Daily Current Affairs Quiz: August 21, 2024

Notes:
Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi achieved Net Zero Carbon Emission Airport status, the first in India. This Level 5 certification recognizes the airport’s success in maintaining a net zero carbon balance. The airport reduced 90% of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions and offset the rest. Originally aiming for net zero by 2030, it met the goal earlier through renewable energy, electric vehicles, zero waste programs, and green infrastructure. The airport now aims to achieve net zero in Scope 3 emissions by 2050.

Notes:
Union Minister JP Nadda inaugurated the ‘First Policy Makers’ Forum’ in New Delhi. Policymakers and drug regulators from 15 countries attended the event. The forum was hosted by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission, with support from the Ministries of Health & Family Welfare and External Affairs. India is recognized as the ‘pharmacy of the world,’ with its generic drugs treating diseases like malaria, HIV-AIDS, and tuberculosis. The event also saw the launch of the Indian Pharmacopoeia Online portal and Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring System software.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Paushtik Aahar Yojana’ to provide nutritious food to government schoolchildren. The scheme offers boiled eggs or fruits once a week to students from nursery to class eight. Fresh fruits will be locally sourced based on children’s preferences. It complements the existing mid-day meal scheme, covering 15,181 schools and 5,34,293 students. The state allocated Rs.12.75 crore for the scheme in 2024-25. The CM also launched a scheme to provide free tablets to primary school teachers to enhance digitalization in education.

Notes:
Two young lives were lost in the Bhima River in Ganagapur, Kalaburagi district. The Bhima River, also called Chandrabagha, is the largest tributary of the Krishna River. It originates near Bhimashankar Temple in Maharashtra’s Western Ghats and flows southeast through Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana. The river merges into the Krishna River in Raichur district, Karnataka, and spans 861 km. The Bhima River’s basin covers 48,631 sq. km, with 75% in Maharashtra.
The river’s water level varies with the monsoon, flooding in August and nearly stagnant in March and April. Major tributaries include the Indrayani, Mula, Mutha, and Pavana Rivers.

Notes:
Sumit Antil and Bhagyashri Jadhav were selected as flag bearers for India at the 2024 Paris Paralympics opening ceremony on 28 August 2024. The 17th Summer Paralympics will take place in Paris from 28 August to 8 September 2024. Sumit Antil, a 25-year-old World Champion, won gold in javelin at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics and holds the world record in the F64 category. Bhagyashri Jadhav, 39, won silver in shot put (F34 category) at the Asian Para Games and World Para Athletics Championships in May 2024.