Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 31,2021

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

On 31^st July, 2021 a ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for the distribution of assistive devices and aids to ‘Divyangjan’ will be distributed in Madhya Pradesh.

About:

• Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) along with District Administration Chhindwara and ALIMCO will organize this ‘shivir’ under the ADIP Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
• This ‘shivir’ will be organized in Chhindwara which is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
• In view of the COVID 19 pandemic, a total of 8,291 assistive devices and assistive devices worth Rs 4.32 crore will be distributed to 4146 Divyangjan’s at the Block/Panchayat level for free.
• The opening ceremony will feature the virtual presence of the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan.
• Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Virendra Kumar, will host this function.

About Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment

MoSJE is a ministry of the Government of India. It is responsible for the well-being, social justice and empowerment of socially disadvantaged and marginalized groups, including other backward classes (OBC), scheduled castes (SC), transgender and LGBTQ people, the disabled, the elderly and drug abuse victims. Dr. Virendra Kumar is the current minister of this department.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Mini polyhouse which is a kind of greenhouse will be built under the “Krishikarna” project, launched in Kerala, a joint initiative of the National Society for Agricultural Horticulture (SAHS), the Sustainability Foundation and Qore3 Innovations.

About:

• Although SAHS, a government-recognized cooperative, is involved in promoting agricultural and gardening practices, the Sustainability Foundation, a non-governmental organization based in Thiruvananthapuram, promotes sustainable development.
• Qore3 Innovations is a start-up company that claims to provide “end-to-end support” for farms.
• Under Krishikarna, a small polyhouse will be built on a 2.5 cent land.
• The total estimated cost of each plastic house is Rs 2, 35,000.
• Aneesh N Raj won Kerala’s Best Hi-Tech Farmer Award and is also an agronomist of Qore3 who is implementing Krishikarna’s innovations.
• Unprecedented climate changes have had a negative impact on Kerala’s agriculture. Hence, it is necessary to promote high-tech agricultural practices so that farmers can farm all year
• Qore3 has established more than 30 projects successful high-tech farms in Kerala.

Plan of this project

The plan is to plant Long beans, tomatoes, salad cucumbers, bell peppers, bell peppers, and green leafy vegetables at the mini polyhouses which will be constructed. Krishikarna covers greenhouses, fish and vegetables and mushroom farming. Work on the lands of those farmers who have signed up for this project has already begun, and seeds can be sown within a few weeks

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population on July 27, 2021, confirmed the detection of the mutant Kappa variant (B.1.617.1) of COVID-19’s Delta variant. Nepal had already confirmed the presence of Alpha and Delta variants in the country.

What is Kappa variant (B.1.617.1)?

• The Kappa (B.1.617.1) and Delta (B.1.617.2) variants are the mutants of the B.1.617 variant that was earlier commonly referred to as the Double Mutant or ‘Indian variant’.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified the Kappa variant as Variant of Interest (VoI).

Why were the COVID-19 variants labelled?

• In order to end the linkage of the variants with origin countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) named these variants after the letters of the Greek alphabet.
• As per WHO, the new naming system aims at making the discussion of variants as simple, easy to say, and remember as possible.

Naming of different COVID-19 variants

• The UK variant (B.1.1.7) was named Alpha, the South Africa variant (B.1.351) was named Beta, and the Brazil variant (P.1) was named Gamma.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

An 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the Alaskan Peninsula. As per the United States Geological Survey, it has prompted a Tsunami warning in parts of Alaska.

Alaska earthquake: History

• In March 1964, Alaska was hit by a 9.2 magnitude earthquake, which was the strongest ever recorded in North America. 
• It had devastated Anchorage and had unleashed a Tsunami that had slammed the Gulf of Alaska, the US West Coast. More than 250 people were killed by the tsunami and the quake.
• A 7.5 magnitude earthquake had also caused the tsunami waves on the Southern Coast in Alaska in October 2020; however, no casualties were reported.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

The world’s largest star sapphire cluster has been found by accident in a backyard in Sri Lanka. The newly found rock is named the ‘Serendipity Sapphire’.

Discovery of largest star sapphire:

During the cleaning process of the cluster, a few stones fell out and were found to be of high-quality star sapphires, a pale blue in color.

The experts, however, have warned that though the specimen found has a high carat value of 2.5 million, it is a probability that all the stones inside the found cluster may not be of high quality.

