Daily Current Affairs Quiz: October 12,2021

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending widespread use of the RTS,S/AS01 (RTS,S) malaria vaccine among children in sub-Saharan Africa and in other regions with moderate to high P. falciparum malaria transmission.
• The recommendation is based on results from an ongoing pilot programme in Ghana, Kenya & Malawi that has reached more than 800 000 children since 2019.
• The vaccine is developed by British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Many vaccines exist against viruses and bacteria but this was the first time that the WHO recommended broad use of a vaccine against a human parasite.
• The vaccine acts against Plasmodium falciparum, one of five parasite species and the most deadly. The symptoms of malaria are fever, headaches, and muscle pain, then cycles of chills, fever, and sweating.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• At the 2021 World Wrestling Championships, Indian wrestler Anshu Malik created history as she became the first Indian women finalist at the World Championship, and also the first female player from India to claim a silver medal.
• The 19-year old Anshu settled for a silver medal after losing to 2016 Olympic champion Helen Lousie Maroulis of the United States in a 57kg freestyle bout.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

International Energy Agency (IEA) has invited India to become its full-time member.

About:

• This membership invitation was given in the light that, India is world’s third-largest energy consumer.
• If this proposal is accepted, it will require India to increase its strategic oil reserved to 90 days requirement.
• Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri held discussions with IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. During the discussion, IEA executive director invited India to deepen its cooperation with IEA by becoming its full member.

India as associate member

India became an associate member of the IEA in March 2017. IEA is a Paris-based body that advises industrialised nations regarding the energy policies. In January 2021, IEA members & India agreed to enter into a strategic partnership in order to strengthen their collaboration with respect to energy security and clean energy transition.

IEA report

• According to IEA report, India is becoming increasingly influential in global energy sector.
• India’s demand for energy is set to increase rapidly in the coming decades, particularly the electricity use.
• India’s reliance on fuel imports will make the improving energy security a key priority for Indian economy.

IEA members

IEA comprises of 30 member countries and eight associate nations. Four countries are seeking for a full membership namely, Colombia, Chile, Israel and Lithuania.

Conditions for IEA members

As per IEA, a member country must maintain “crude oil and/or product reserves equal to 90 days of net imports in previous year. For this purpose, government has immediate access and it can be used to address disruptions in global oil supply. The current strategic oil reserves are equal to 9.5 days of its requirement, in India. Furthermore, the IEA members has to show “a demand restraint programme for reducing national oil consumption by up to 10%.

About IEA

IEA was founded in 1974 by industrialised countries under the framework of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

German rail operator, Deutsche Bahn and industrial group, Siemens launched the first automated & driverless train of the world on October 11, 2021.

About:

• The self-driving train was launched in the city of Hamburg.
• This train is more punctual and energy efficient as compared to traditional trains.
• Country has planned to add four such trains to the S-Bahn rapid urban rail network of northern city.
• These trains will start carrying passengers from December on the existing rail infrastructure.
• Other cities such as Paris have driverless metros on the other hand, airports often have automated monorail trains plying terminals. However, these trains run on exclusive single tracks while the Hamburg train will share tracks with other regular trains.

World’s first self-driving train

This project is being developed by ‘Siemens and Deutsche Bahn’. It is being dubbed as “world first”. The project is part of a 60-million-euro modernisation of rapid urban rail system of Hamburg. These automated trains will offer a reliable service without laying a single kilometre of new track. These trains can transport “up to 30 percent more passengers”. Besides improving the punctuality, these trains will save more than 30 percent of energy.

Who will run the trains?

Though the train is controlled by digital technology and is fully automated. But a driver will sit on the train to supervise journeys of the passengers on board.

Deutsche Bahn

It is a German railway company, having its headquarter in Berlin. It is a private joint-stock company. The Federal Republic of Germany is the only shareholder in the company. It is the second-largest transport company in the world. In the year 2015, Deutsche Bahn was the largest railway company of the world by revenue

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to attend the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit on October 12, 2021.

About:

• G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit will be organised to discuss the situation in Afghanistan.
• This event will be convened by the G20 Italian Presidency in virtual mode.

