Daily Current Affairs Quiz: June 28,2021

ANSWER: A

Why in news ?

• Former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia was named a member of a high-level Advisory Group formed by the World Bank and IMF.
• The group will be jointly led by Mari Pangestu, Ceyla Pazarbasioglu and Lord Nicholas Stern. The group was formed by the World Bank and IMF in the face of the dual crisis posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
• Mari Pangestu is Managing Director for Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu is Director, Strategy, Policy and Review Department, International Monetary Fund. The group will also include Gita Gopinath. Gita Gopinath as an Economic Counsellor and Director of the Research Department at the IMF.

ANSWER: C

Why in news ?

• Bengaluru has been named as the most liveable city of India, in the Ease of Living Index 2020, released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
• The Ease of Living Index 2020 is part of the report titled State of India’s Environment 2021. Bengaluru is followed by Chennai, Shimla, Bhubaneshwar, and Mumbai, as the top five best cities respectively.
• The report focused on four parameters to determine the ease of living index score of each city, which are: quality of life, economic ability, sustainability and citizens’ perceptions.
• Each city was rated out of 100 in all parameters.
• The Ease of Living Index 2020 is the second edition of the index after the first one was launched in 2018.

ANSWER: C

Why in news ?

• According to ‘Annual Bank Statistics of 2020’ released by Swiss National Bank (SNB), the Central Bank of Switzerland.
• India with Swiss Francs (CHF) 2.55 billion (INR 20,706 Crore) has been placed at 51st place in the list of foreign clients’ money in Swiss Banks during 2020. The United Kingdom (UK) topped the list with CHF 377 billion, followed by the US (152 billion).
• India was ahead of countries like New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary, Mauritius, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in terms of foreign clients’ money in Swiss banks.
• Funds held by Indian individuals and firms in Swiss banks raised over 2.55 billion Swiss francs (over Rs 20,700 crore) in 2020 marking the highest level in 13 years.
• The figures stood at a record high of nearly CHF 6.5 billion in 2006, after which it has been mostly on a downward path, except for a few years including in 2011, 2013, and 2017, as per the Swiss National Bank (SNB) data.

ANSWER: B

Why in news ?

• Max Verstappen (Netherlands-Red Bull) has won the 2021 French Grand Prix. This race is the seventh round of the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship.
• With this win, Max Verstappen has 131 points and now leads Lewis Hamilton (119 points) in the Formula One drivers’ title race, after seven matches. Lewis Hamilton (Britain-Mercedes) stood second and Sergio Perez (Mexico- Red Bull) stood third.

ANSWER: A

Why in news ?

European Space Agency is set to hire and launch world’s first physically disabled astronaut.

Key points

It is going to be 22-member space programme for which decennial recruitment call for astronauts.  It received 22,000 applicants. Space mission will ESA’s 7-billion-euro budget mission and is a third of NASA’s. Seven or eight launches in a year are dwarfed by 40 launches by United States.

How Space Missions are evolving?

Space is developing fast. Different space agencies are refashioning their outlining plans to refresh space missions.  Founder of Amazon, Bezos hopes, will become the first man to go into space on his own rocket in July 2021. This highlights the role that tech billionaires are playing in space field which was once dominated by public agencies.

European Space Agency (ESA)

ESA is an intergovernmental organization comprising of 22 member states. The agency, established in 1975, is dedicated to exploration of space. It is headquartered in Paris. Its space flight programme includes human spaceflight, launch & operation of unmanned exploration missions to other planets & Moon, Earth observation, science & telecommunication etc.

ANSWER: A

Why in news ?

As per Karnataka government, work on ‘Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project’ will start in month of September 2021. Project is expected to be completed by 2026.

Highlights

• Project will be completed at an estimated cost of Rs 15,767 crore.
• It is being considered as India’s most integrated rail project.
• Project will connect Bengaluru with its suburbs through a rail-based rapid-transit system.
• This project has been a dream of Karnataka governments since 1983.

Background

Bengaluru Suburban Rail Project was proposed by Karnataka government in 1983. It was first proposed by an expert team from Southern Railway (then Bengaluru was under purview of Southern Railway). Its proposal was submitted as Karnataka’s first Transportation Survey which was commissioned by the then Chief Minister R Gundu Rao.

Aim of the project

Project was proposed with the aim of linking Bengaluru to its suburbs, satellite townships and surrounding rural areas by rail-based rapid-transit system. It is expected air-conditioned and metro-like trains will run across the network. It will also provide a fast, safe and more comfortable mode of travel to rural and urban commuters.