A renowned gemologist, Dr. Gamini Zoysa, said that he has never seen such a large specimen before and that this was probably formed before 400 million years ago.

What will happen to the newfound Star Sapphire Cluster?

The official of the National Gem and Jewellery Authority of Sri Lanka said that it is a special Star Sapphire specimen, probably the biggest in the world.

Given the size and the value of the Sapphire, it might be of interest to private collectors or museums.

About Star Sapphire:

A Star Sapphire is a type of sapphire that exhibits a star-like phenomenon called asterism.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

The Environment Minister has recently released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’. The report points out that India’s official leopard count increased 63 percent from 2014-2018.

About:

• The Environment Minister has recently released the report ‘Status of Leopards, Co-predators and Megaherbivores-2018’. The report points out that India’s official leopard count increased 63 percent from 2014-2018.

Key findings of the report:

• The report mentions that in 2014, the number of leopards in India was 7,910. The number of leopards in 2018 rose to 12,852. This is a 63 percent increase in leopard count.

Why separate leopard census is necessary?

One could not ‘piggyback leopard surveys on tiger surveys, because there were vast areas where the distributions of the two species did not overlap.

About Indian Leopard or Common Leopard:

• The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a leopard subspecies widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. These are the smallest of the big cats, known for their ability to adapt to a variety of habitats.
• Vegetation: In India, the leopard is found in all forest types, from tropical rainforests to temperate deciduous and alpine coniferous forests. It is also found in dry scrubs and grasslands, the only exception being desert and the mangroves of Sundarbans.
• Distribution: Its range stretches from the Indus river in the west, the Himalayas in the north, and all the way to the lower course of the Brahmaputra in the east.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Red List: Vulnerable
  • Wildlife (Protection)Act,1972: Schedule I
  • CITES: Appendix I

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

The Central Government has announced that it will provide 27% reservation for OBCs and 10% reservation for the economically weaker section (EWS). It will be provided under the All India Quota (AIQ) scheme for undergraduate and postgraduate medical/dental courses in state medical and dental colleges from 2021-22.

About All India Quota(AIQ) Scheme:

• The All India Quota (AIQ) Scheme was introduced in 1986 under the direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
• Purpose: It provides for domicile-free merit-based opportunities to students from any State to aspire to study in a good medical college located in another State.
• All India Quota consisted of 15% of total available UG seats and 50% of total available PG seats in government medical colleges.
• Initially, there was no reservation in the AIQ Scheme up to 2007. In 2007, the Supreme Court introduced a reservation of 15% for SCs and 7.5% for STs in the AIQ Scheme.
• Moreover, when the Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act became effective in 2007 providing for uniform 27% reservation to OBCs, the same was implemented in all the Central Educational Institutions.
• However, this was not extended to the AIQ seats of State medical and dental colleges. This has been done now.

Significance of this decision:

• OBC and EWS students from across the country will now be able to take advantage of this reservation in the AIQ scheme to compete for seats in any state.
• Moreover, being a central scheme, the central list of OBCs shall be used for this reservation.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Union Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs have informed that about 88,236 govt-funded vacant houses are available. They can be converted into Affordable Rental Housing Complexes under the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Scheme.

About Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Scheme:

• Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) is a Sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana- Urban (PMAY-U) to provide affordable rental housing to urban migrants/ poor close to their workplace.

Objectives:

• To address the vision of ‘AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ significantly by creating a sustainable ecosystem of affordable rental housing solutions for urban migrants/poor.
• To achieve the overall objective of “Housing for All” encompassing the need for affordable rental housing for urban migrants/poor.
• Also, to create a conducive environment by incentivizing Public/Private Entities to leverage investment in rental housing.

Duration:

• ARHCs to be considered till PMAY (U) Mission period, i.e. March 2022.

Beneficiaries:                                                                

• Beneficiaries for ARHCs will be varied groups of urban migrants/ poor from EWS/ LIG categories including industrial & construction workers, migrants working with market/ trade associations, educational/ health institutions, hospitality sector, long-term tourists/ visitors, students, etc.

Implementation Strategy: The ARHCs will be built through a two-pronged strategy: –

• Strategy-1: Utilizing existing Government funded vacant houses to convert into ARHCs through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) or by Public Agencies.
• Strategy-2: Construction, Operation & Maintenance of ARHCs by Public/ Private Entities on their own available vacant land.