Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
Manoj Das, a famous 20th century Odia and English writer has recently passed away recently. Many of his short stories were translated into major Indian and foreign languages.
He received several national awards, including the Padma Bhushan award last year. He was also awarded with several other awards including Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award, Sarala Award and Sahitya Bharati Award.

Notes:
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) is a government institution engaged in engineering research and development. It is located in Durgapur, West Bengal,
The institution has transferred the technology to manufacture oxygen enrichment units to several private institutes. The CSIR-CMERI developed oxygen unit technology can help patients to recover faster.

Notes:
The Chota Char Dham is an important Hindu pilgrimage circuit located in the Indian Himalayas, in the Garhwal region of the state of Uttarakhand.
The circuit consists of four sites: Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath. The Uttarakhand government has suspended the Char Dham Yatra, which was scheduled to begin in May. Only priests will perform the rituals inside the shrines.

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 Government of India has fixed the food grain production target for crop year 2021-22 at a record high of 307.31 million tonnes. This high target has bene envisaged amidst the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic and the associated supply side disruptions.
This target is 1.3% more than the previous year’s estimated food grain production.

Notes:
The Indian Navy has launched the Operation Samudra Setu-II, under which Indian Naval warships would ship liquid oxygen filled cryogenic containers from foreign nations.
As a part of the operation, two naval ships INS Kolkata and INS Talwar have been deployed to bring oxygen from Bahrain to Mumbai.

Notes:
The USA Government has approved a major solar energy project in the California desert that would be capable of powering nearly 90,000 homes.
The USD-550 million Crimson Solar Project will be set up on 2,000 acres of federal land at California. It is being developed by Canadian Solar unit Recurrent Energy. This step aims to fight climate change, create jobs and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

Notes:
The United States of America has approved the sale of six number of additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft to India. The estimated value of the sale is $2.42 billion.
Presently, Indian Navy has deployed 12 P 81 aircrafts. The induction of 6 more air crafts to the Navy would enhance its operational and surveillance capabilities.

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:
Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) regained market capitalisation (m-cap) of Rs 50,000 crore. It also entered into the league of top 100 most valued companies in terms of market capitalisation.
The state-owned steel major has 5 large integrated steel plants (Bhillai, Rourkela, Durgapur, Bokaro and IISCO) spread across 4 states in eastern India. In addition, SAIL also has 3 special steel plants (Salem Steel plant, Alloy Steel plant and Visvesvaraya iron and steel plant) and a Ferro Alloy plant at Chandrapur.