Daily Current Affairs Quiz: July 15,2021

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• The European Championship final pits England and Italy against each other. Italy won 3-2 on penalties. Italy, one of the most decorated teams in the world, has ended a few years of trophy drought.
• England, on the other hand, we’re in uncharted territory. They haven’t even reached a final since 1966. Italy has already reached the final twice in recent years — in 2000 and 2012 — whereas England hasn’t got close until now. Italy’s Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma named player of UEFA EURO 2020.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

A list of new Union Cabinet ministers issued in Tamil Nadu has triggered a debate in political circles, by referring to ‘Kongu Nadu’, the informal name for a region in the western part of the state.

Kongu Nadu

• ‘Kongu Nadu’ is neither a place with a PIN code nor a name given formally to any region. It is a commonly used name for part of western Tamil Nadu.
• In Tamil literature, it was referred to as one of the five regions of ancient Tamil Nadu. There were mentions of ‘Kongu Nadu’ in Sangam literature as a separate territory.
• In the present state of Tamil Nadu, the term is informally used to refer to a region that includes the districts of Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Tirupur, Erode, Karur, Namakkal and Salem, as well as Oddanchatram and Vedasandur in Dindgul district, and Pappireddipatti in Dharmapuri district.
• The name derives from Kongu Vellala Gounder, an OBC community with a significant presence in these districts.
• Unlike Telangana or Uttarakhand, there has never been a demand or discussions about a separate Kongu Nadu in the modern political history of Tamil Nadu.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Key findings of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2021 report

• The FAO report has quoted a study done in 63 low- and middle-income countries covering a population of 3.5 billion on changes in the income of people. It has extrapolated its impact on choice of diets.

Key findings

• Dip in people’s affordability of healthy food: There is a significant dip in people’s affordability for healthy food due to a loss in income. The pandemic led to an additional 141 million people being unable to afford a healthy diet in the countries studied.
• Loss of income & rise in food prices: The primary reason for a dip in affordability is the loss of income. But food price rise has made the situation more acute. By the end of 2020, global consumer food prices were the highest in six years. In the first four months of 2021, they continued to rise.
• Healthy diet costs more: Cost of a healthy diet was 60% more than a diet that just meets “requirements for essential nutrients” and almost five times as much as a diet that just meets “the minimum dietary energy needs through a starchy staple”.

 ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

India is all set to sending a 228-strong contingent to Tokyo Olympics, including 119 athletes

About:

• Of 119 athletes, 67 are male and 52 female participants.
• 119 athletes from 22 states will represent 130 crore Indians in 18 sport disciplines.
• India is fighting for 85 medal events.
• It will be largest ever contingent of athletes from India at Olympics.
• The first contingent for Tokyo will leave on July 17 comprising of 90 athletes and officials.

2020 Summer Olympics

This international multi-sports event, branded as Tokyo 2020, is scheduled to be held from July 23 to August 8, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. Earlier, it was scheduled to take place in 2020 but event was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, event is going to be held largely behind closed doors. No spectators have been permitted under state of emergency. This event retains Tokyo 2020 name even though it has been rescheduled for 2021, for marketing & branding purposes.

NTPC to set up India’s largest solar park at Rann of Kutch

WHY IN NEWS?

ANSWER: C

About:

• This solar park will have the capacity of 4.75 gigawatt (GW).
• It will be set up in Rann of Kutch in Gujarat from where NTPC will also generate green hydrogen on commercial scale.
• NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd got the go-ahead from ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) for this project under “ultra-mega renewable energy power parks (UMREPP) scheme”.
• NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd has also signed pact with Union territory of Ladakh to set up green hydrogen mobility project in region.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

Nepal has inked a USD 1.3 billion deal with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) of India to develop a 679-megawatt hydropower project in eastern Nepal.

About:

• This will be the second mega venture in Nepal, undertaken by India.
• It is the single largest foreign investment project.
• It is based on 2017 cost estimates.
• To develop the project, a memorandum of understanding was signed by Chief Executive Officer of Investment Board of Nepal Sushil Bhatta and Chairman & Managing Director of SJVN Nand Lal Sharma in Kathmandu.
• This hydropower project will be developed under build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) model.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

Bhutan has become first country to adopt Unified Payment Interface (UPI) standards of India for its quick response (QR) code.

About:

• Bhutan after Singapore has become the second country to have BHIM-UPI acceptance at merchant locations.
• International wing of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) called NPCI International Payments Ltd. (NIPL) announced partnership with Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan to implement BHIM UPI QR-based payments in Bhutan.
• Bhutan will also become the only country to issue & accept RuPay cards and accept BHIM-UPI.

Significance of the move

BHIM-UPI is a significant achievement of India in area of fintech. During covid-19 induced lockdown, BHIM-UPI became an effective mechanism of payment. In 2020-21, it processed 22 billion financial transactions of worth rupee 41 lakh crore. In the line, this partnership among NPCI and RMA, is going to benefit 200,000 tourists from India who travel to Bhutan every year.