Agenda of the meeting

During the meeting, top world leaders will discuss the response to humanitarian needs as well as access to basic services & livelihood in Afghanistan. Leaders will also discuss the issues of counter terrorism, security and human rights.

SCO-CSTO outreach summit

PM Modi had also participated in “SCO-CSTO outreach Summit” on Afghanistan. On the occasion, he had highlighted the challenges associated with peace and security in the region. He had warned the countries that, recent developments in Afghanistan could result into an uncontrolled flow of drugs, illegal weapons as well as human trafficking.

Role of G20 in Afghanistan

The G20 grouping consists of 20 world’s major economies. This platform helps in building international consensus as well as facilitate a coordinated approach between the multilateral organisations, including the United Nations (UN) and its agencies. It also facilitates coordination among global and regional actors in order to address the worsening humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

About Group of Twenty (G20)

G20 is an intergovernmental forum consisting of 19 countries and European Union (EU). The group addresses major issues related to global economy like climate change mitigation, international financial stability and sustainable development. This grouping was founded in 1999 in the backdrop of several world economic crises. Since 2008, the group meets at least once a year. The G20 summits involves head of government or state, foreign minister, finance minister, and other high-ranking officials. EU is represented by European Commission and European Central Bank

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

The traditional dye-painted figurative called Karuppur Kalamkari Paintings, and Kallakuruchi wood carvings have received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

About:

• Kallakuruchi wood carvings is done using pens, palm stem, date trees, brushes made of bamboo stick and coconut tree stems.
• This certificate was issued the Geographical Indications Registry on the basis of an application filed by Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (Poompuhar).

About Kalamkari

The Karuppur Kalamkari Paintings are done in Thanjavur region. These are traditional dye-painted figurative and patterned clothes. They are made for temples like ceiling cloth, cylindrical hangings, umbrella covers and chariot covers. Thanjavur tradition of Kalamkari had canopies, umbrella covers, thombai (cylindrical hangings), and ‘thoranams’ (door hangings) comprising of motifs of yazhi, peacock, swan, flowers, and images of deities. They are used in temples and mutts.

Background of Kalamkari

Artisans from Sikkalnaikkanpettai near Kumbakonam have been practicing this traditional art form for many generations. Artisans enjoyed royal patronage in times of yore. Presently, this traditional art form is practised at Karuppur in Udayarpalayam taluk of Ariyalur district as well as in villages around Sikkalnaikkapettai and Tiruppanandal in Thanjavur district.

Kallakurichi Wood Carvings

These carvings are done for designs and ornaments. These are indigenous to Madurai region.

Geographical Indication

GI is a tag used to identify products originating from a definite geographical territory and have some special characteristics. The tag is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999 in India. The Geographical Indications Registry, Chennai issues these tags. The tag is valid for a period of 10 years. It is also a part of the “Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)” by World Bank.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

Former chief of State Bank of India, Rajnish Kumar, has joined the Board of BharatPe as chairman.

About:

• Rajnish Kumar will get involved in defining the short-term and long-term strategies of companies.
• He will also work closely with other Board Members and chief experience officer (CXOs) on key regulatory and business initiatives.
• BharatPe-Centrum Capital received an in-principal approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a small finance bank which will take over the Punjab Maharashtra Bank.

Function as chairman of BharatPe

As the chairman of BharatPe, Rajnish Kumar will advise and counsel the management of BharatPe regarding the matters on business performance as well as corporate governance.

Term as Chairman

Rajnish Kumar completed his term as chairman of India’s largest lender SBI in October 2020. Currently, he is working as advisor (resource raising) to the Andhra Pradesh government. He also serves as an independent non-executive director at HSBC Bank, L&T infotech and Asia.

Term as Managing director

Rajnish Kumar has also served as the managing director of National Banking Group, and managing director (Compliance & Risk) of State Bank of India. The senior bank official had also headed the Capital Markets Ltd as managing director and chief executive officer of State Bank of India.

About Rajnish Kumar

He is an Indian banker, holding the position of Chairman of SBI. He became chairman of SBI on October 7, 2017. His three-year term ended on October 6, 2020. He is the Probationary officer of 1980 batch.