Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 09,2021

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Army inducted the first production lot of 12 Short Span Bridging System (SSBS)-10m, designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in association with Larsen & Toubro Limited, the production agency.
• The SSBS-10m plays a crucial role of bridging the gaps up to 9.5m as a single span providing a 4m wide, fully decked roadway, ensuring faster movement of the troops.
• The project involved the development of two prototypes of 5m SSBS on Tatra 6×6 chassis and another two prototypes of 10m SSBS on Tatra 8×8 re-engineered chassis.
• This bridging system is compatible with the Sarvatra bridging system (75 m), where the last span required covering gaps less than 9.5 m.
• The DRDO has developed a range of bridges for the Army that have already been inducted.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• The Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways & MSME, Nitin Gadkari, virtually inaugurated India’s first and only paint made from cow dung, under the brand name ‘Khadi Prakritk Paint’.
• In addition to this, the minister also declared himself as the “Brand Ambassador” of paint, to promote it across the country and encourage young entrepreneurs to take up the manufacturing of cow dung paint.
• The Khadi Prakritk Paint automated manufacturing plant has been set up on the campus of Kumarappa National Handmade Paper Institute (KNHPI), Jaipur, which is a unit of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

WHY IN NEWS?

ANSWER: C

The Central Government has formed a nine-member panel for the development of an Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), designed to curb digital monopolies.

• This ONDC project is initiated by the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and will be implemented by the Quality Council of India (QCI).
• The nine-member committee of ONDC will advise the Government of India on measures needed to digitise the entire value chain, standardise operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers, among other things.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Korean Air has been announced the winner of one of the most prestigious honours in the aviation industry: Air Transport World’s (ATW) 2021 Airline of the Year. This year’s award is even more meaningful to Korean Air, as the global industry has been suffering from the unprecedented crisis caused by COVID-19.

• The company’s excellent leadership, its ability to remain operationally profitable through the industry’s worst-ever crisis, its strong commitment to health safety customer service excellence, and its remarkable relationship with employees.”
• The judges also noted the airline’s “transformational strategic deal to incorporate Asiana and create a larger, more global flagship carrier. Korean Air plans to continue to strengthen its position in the global aviation industry and aims to become one of the world’s top 10 airlines after successfully acquiring and integrating Asiana Airlines.

 ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• Legendary Bollywood actor Mohammed Yusuf Khan, known professionally as Dilip Kumar passed away at 98. He was popularly known as the tragedy king of Bollywood. He was last seen in the 1998 film Qila.
• He was the first actor to win the Filmfare Award for Best Actor in 1954 and won it a total of 8 times. He and Shah Rukh Khan jointly hold the record for most Filmfare trophies.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

The Indian Chief of Army Staff (COAS) will inaugurate an Indian Army Memorial in the Cassino town of Italy during an official visit to the U.K. and Italy.

• The memorial commemorates over 3,100 Commonwealth servicemen who took part in the effort to liberate Italy in World War II (1939-1945).
• 900 Indian soldiers were also commemorated on this memorial.

About:

• Three infantry divisions of the Indian Army took part in the Italian campaign. These were the 4^th, 8^thand 10^th Indian Divisions.
  • The first one to land in the country was the 8 Indian Infantry Division that saw action in Iraq and Iran when the British invaded these countries in 1941.
  • The second one arrived was the 4 Indian Division that came to Italy from North Africa in December 1943. In 1944, it was deployed in Cassino.
  • The third, which is the 10 Indian Divisions, was formed in 1941 in Ahmednagar and moved to Italy in 1944.
• Men from the Punjab, and Indian plains, coped with the extremely hostile conditions experienced in Italy.
  • Even the Gurkhas from Nepal struggled with the heavy and persistent rain, and freezing nights in the Italian mountains.
• All three Divisions performed well in the Italian Campaign and were highly respected by the Allied and Axis commanders alike.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, a rare Melanistic Leopard (commonly known as Black Panther) has been recorded in Navegaon-Nagzira Tiger Reserve (NNTR) of Maharashtra.

About:

• Leopards (Panthera Pardus)are either light colored (pale yellow to deep gold or tawny) with black rosettes or with black fur.
• The melanistic leopards, which are either all-black or very dark in coloration, are known as black panthers. It is a color variant of spotted Indian leopards, reported from densely forested areas of south India

Habitat:

• They are mainly in Southwestern China, Burma, Nepal, Southern India, Indonesia, and the southern part of Malaysia.
• In India they can be spotted in the states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra etc.

Threats:

• Habitat loss.
• Collision with vehicles.
• Human encroachment.

Protection Status:

• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
• CITES: Appendix I.
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

After the cases of Delta Variant of Covid-19 continuously rising, a new variant called Lambda Variant (LV) is emerging as a new threat.

• Lambda Variant is dominant in Peru; India has not yet reported any case of LV.

About:

• The strain was first identified in Peru in December 2020. Lambda is the dominant variant in the South American country with 81% samples found to be carrying it.
• Until recently, it was largely concentrated in a handful of South American countries, including Ecuador and Argentina, but since April it has been detected in more than 25 Countries.
• Previously known by its Formal Scientific Name C.37, the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated this variant seventh and the newest Variant of Interest (VOI).
  • Another four have been designated as ‘variants of concern’.