Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2021

Notes:
Recently, space scientists have discovered a new active galaxy, which is considered to be the farthest gamma-ray emitting galaxy discovered so far.
This galaxy is named Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 (NLS1) galaxy, which is about 31 billion light-years away from earth. This has been described as a rare space entity.

Notes:
The American Space Agency – NASA has recently shared an image of Mars titled ‘Blue Dunes of Red Planet’.
This picture has been released to mark the 20 years of NASA’s Odyssey mission to Mars. The picture combines shots captured between December 2002 and November 2004 by the robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars.

Notes:
The 2021 Global Food Policy Report has been released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
As per the report, severe health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic has an adverse impact on the food systems and livelihood of people. The policy makes a detailed analysis on the impacts and policy responses to the crisis, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups.

Notes:
The Government of India has appointed Sushil Chandra as the next Chief Election Commissioner of India.
He succeeds Sunil Arora who retired on April 13th, 2021. Sushil Chandra is the former CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) Chairman and was appointed as an election commissioner on February 14, 2019.

Notes:
In the South American country of Chile, has witnessed the spread of a killer algae which has claimed the lives of more than 4,200 tonnes of salmon. The algal bloom has led to decreased water availability in waters that led to suffocating the salmon.
This is considered to be the latest mass mortality event recorded in Chile, which is the world’s second largest producer of salmon.

Notes:
The Government of Japan has decided to release more than 1 million tonnes of contaminated water from the decommissioned and destroyed Fukushima nuclear plant, into the sea.
The decision comes about three months ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games since some of the events are to be held as close as 60 km from the wrecked plant.

Notes:
Adenoviruses are a family of viruses that can cause a wide variety of illnesses in humans, including the common cold, gastrointestinal infections and pink eye. There are 88 types of adenovirus that would infect humans, and these are grouped into seven different species, A-G.
Recently, in several COVID-19 vaccines, including those produced by Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca, these viruses are the basis for several COVID-19 vaccines.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs launched the EatSmart Cities Challenge and Transport 4 All Challenge.
EatSmart Cities Challenge was organized in association with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and Smart cities mission. It aims to encourage smart cities develop a sustainable food environment. Transport 4 All Challenge was launched in association with Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), to improve public transport.

Notes:
Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has proposed to increase the maximum age of entry to NPS (National Pension System) to 70 years. Presently the maximum entry age is 65 years.
PFRDA has also planned to allow subscribers who join after 60 years of age to continue their NPS accounts till 75. The maturity age will remain 70 for others.

Notes:
The Principal Scientific Advisor K Vijay Raghavan has launched the MANAS app. MANAS stands for Mental Health and Normalcy Augmentation System.
The app is a comprehensive, scalable, and national digital wellbeing platform aimed to promote mental wellbeing across age groups. This app has been initiated by the Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor and jointly developed by NIMHANS Bengaluru, Armed Forces Medical College – Pune and C-DAC – Bengaluru.