Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 27,2021

ANSWER: C

The Public Health England (PHE) on July 16, 2021, showed that England is witnessing an increase in the number of cases of the vomiting bug Norovirus from the end of May to July.

In routine surveillance, it was revealed that the outbreak of the virus has mostly been in nursery and childcare facilities. Around 154 outbreaks of Norovirus have been reported in the past 5 weeks

What is Norovirus?

• Norovirus is known as the winter vomiting bug. Norovirus is described as a very contagious virus that causes sudden onset of vomiting and diarrhea.

People of any age group can contract the virus. The virus is easily transmitted through direct contact with infected individuals or surfaces. However, the infection passes in few days.

What are the symptoms of Norovirus?

• The symptoms of Norovirus emerge within 24-48 hours of getting infected.
• Sudden nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• High temperature,
• Abdominal pain
• Sore limbs

How does Norovirus spread?

• Norovirus is highly contagious. One can get infected with Norovirus:
• Direct contact with someone infected or sick with Norovirus
• Touching surfaces or objects contaminated with the virus then touching your mouth
• Consuming contaminated water or food

How to prevent the spread of Norovirus?

• Washing hands thoroughly and frequently with soap and water.
• Wash all contaminated clothes or beddings with soap or detergent.
• If infected, avoid cooking meals until 48 hours after recovering from infection.
• Disinfect the exposed areas with bleach-based cleaner and hot water. Also wipe clean objects such as telephones, toilets, door handles, taps, and other exposed areas.

ANSWER: A

Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu bagged a silver medal in the women’s 49-kg category at the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on July 24, 2021.

In four successful attempts, 26-year-old Chanu lifted a total of 202-kg, 115-kg in clean and jerk and 87-kg in snatch. With this win, Chanu has now become the second Indian weightlifter to win an Olympic medal. Karnam Malleswari had won the bronze medal in the 69-kg category at the 2000 Sydney Games when the weightlifting sport was first opened to women.

ANSWER: D

Sunseap Group’s floating solar farm will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island, Indonesia spanning around 1,600 hectares. It will be the largest solar floating farm in the world.

About:

Sunseap Group in Singapore has announced that it plans to spend $2 billion to build the world’s largest floating solar farm and the energy storage system in Batam, a neighboring Indonesian city, which will double its renewable power generation capacity.

Sunseap in a statement mentioned that the floating photovoltaic system is expected to have a capacity of 2.2 gigawatt-peak (GWp).

The Co-founder and Chief Executive of Sunseap, Frank Phuan said that this single project will double the group’s entire portfolio. More importantly, it will build Sunseap’s capability towards hyper-scale solar and energy storage projects.

A Memorandum of Understanding was also signed for the project between Singapore’s Sunseap Group and Batam Indonesia Free Zone Authority, Badan Pengusahaan Batam (BP Batam).

Floating solar systems: Significance

Sunseap’s Frank Phuan said that the floating solar systems will go a long way to address the land constraints that the urbanized parts of Southeast Asia Face in tapping renewable energy.

Phuan further added that the hyper-scale project can also pave the way for similar green energy projects in south-east Asia.

The expansion of the floating solar projects will present an interesting new front in a race to meet the demand for zero-emissions electricity supply for Singapore.

Location of the world’s largest floating solar farm:

The floating solar farm will be located on the Duriangkang Reservoir in Batam Island, Indonesia spanning around 1,600 hectares. It will be the largest solar floating farm in the world.

The reservoir serves as a source of freshwater to Batam Island, which sits just 20 km from Singapore.

The placement of the farm on the reservoir will also have an additional benefit of reducing evaporation. At the same time, the proximity of water will also allow the solar farm to operate at lower temperatures as well as improve overall efficiency

ANSWER: B

Chief Hydrographer of India Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar. Was conferred with the prestigious Alexander Dalrymple award by the British Government. The award recognizes Badhwar’s work in the areas of hydrography and nautical cartography.

Vice Admiral Vinay Badhwar received the award from British High Commissioner Alex Ellis at a brief ceremony.

ANSWER: A

Recently, the Assam Cabinet announced that Gaon Buras, village-level functionaries of the district administration, will be called ‘Gaon Pradhans’.

