Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India issued guidelines for appointment of statutory auditors of Commercial Banks (excluding RRBs), UCBs and NBFCs (including HFCs).
Banks and UCBs will be required to take prior approval of RBI for appointment/reappointment of SCAs/SAs, on an annual basis. Entities will have to appoint the SCAs/SAs for a continuous period of three years, subject to their satisfying the eligibility norms. This will protect the independence of the auditors.

Notes:
The Global Forest Goals Report 2021 was prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.
The report provides an overview of progress towards achieving the six Global Forest Goals and their 26 associated targets as mentioned in the United Nations Strategic Plan for Forests 2030. The first Global Forest Goal provides for increasing forest area by three per cent by 2030.

Notes:
The Litani River is an important water resource located in Lebanon. It rises Beqaa Valley and gets into the Mediterranean Sea.
Recently, tonnes of dead fish have washed up on the banks of the Qaraoun lake on Lebanon’s Litani river. Environmental Activists have been warning of water pollution caused by sewage and waste, near the lake for several years.

Notes:
Researchers have discovered the world’s first-known pregnant mummy, in the Warsaw Mummy Project.
The mummy, which is said to be dating from the first century in Egypt, has been found inside the coffin belonging to a male priest. The mummy was donated to the University of Warsaw in Poland in 1826. This discovery helps the researchers to gather first hand evidence of prenatal health in ancient times.

Notes:
The Rushikulya river mouth, located in the state of Odisha is considered as the second-biggest rookery of Olive Ridley Turtles in India after Gahirmatha.
This year, the annual mass nesting of millions of Olive Ridley sea turtles near the Rushikulya river mouth is likely to be missed, as the time for nesting process is set to be over. In March 2020, over 3 lakh turtles nested in the same place.

Notes:
As per SEBI, Alternative Investment Fund means any privately pooled investment fund established in India which collects funds from sophisticated investors, (Indian or foreign), for investing as per a defined investment policy for the benefit of its investors.
The Union Labour ministry has notified the changes in the investment pattern of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). It has permitted the body to invest up to 5% of its surplus in alternate investment funds (AIFs) which support infrastructure, MSMEs, venture capital funds and social venture capital funds.

Notes:
Indian gymnast Pranati Nayak has been qualified to participate in the Tokyo Olympics after qualifying through the continental quota.
The 26-year-old from West Bengal had earlier claimed a bronze in vault at the Asian Artistic Gymnastic Championships in 2019.

Notes:
Every year, 3rd May is observed as World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared this day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to lay emphasis on the right to freedom of expression.
A resolution in this regard was passed by the UN in the year 1993.

Notes:
Eight Asiatic lions at Hyderabad’s Nehru Zoological Park have tested positive for Covid-19. This is the first case of lions or any other animals testing positive for the coronavirus infection in an Indian zoo.
The samples were tested by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and the RT-PCR tests turned out to be positive for Covid-19. However, there is no factual evidence that animals can transmit the disease to humans.

Notes:
The United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has released the new climate normal. The data reveal that weather across the US is getting warmer.
NOAA releases the climate normals every 10 years and they reflect the data from the past 30 years. The recently released data set comprises of the average temperature, precipitation and rainfall from 1991 to 2020.