Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
Marine mucilage or “sea snot” is reported to have accumulated along the coast of Turkey. The sea snot is a thick jelly-like layer of slime which is formed by the population explosion of microscopic plants called phytoplankton.
Some Researchers believe that the increase in sea surface temperature due to climate change, has led to this effect while few others see over-fishing as the root cause.

Notes:
The Union Government has launched the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 4.0 and has expanded the scope of the scheme by including the civil aviation sector and loan to health institutions for on-site oxygen generation.
Under ECLGS 4.0 a maximum loan of 40% of the outstanding loan, or Rs 200 crore whichever is lower can be availed by borrowers from financial institutions.

Notes:
New Zealand has entered into an agreement for space exploration with NASA.
With this, New Zealand becomes the eleventh country to sign the Artemis Accord, which is an agreement with NASA to be a part of its plans to send humans to the moon by 2024 and further to Mars.

Notes:
The National Statistical Office (NSO) released the provisional estimates of annual national income and quarterly estimates.
As per the release, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 1.6 per cent in the fourth quarter (January-March) of 2020-21. Last quarter, there was 0.5 % growth. The GDP contracted to a record low 7.3 per cent, for the full financial year 2020-21. This was a marginal improvement from the earlier estimate of 8 per cent contraction.

Notes:
The Government teachers in Punjab have successfully completed ‘Rabta Muhim’, a week-long campaign, organised by the State School Education Department.
Through the campaign, as many as 12.71 lakh parents of primary students were contacted. The programme was aimed to facilitate the contact between parents and teachers via phone, to discuss about education, health and prevention of children from being infected with Covid.

Notes:
Isaac Herzog has been elected as the 11th president of Israel, by way of a secret ballot. He is a labour leader and son of a former President.
Isaac Herzog won a majority vote of 87 out of the 120-member house there by defeating his opponent Miriam Peretz by a large margin.

Notes:
David Diop has become the first French writer to win the International Booker Prize, as he was selected for the prestigious award in 2021.
His second novel, At Night All Blood is Black, was translated by the US author and poet Anna Moschovakis. The book was inspired by his Senegalese great-grandfather’s silence about his experiences in First World War.

Notes:
The Union Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs has launched a module of 6 short films of Investor Education & Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA), named “Hisaab Ki Kitaab”.
These short films have been developed by CSC eGov for IEPFA, as a part of their training module. These films portray the importance of budget, saving, insurance schemes etc.

Notes:
Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) in collaboration with National Institute of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has prepared the ‘Gram Panchayat Citizen Charter’.
It is a model Citizens Charter/ framework for prompt delivery of services across the 29 sectors. The Charter has been aligned with localised Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It aims to empower the citizens in relation to public services and to improve the quality of services.

Notes:
The World Bank has approved a USD 500 million program to help boost India’s MSME sector. RAMP stands for Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) Performance.
The programme targets to improve the performance of five lakh 50 thousand MSMEs, by providing better access to finance and working capital for MSMEs. The World Bank had earlier launched Rs 750 million MSME Emergency Response Program in July last year.