Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
The Left front government in Kerala has decided to recommend a judicial inquiry against the central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate.
Earlier, the Crime Branch registered an FIR against some ED officials for derailing the probe in the gold smuggling and dollar cases. The state has decided to appoint Justice (Retd) KV Mohan to head the commission.

Notes:
The United States of America (USA) has released a notification which classifies India among the list of countries affected with African swine fever disease.
With this, the USA has imposed certain restrictions on import of pork and pork products from India.
This notification has been made by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

Notes:
The Maharashtra government announced that legendary singer Asha Bhosle has been selected for the Maharashtra Bhushan award for the year 2020, the State government’s highest honour.
A committee chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray made the decision. The award was instituted in 1996 by the State government to recognise outstanding achievements of eminent persons from the state.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has mandated all companies to disclose their investments in cryptocurrencies and expenditures made in corporate social responsibility.
In this regard, the ministry has brought about suitable amendments in the Companies Act 2013. These amendments would come in force from the financial year 2021-22 starting April 1st 2021.

Notes:
The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has decided to utilise the services of retired combat canines / dogs as ‘therapy dogs’. They would help early recovery of personnel undergoing medical treatment. Also, they are to be used in treatment of the soldier’s specially abled children.
This is the first time in India, that retired canine elements are being used to serve the soldiers.

Notes:
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Asian Cup India 2022 Organising Committee confirmed the venues of the tournament.
D.Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, TransStadia in Ahmedabad and the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar will host the premier women’s football competition, from January 20 to February 6, 2022.

Notes:
The Government e-Market (GeM) portal was launched on August 9, 2016, for online purchases of goods and services by all the central government ministries and departments.
Recently, the public procurement of goods and services has crossed Rs 1 lakh crore from the GeM since the platform was launched. The main reason is the sharp increase in buying activities by various ministries.

Notes:
The Supreme Court appointed a four-member committee to study the three new controversial agricultural laws in January 2021. It had temporarily suspended the implementation of the three farm laws until further notice.
The members include P. K. Mishra, Anil Ghanwat, Ashok Gulati and Bhupinder Singh Mann. The panel has submitted its report to the Supreme Court recently.

Notes:
The Economic Affairs Secretary announced that the inflation target for the period April 1, 2021 to March 31, 2026 under the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 has been kept at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
This is the same target mandated to the RBI by the Government in the previous five years (2016-21). RBI was to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021 with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and a lower tolerance of 2 per cent.’

Notes:
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog has launched AIM-PRIME (Program for Researchers on Innovations, Market-Readiness & Entrepreneurship).
It aims to promote and support science-based start-ups & ventures across India. AIM has partnered with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) to launch this program. It will be implemented by Venture Center – a non-profit technology business incubator.