Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is an international organization which conducts agricultural research for rural development. It is headquartered in Patancheru, Telangana in India, with several regional centers and research stations.
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and ICRISAT inked pact to take up research to improve food, nutrition security and livelihoods in the country, against the impacts of climate change.

Notes:
The Ministry of Defence has placed an order worth ₹7,523 crore to procure 118 Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) Arjun for the Indian Army.
The order has been placed with Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF), Avadi, Chennai for the supply of 118 Arjun Mk-1A tanks. The tank has been designed and developed by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) lab CVRDE. The MBT Mk-1A is a new variant of the Arjun Tank, equipped with superior firepower, all-terrain mobility.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy in association with Council on Energy, Environment and Water and the Permanent mission of India to the UN organised the webinar – “Ambition to Impact: Opportunities for Global Collaboration in India’s Clean Energy Economy”.
This meeting portrayed India’s commitment and efforts in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development goals and the ways in which India has fastened the deployment of clean energy.

Notes:
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur addressed the Summit for Information and Democracy on the sidelines of the UNGA organised in New York. He participated in the discussion, by joining from Leh, Ladakh.
The ‘International Partnership for Information and Democracy’ was launched in New York on 26 September 2019. It aims to promote freedom of opinion and expression and access to free, pluralistic and reliable information. The partnership has been signed by 43 States, till date.

Notes:
Tai-Ahom and Matak communities are demanding for being accorded the Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in the state of Assam.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma held discussions with representatives of the two communities regarding their demand. All Assam Tribal Sangha (AATS), the apex tribal body of the State, is authorised by the government to recommend issuing ST certificates in the State. Besides the two, tea tribes, Koch-Rajbonshi, Moran and Chutia communities are also demanding ST status.

Notes:
India’s Mars Orbiter spacecraft has completed seven years in its orbit, beyond its designed mission life of six months.
MOM or called as Mangalyaan, it is the maiden interplanetary mission of ISRO. After being launched on November 5, 2013, the probe was successfully inserted into Martian orbit on September 24, 2014 in its first attempt.  ISRO has been continuously monitoring the spacecraft and its five scientific instruments. The spacecraft is expected to have a mission life of probably another one year.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has established a ‘Centre of Excellence (CoE) on Quantum Technologies’ to conduct research activities in the field.
The centre will focus on the areas, such as quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum sensing, and metrology, and quantum materials and devices. The research activities related to a quantum processor and cryogenic controller among others will also be undertaken.

Notes:
The general election results in Iceland have been a special event for the country, since 48% of the winning candidates were women. Out of the 63-seat parliament, 30 seats were won by women candidates. This makes Iceland’s Parliament have the highest number of women’s representation in Europe.
Finland has 47% women representation and Sweden has 465 women representations in their respective Parliament.

Notes:
Sania Mirza, along with her Chinese pair Shuai Zhang won the final match of the Ostrava Open WTA 500 tournament in Czech Republic.
The second seeded pair won the match against the third seeds in straight sets- 6-3, 6-2. It was Sania Mirza’s 43rd WTA doubles title on the tour. It was also Sania’s first title of 2021 and her first big title since Brisbane in 2017. The Indian player had reached the final of WTA 250 Cleveland event last month.

Notes:
The National Commission for Women has launched a national level training and capacity building programme for women in the field of dairy farming, to make them financially independent.
For the training, the National Commission for Women has collaborated with many agricultural universities for rendering training in the fields of dairy farming and allied activities.