Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2021

Notes:
The ongoing 74th World Health Assembly declared January 30 as ‘World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day’.
The proposal to recognise the day was initiated by the United Arab Emirates and it was adopted unanimously by the member countries. NTDs are a group of infections caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms.

Notes:
The Chandra X-ray Observatory, previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility, was launched by NASA, aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Recently, an image from this observatory was released by NASA. It shows threads of superheated gas and magnetic fields weaving around each other, at the center of our Mily Way Galaxy. These new observations stretch above and below our galaxy’s plane, where most of the stars are found.

Notes:
Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is NASA’s new next-generation space telescope, which is currently under development.
Formerly known as Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope, it is named after NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy, as the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. Recently, NASA announced that thousands of exploding stars called supernovae are to observed through this telescope.

Notes:
The State Government of Goa headed by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has launched a solar-based electrification programme to provide power connectivity to rural households of the state.
This project aims to deliver renewable power to the households, where grid connectivity is not possible. In this regard, the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) has entered into an agreement with Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL).

Notes:
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that, children who have lost both parents due to COVID-19 would be taken care and supported by the Government of India, under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
Such children would be entitled to receive a monthly stipend once they attain 18 years of age and would receive a corpus of Rs.10 lakh on attainment of 23 years, out of the funds available in PM CARES.

Notes:
Recently, a piece of space debris hit and damaged a part of the ISS’s robotic arm, called as Canadarm2.
The astronomers confirmed that the arm’s functions will not be impacted by the damage. Canadarm2, the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), is used to move objects outside the station and to help in repairing works in the station.

Notes:
The largest warship in the Navy of Iran has recently caught fire and later sank in the Gulf of Oman, according to the media reports.
The support warship Kharg was named after the island that serves as the main oil terminal for Iran. Though the firefighters tried to contain the blaze, the vessel sank near the Iranian port of Jask, southeast of Tehran on the Gulf of Oman. It is near the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet of the Government of India has approved and ratified a MoU between India and Maldives on cooperation in sustainable urban development.
The MoU would strengthen the bilateral ties and generate employment in urban planning, waste management, housing, green mobility, efficient power systems etc. The MoU was signed in the month of Feb 2021, and would be in force for an infinite time period. The Cabinet also approved an MoU with Japan in the same field.

Notes:
Kerala retained the top spot in the Niti Aayog’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index released in the year 2021. India’s overall score across SDGs improved by six points, from 60 in 2019 to 66 in 2021
The annual index evaluates the progress of states and UTs on social, economic and environmental criteria. Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu grabbed the second and third spots respectively while Bihar is placed at the last place in the index.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced to create a Special liquidity window of Rs 15,000 crore with a tenor of 3 years at the repo rate to provide liquidity support to the contact-intensive sectors hit by Covid-19.
This encourages banks to provide fresh lending support to hotels, restaurants, tourism, aviation ancillary services, and other services including private bus operators, car repair and rental service providers, event/conference organizers, spa clinics, and beauty parlours/saloons. RBI will extend a special liquidity facility of ₹16,000 crore to SIDBI for on-lending/refinancing.