Daily Current Affairs Quiz: October 18,2021

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

• Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh will become the first city in India to use ropeway services in public transportation.
• Overall, Varanasi will be the third city in the world after Bolivia and Mexico City to use ropeway in public transportation. The total cost of the ropeway project is Rs 424 crore. The total distance of 4.2 km will be covered in just 15 minutes.
• The project will be executed on a public-private partnership model. The cost of the project will be divided between the Centre and the state government at 80:20. Four stations of the ropeway services pilot phase will be at the height of above 11 meters.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

• Senior bureaucrat Ritesh Chauhan has been appointed as the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and Joint Secretary, Agriculture under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
• Chauhan will have a combined tenure of seven years up to September 22, 2023. He is a 2005-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre. He will succeed Ashish Kumar Bhutani, who was appointed in 2018.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

• A K Goel, managing director and chief executive (MD & CEO) of UCO Bank has been elected as the chairman of Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) for 2021-22.
• He has replaced Rajkiran Rai G, MD & CEO, Union Bank of India. IBA is a representative body of management of banking in India operating in India and is headquartered in Mumbai.

ANSWER: B

WHY IN NEWS?

• Indian American Microsoft CEO, Satya Nadella has won the prestigious C K Prahlad award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership for the year 2021, along with three other top leaders of Microsoft.
• The four top Microsoft leaders have received the Award for their collaborative leadership to transform Microsoft into a carbon negative company by 2030 and remove all its historical emissions by 2050.
• Apart from Nadella, Microsoft’s President and Vice-Chair Brad Smith, Chief financial officer Amy Hood and chief environment officer Lucas Joppa have shared the award for Global Business Sustainability Leadership.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

An Indian Project, Takachar’s Innovation, that recycles agricultural waste into fuel has won the “Prince William’s inaugural Earthshot Prize”, which is also called as “Eco Oscars.

About:

• Eco Oscars honour people who are trying to save the planet Earth.
• This award is presented with the aim of providing assistance to and inspire innovative local solutions as the climate crisis is growing globally.

Takachar’s Innovation

Takachar’s Innovation is led by Vidyut Mohan. This technology was recognised for its affordable technology in order to convert crop residues into sellable bio-products. It reduced smoke emissions by 98 per cent. Thus, it calls for improving air quality. Vidyut Mohan was awarded for this technology in “clean our air category”. This award was among five other winners of the prize worldwide.

Significance of the technology

World generate around USD 120 billion of agricultural waste per year. When farmers fail to sell, they often burn the waste. Burning of waste have catastrophic consequences for human health as well as environment. Burning causes air pollution, which has reduced life expectancy in some areas by a decade. Thus, this technology is significant in mitigating this challenge.

Background

For the next 10 years, the Earthshot will be awarding £1m each year to each of five projects that are working for findings solutions to the environmental problems on the planet.

About Earthshot Prize

This prize is awarded to five winners each year, whose projects help the environment. It will be awarded annually from 2021 to 2030. It is given by the Royal Foundation, which is headquartered in London, England. The prize is distributed in five separate categories that are supported by UN Sustainable Development Goals. This prize was launched in the year 2020 by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and David Attenborough.