Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
Little Bloodtail is a small dragonfly, which has wide presence in the state of Kerala. This species of dragonfly can be spotted from the beginning of June till September.
Since the life cycle of little bloodtail is very closely linked with monsoon, they are considered as a harbinger of monsoon (which announces the arrival of an event).

Notes:
The state government of Karnataka has introduced a city sewage surveillance system in Bangalore. This is aimed to track coronavirus at an early stage.
This effort of Karnataka is supported by USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and COVIDactionCollab (CAC). CAC is supporting the state by providing training to sanitation workers in collecting samples and analysing them in labs.

Notes:
The Indian Army has planned to lease Israel’s Heron TP drones and deploy the same along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
This decision comes in the wake of ongoing tensions between India and China along the LAC and these drones would be deployed to monitor the activities of Chinese troops.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Karnataka B S Yediyurappa has launched a portal named Akanksha, which would provide details on all the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities in Karnataka.
This comprehensive portal would help the state Government officials, corporates and donors. It seeks to improve transparency in utilisation of CSR funds by the Government.

Notes:
A bill named “Ensuring American Global Leadership and Engagement” or EAGLE Act has been moved in the USA’s legislative body. This bill is seen as a counter to the policy challenges posed by China.
The bill seeks for increased investment to promote US manufacturing, trade and seeks for increased US intervention to Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Labour and Employment has announced additional benefits for workers enrolled under ESIC and EPFO schemes, to remove fear and anxiety about the well-being of their family.
As per the new benefit, in case of an employee’s death due to COVID, all dependent family members of the insured person would be entitled to receive the same benefits as in the case of death resulting from employment injury.

Notes:
NASA’s Curiosity rover captured the images of the clouds seen above Gale Crater of the Mars. The crater is 154 km in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3.8 billion years old.
The image is a combination of 21 individual photographs the rover took recently to study a strange type of cloud over the Gale Crater. The Scientists made the rover watch for the early clouds, as it was observed that the cloud type was forming earlier in the Martian year.

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:
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) has set a new record in the latest experiment.
The experiment achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million Fahrenheit for 101 seconds. The scientists working on the “Artificial sun” project also achieved 288 million Fahrenheit for 20 seconds. The Tokamak device has been designed to reproduce the nuclear fusion process, natural to the Sun and stars.

Notes:
The Government has constituted an expert group to provide technical inputs and recommendations on fixation of minimum wages in the country.
The Group would be chaired by Professor Ajit Mishra, director of the Institute of Economic Growth. As per the Labour and Employment Ministry, the group, which is set up for three years, would also recommend on the national floor wage.