Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2021

Notes:
India successfully test-fired surface-to-surface ballistic missile Agni-5 that can strike targets at ranges up to 5,000 km with a very high degree of accuracy.
The test-firing was carried from APJ Abdul Kalam Island in Odisha. As per the Defence Ministry, the successful test of is in line with India’s stated policy with the commitment to ‘No First Use’. This missile has been tested amidst border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh.

Notes:
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus  is the present Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO). He has been elected unopposed as the Director General of WHO for the second term.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus belongs to Ethiopia, who holds a doctorate in community health. He is the first African to head WHO and is also the first non Doctor to hold the position.

Notes:
NASSCOM, Union Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeITY) and the IT Industry have come together to launch “FurtureSkills Prime”, which is a Digital re-skilling/up-skilling platform.
It is an aggregator learning platform, which offers technologies such as AI, IoT, Data Analytics, cloud computing whose curriculum are globally accepted.

Notes:
According to a release issued by the Union Health Ministry of India, “Har Ghar Dastak” (Knock Every Door) campaign is scheduled to start soon in districts with low vaccination rates.
It aims to motivate people to get vaccinated. As per the Health Ministry, there were more than 10.34 crore people in the country who had missed the second dose of COVID-19 vaccine that they were due to take while more than 12 crore unutilised doses were available with the States.

Notes:
AY.4.2, which was seen in the news, is a ‘Coronavirus lineage’. Lineages are the labels given to the branches of the COVID evolutionary chart to illustrate their relatedness.
The lineages are overseen by the Pango network, a team of researchers from the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford. They act as the custodians of lineages and handle the assignment of new labels. This AY.4.2. lineage is traced back to April this year.

Notes:
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet reappointed Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for three years beyond 10.12.2021 or until further orders.
Shaktikanta Das, a retired Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, assumed charge as the 25th governor of the RBI effective December 12, 2018. He had also served as a member of the 15th Finance Commission for a year. Benegal Rama Rau served RBI Governor between July 1, 1949, and January 14, 1957 and that is the longest such tenure so far.

Notes:
Independent researchers from India have conceptualized and developed an online dashboard named “Climate Equity Monitor” on Global climate policy.
The Climate Equity Monitor dashboard provides an online dashboard for assessing equity in climate action, inequalities in emissions, energy consumption across the world, and climate policies of several countries. It aims to monitor the performance of Annex-I Parties under the UNFCCC (developed countries).

Notes:
Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE) is a World Bank funded project approved in 2016 for a total cost of Rs. 2200 crore.
The project aims to create awareness through industry clusters to address issues pertaining to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The STRIVE program was launched in Manguluru, through Kanara Industries Association-Industrial Cluster. The participants will get National Apprenticeship Certificate from the Directorate General of Training on clearing the assessment and examination.

Notes:
World Meteorological Organisation released the ‘State of Global Climate 2021’ report. As per the report, the last seven years have been the warmest on record.
It also highlighted that global sea-level rise increased since 2013, reaching a new high in 2021.  The report attributed the record sea-level rise to warming up and acidification of ocean waters. The report was released was released in Geneva as the COP26 conference began in Glasgow. WMO also launched the Water and Climate Coalition.

Notes:
A group of entomologists have documented the odonate fauna in the state of Kerala for the first time. Kerala is home to 181 species of dragonflies and damselflies. It also nurtures 68 species that are endemic to the Western Ghats.
According to the study, the odonates of the Western Ghats stands at 207, of which 80 species are endemics.