Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
The Government of the United Kingdom (UK) has proposed to permit operations of self-driving cars by end of the year 2021. The automated lane-keeping systems (ALKS) to be operationalised in the UK would be first in the world to be legalised.
The ALKS technology controls the position of driver less cars in a single lane and limits its speed to 60 kmph.

Notes:
The Central Institute of Brackish water Aquaculture (CIBA) is located in Chennai. The institute functions under the aegis of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
The institute has recently developed an indigenous vaccine for viral nervous necrosis (VNN) disease – a viral disease that affects several fish species.

Notes:
The Indian Ocean humpback dolphin is a member of the Ocean Dolphin family, which occupy coastal areas ranging from Southern Africa to Western Indochina.
The dolphins are included in the international Union for Conservation of Nature’s list of ‘endangered species. Recently, two Indian Ocean humpback dolphins, were found dead in two separate spots at Mumbai.

Notes:
Australian ace tennis player Ashleigh Barty has won the single title of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021 held at Stuttgart (Germany).
She became the first Australian to win the tournament’s singles title. She has also won the doubles title immediately after the singles tournament, together with Jennifer Brady of USA.

Notes:
The Government of India has fixed the food grain production target for crop year 2021-22 at a record high of 307.31 million tonnes. This high target has bene envisaged amidst the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the associated supply side disruptions.
This target is 1.3% more than the previous year’s estimated food grain production.

Notes:
Dhruv Mk – III MR is an Advanced Light Helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bengaluru.
The helicopter has been tested and it has successfully demonstrated deck operations on board an Indian Coast Guard Ship, off the coast of Chennai. The helicopter has been developed to be deployed by the Indian Coast Guard.

Notes:
The Crew 1 Dragon capsule belonging to Space X, has successfully returned from outer space, from the International Space Station (ISS) to the Earth.
The capsule returned NASA’s Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker and Japanese Astronaut Soichi Noguchi back to the Earth from ISS. It made a parachute landing into the Gulf of Mexico.

Notes:
Xylophis deepaki, which is a 20 cm long tiny snake with iridescent scales is a species which is endemic to the state of Tamil Nadu. It is also found in southern part of the Western Ghats.
The species has been named to honour Indian herpetologist Deepak Veerappan, for his contribution in erecting a new subfamily Xylophiinae to accommodate wood snakes

Notes:
Manas Bihari Verma – a reputed aeronautical scientist and Padma Shri Awardee died recently of suffering a massive heart attack. He was 78 years old.
He has been the man behind the country’s first Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) ‘Tejas’ and has closely worked with former president Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam.

Notes:
The crops that are sown in the rainy season are called kharif crops in India. They are also known as the summer or monsoon crop. Kharif crops are usually sown with the beginning of the first rains in July, during the south-west monsoon season.
Tur/arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black matpe) and moong (green gram) are the major pulses in this season. The Ministry of Agriculture has recently formulated a special Kharif strategy to attain self-sufficiency in the production of pulses.