency Bank, IndusInd becomes eligible to carry out transactions related to all kinds of government-led businesses.
• This decision is based on the RBI guideline that authorises scheduled private sector banks as agency banks of the regulator for the conduct of government business.
• IndusInd Bank now joins few other private banks of the country listed as Agency Bank of RBI, to carry out general banking business on behalf of the central and state government, apart from offering its customers the convenience of undertaking routine financial transactions through its banking platform.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• European Space Agency (ESA)launched ‘Eutelsat Quantum’, the world’s 1st commercial reprogrammable satellite into space aboard Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana. It is a fully flexible software-defined satellite.
• The satellite has been developed under a European Space Agency partnership project with satellite operator Eutelsat, Airbus & Surrey Satellite Technology.
• Eutelsat Quantum is a UK flagship project with most of the satellites developed and manufactured by British industry.
• Airbus is the prime contractor and was responsible for building the satellite’s innovative payload, while Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd manufactured the new platform. The innovative phase array antenna was developed by Airbus in Spain.