Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2021

Notes:
The Indian Navy received its 11th P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft from Boeing. The Navy has signed a contract of 12 P-8Is from Boeing in two batches.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also launched an ‘Integrated Unmanned Road Map for Indian Navy’ at the second edition of the Naval Commanders Conference. This will outline all unmanned aerial and underwater platforms and efforts of the Navy in modernisation.

Notes:
Valneva SE, a French vaccine company, announced the results from its Phase 3 trial of its inactivated Covid-19 vaccine candidate, VLA2001.
As per the company, the vaccine was as effective as the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. VLA2001 is an inactivated, adjuvanted vaccine. The Sars-CoV-2 virus is killed using chemicals, heat, or radiation and delivered in an inactivated form. India’s Covaxin vaccine is also an inactivated vaccine.

Notes:
Russia is set to host the third meeting of the Moscow format of consultations on Afghanistan. India will be represented at joint-secretary level at the meeting.
The Moscow Format was established in 2017 as a six-party system comprising Russia, Afghanistan, India, Iran, China and Pakistan. It was then expanded with the inclusion of more countries. Its meetings were held in Moscow in 2017 and 2018. India and Taliban may have their first face-to-face meeting at the occasion.

Notes:
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced the launch of the NPCI Tokenization System (NTS).
The Token Reference On File (TROF) service will help millions of RuPay cardholders maintain the security of their financial data. This will enable tokenization of cards as an alternative to storing card details with merchants. The card details of cardholders will be secure at the RuPay Network Secure vault.

Notes:
The Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) is an autonomous institution under the Union Ministry of Earth Science, and is located at Pune.
The institution has developed and launched a new ‘Decision Support System’ (DSS) aimed to enhance the existing ‘Air Quality Early Warning System’, for air quality measurement and management in Delhi – NCR.

Notes:
Konkan Shakti 2021 is the first-ever tri-services joint exercise between India and the UK. The week-long exercise has begun recently.
The exercise will be a platform to share each other’s experiences and to showcase the cooperation between the two countries. The maritime component of the exercise will be conducted off India’s west coast and the Harbour phase will be held in Mumbai. The land phase of the exercise will be held at Chaubatia in Uttarakhand.

Notes:
Global terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ of countries.
FATF also announced that three new countries: Turkey, Jordan, and Mali have also been added to the Grey List. FATF affirmed that Pakistan is cooperating and only four action items remain to be completed. In June this year, FATF had retained Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest oil producers, announced that it aims to reach “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2060.
Saudi Arabia is the 10th largest emitter of carbon dioxide globally. It is also the largest emitter on a per capita basis among G-20 countries. This was announced by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the inauguration of the kingdom’s first-ever Saudi Green Initiative Forum.

Notes:
National Small Matchbox Manufacturers Association announced that from December 1, the price of a matchbox would be increased to Rs 2 from the present Rs 1.
The proposed price increase comes after a gap of 14 years, as the price of raw materials have increased leading to a jump in cost of production. The raw materials include red phosphorous, wax, pottasium chlorate and splints (sticks). Fuel price led transportation cost is also a factor. Consumers will get more matchsticks up from 36 to 50 per box.

Notes:
Ircon International on behalf of Government of India (GoI), has handed over the newly commissioned cross-border rail section from Jaynagar to Kurtha (Nepal) to Government of Nepal.
Under the grant assistance from Government of India, the work of Jaynagar (India) to Bardibas (Nepal) rail line project was undertaken by Ircon International. The first phase of Jaynagar-Kurtha section is a part of Jaynagar-Bijalpura-Bardibas rail link being built under grant assistance of NPR 8.77 billion.