Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

• India’s Sumit Antil won gold in men’s javelin (F64) at the Tokyo Paralympics with a new world record throw of 68.55m.
• Sumit Antil broke the world record thrice during the final in Tokyo.
• Devendra Jhajharia and Sundar Singh Gurjar won the silver and bronze in the men’s javelin (F46) final earlier.
• India’s Yogesh Kathuniya also won silver medal in men’s discus throw F56.
• India has registered its best-ever count at the Paralympic Games, already.

• The Reserve Bank releases a quarterly house price index (HPI) based on transaction-level data received from housing registration authorities in ten major cities.
• The cities are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Mumbai.
• According to RBI data, the growth in all-India House Price Index (HPI) slowed to 2 per cent in the first quarter this fiscal against 2.8 per cent in the last year.
• The HPI growth ranged from an expansion of 8.8 per cent (Ahmedabad) to a contraction of (-) 5.1 per cent (Chennai).

• The United Nations have observed August 31, 2021 as the first ever “International Day for People of African Descent”.
• This day has been dedicated by the UN to commemorate the contributions of the African diaspora in every field of human existence.
• International Decade for People of African Descent is observed from 2015-2024.
• The year 2020 marked the midterm of the International Decade for People of African Descent.

• The C.1.2 variant of the Coronavirus disease was first reported from South Africa.
• The variant has now spread to at least six countries, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
• As per the Indian Government, India has no cases of the new C.1.2 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) variant detected so far.
• The public health body of the United Nations (UN) announced that it was monitoring the new C.1.2 virus strain.

• Slovenia currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
• External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met Slovenian President Borut Pahor and discussed the challenges facing India and the European Union.
• The Minister is set to visit Slovenia, Croatia and Denmark to boost bilateral ties and strengthen India’s cooperation with the EU.
• Slovenia has invited Jaishankar to attend the informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU states.
• Jaishankar will also attend the Bled Strategic Forum (BSF) being held in Slovenia.

• World-Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF India) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have joined hands to develop a platform to promote a circular system for plastics.
• The new platform is called, the ‘India Plastic Pact,’.
• India generates 9.46 million tonnes of plastic waste annually, of which 40 per cent is not collected.
• About half of all plastics produced in the country are used in packaging, most of it is single use in nature.
• The pact has time-bound targets for reducing, innovating and re-imagining plastic packaging.

The bodies of hippos and dead fish were seen floating in the river. The pollution was first detected in a tributary of the Kasai River, named the Tshikapa. The Kasai is a tributary of the Congo River. The pollution originates from a major spill at three mining facilities around in Angola. Researchers also fear the potential for lasting contamination of groundwater.

The 18-year-old Spaniard beat Germany’s Peter Gojowczyk in five sets. He is eight days younger than Andre Agassi when the American reached the 1988 U.S. Open quarter-finals and semi-finals. He is also the youngest to reach this stage in New York since Thomaz Koch of Brazil did in 1963.

Chandrayaan-2 has completed more than 9,000 orbits around the Moon. The imaging and scientific instruments on board have been relaying the required data. ISRO Chairperson also released the documents based on data from Chandrayaan-2, along with data from spacecraft’s orbiter payloads.

Indian PM’s approval rating is highest among 13 global leaders polled in the survey and is ahead of the heads of Mexico, Italy, Germany, UK etc.