• The government has reasoned that a number of young men (and women) become Gaon Buras, and thus, the word ‘Bura’ (meaning old in Assamese) is no longer appropriate.

About:

• Gaon Buras are the village headmen. They are the eyes, nose, and ear of the district administration at the village level.
• There are about 6,000 Gaon Buras in Assam. Women ‘Gaon Buras’ are not very common and they take over, if their husbands die.

ANSWER: D

Recently, India in partnership with International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) celebrated Asadha Poornima Dhamma Chakra Day 2021.

• The day is also observed as Guru Poornima by both Buddhists and Hindus as a day to mark reverence to their Gurus.

About:

• It commemorates Buddha’s first sermon to his first five ascetic disciples. He gave his first knowledge to the world after attaining enlightenment.
• The day marks the establishment of the Sangha, on a full-moon day of the month of Asadha, in the Indian Sun calendar at the ‘Deer Park’, Ṛṣipatana in the current day Sarnath, near Varanasi, India.
  • It is also known as Esala Poya in Sri Lanka and Asanha Bucha in Thailand.
  • It is the second most sacred day for Buddhists after the Buddha Poornima or Vesak.
• This teaching of Dhamma Chakka- PavattanaSutta (Pali) or Dharma chakra Pravartana Sutra (Sanskrit) is also known as the First Turning of Wheels of Dharma and comprises the Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path.
  • Four Noble Truths:
    • Suffering (dukkha) is the essence of the world.
    • Every suffering has a cause – Samudya.
    • Suffering could be extinguished – Nirodha.
    • It can be achieved by following the Atthanga Magga (Eightfold Path)

ANSWER: A

The Indian Science Technology and Engineering facilities Map (I-STEM) project has been accorded an extension for five years, until 2026 and enters its second phase with added features.

About:

• I-STEM is a National Web portal for sharing R&D (Research and Development) facilities.
• The portal facilitates researchers to access slots for the use of equipment, as well as to share the details of the outcomes, such as, patents, publications and technologies.

Launch:

• Launched in January 2020. It is an initiative of Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India under the aegis of Prime Minister Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) mission.
  • PM-STIAC: It is an overarching Council that facilitates the Principal Scientific Adviser’s Office to assess the status in specific science and technology domains, comprehend challenges in hand, formulate specific interventions, develop a futuristic roadmap and advise the Prime Minister accordingly.

Goal:

• The goal of I-STEM is to strengthen the R&D ecosystem of the country by connecting researchers with resources.
• Promoting technologies and scientific equipment development indigenously, and providing necessary supplies and support to researchers by enabling them an access to existing publicly funded R&D facilities in the country through the I-STEM web portal.

Phase-II:

• The portal will host indigenous technology products listed through a digital catalogue. It will also host and provide access to selected R&D (Research and Development) software required to undertake research projects by students and scientists.
• The portal will also provide a platform for the various City Knowledge and Innovation Clusters to enhance effective use of R&D infrastructure through leveraging collaboration and partnership built on a shared STI (Science Technology and Innovation) ecosystem.
• New phase will be designed as a dynamic digital platform that will provide a boost to research and innovation especially for 2 tier and 3 tier cities and also for the emerging start-up ecosystem.

ANSWER: C

13 years old Japanese skateboarder Momiji Nishiya won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She became one of the youngest gold medalists ever at the Olympic Games.

About:

• Nishiya won the gold on 26^thJuly, 2021 in the women’s street competition which debuted for the first time in Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• Yuto Horigome of Japan won the men’s competition on 25^thJuly, 2021. This makes Japan the gold medal holder in both the categories.
• Nishiya landed her tricks perfectly to beat out Brazil’s Rayssa Leal, also just 13 years of age.
• Over 50% of the women participating in the final competition were in their teens.
• Funa Nakayama of Japan, who clinched the bronze medal, is 16 years of age.
• Both Leal and Nishiya are the youngest ever medalists for their respective countries of Brazil and Japan.

Who is the youngest gold medalist?

Marjorie Gestring, of the USA, is the youngest gold medal winner of the Olympics. At the 1936 Berlin Games, she dominated the women’s diving competition. During that time she was only 13 years and 268 days old.

Conclusion

The participants told that they wish to see even more participants in the women’s category in the future Olympic Games