Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
Union Minister of Power has recently approved a “Dispute Avoidance Mechanism” through ‘Independent Engineer’ (IE).
The CPSEs executing Hydro Power Projects had been raising concerns that the present mechanism of dispute resolution in Hydro Power sector did notaddress the conflicts between the Employer and the Contractor at their initial stage.

Notes:
According to the Union Finance Ministry’ status report on India’s external debt, India’s External debt to GDP ratio increased marginally to 21.1% from 20.6% as at end-March 2020.
India’s external debt rose by 2.1% year-on-year to $570 billion as of March-end 2021. Reserves to external debt ratio increased to 101.2% from 85.6% during the same period. With this, it can be concluded that India is a net creditor to the world. The sovereign debt at $107.2 billion rose by 6.2%. The non-sovereign debt grew 1.2% to $462.8 billion.

Notes:
The Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) was set up in 1957 in Cochin. It is the first and only national center where research in all disciplines relating to fishing and fish processing is undertaken.
CIFT has developed fertiliser and pet supplement from shrimp shell. ‘Foliar Spray’, the customised fertiliser with antimicrobial agents, is developed to enhance crop yield and improve disease. The institute has also tied up with a Kolkata-based company to commercialise the technology

Notes:
Digital Economy Report 2021 was released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The report examines the implications of growing cross-border data flows, especially for developing countries. It proposes to broaden the international policy debate with a view to build multilateral cooperation. The Report also calls for innovative approaches to govern data and data flows to ensure equitable distribution of the gains from data flows.

Notes:
The state government of Rajasthan has launched a campaign named ‘Prashasan Gaon ke Sang’. It aims to enable access to 22 departments of the local administration for the people of remote villages in the state.
Under the campaign, the departments would hold camps at every gram panchayat to offer on-spot solutions to the applicants. The camps in villages would be held under the observation of respective District Collectors on weekdays. Services related to land deeds and issuance of various certificates are also done.

Notes:
The expert group on minimum wages and national-floor wages has been reconstituted under economist and statistician SP Mukherjee.
He replaces the previous head Ajit Mishra. The group has been constituted for a term of three years. The Labour Code on Wages 2019, gives legislative protection of minimum wages to all workers.  The Satpathy-led panel had suggested a national minimum wage at Rs 375 per day or Rs 9,750 per month irrespective of sectors, skills, occupations and rural-urban locations.

Notes:
National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) announced that Chacha Chaudhary, the popular comic book character, has been declared as a mascot of Namami Gange Programme.
The character would be used for sensitising children and youths about the cleaning of Ganga and other rivers. ‘Ganga ki Baat, Chacha Choudhary Ke Sath’ is a public engagement activity under the  public outreach activities of Namami Gange mission.”

Notes:
Senior IOFS officer ER Sheikh has assumed charge as the first director general of the Ordnance Directorate. The Ordnance Directorate is a newly created entity to replace the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
ER Sheikh is a 1984 batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service (IOFS) officer who has served in various capacities in various ordnance factories. He is very much known for setting up a modern production line at Varangaon for manufacture of small arms and ammunition.

Notes:
ONGC Videsh Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of ONGC has commenced its first exploratory drilling campaign in Bangladesh, to locate the availability of oil and gas.
The drilling of the first exploratory well named Kanchan 1 commenced and is expected to be drilled to a depth of 4200 meters. The company has proposed to make 2 more exploratory drills in the country.

Notes:
The Indian Navy had signed the “Joint Guidance for the India – Australia Navy to Navy Relationship” on 18th August 2021, following which India has signed Terms of Reference for the Conduct of Navy-to-Navy Talks” with Australia.
The signing ceremony was held virtually between the Rear Admiral of the two Navies.