Test: April 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 3 - UPSC MCQ

Cyclone Amphan, which made landfall in May last year near the India-Bangladesh border, was the costliest tropical cyclone on record for the North Indian Ocean, with reported economic losses in India of approximately USD 14 billion, a flagship UN report has said.

Max Verstappen won the Emilia Romagna F1 Grand Prix 2021, in Imola, Italy. This win is his first victory of the season. The race was the second round of the 2021 Formula One World Championship.

Lunar exploration firm iSpace said it will transport a United Arab Emirates unmanned rover to the Moon next year, as the Gulf state seeks to expand its space sector.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) notified the extension of its sandbox regulations by another two years to enable the completion of the experiment of the existing sandbox proposals and also to allow new sandbox proposals for the experiment.

The International Girls in ICT Day is celebrated every year on the 4th Thursday of April to highlight the need to promote technology career opportunities for girls and women in the world’s fastest growing sector. This year it is observed on 22nd April, 2021.

Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 323, the first unit of the indigenously built ALH Mk III aircraft, was commissioned into the Indian Navy in the presence of Rajya Mantri Shripad Naik and Vice Admiral R Hari Kumar, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command, at INS Hansa, Goa.

India’s Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) GC Murmu has been chosen as the external auditor by a prestigious intergovernmental organisation working for the elimination of chemical weapons.

In its ongoing effort to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry amidst the coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Tourism has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Cleartrip and Ease My Trip

In line with the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) guidelines, Airtel Payments Bank announced that it has become the first payments bank in the country to enable Rs 2 lakh day-end balance account limit.

The Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited has partnered with Gramcover , to collectively enhance rural insurance penetration.

In what is being billed as a game changer for professional boxing in the country, the World Boxing Council (WBC) has endorsed the Indian Championship fight between Chandni Mehra and Suman Kumari on May 1 in Jalandhar.

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor M Narasimham passed away in Hyderabad after battling Covid-19.He was 94.

Every year, the United Nations marks April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites, in many countries also celebrated as World Heritage Day.

National Housing Bank (NHB) has rolled out a ₹10,000-crore ‘Special Refinance Facility-2021’ (SRF-2021) to provide short term refinance support to housing finance companies (HFCs) and other eligible Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs).

Indian prodigy R Praggnanandhaa booked himself a chance to take on the very best in chess with a stunning victory in the Polgar Challenge. The 15-year-old from Chennai secured the first online title in the Julius Baer Challengers Chess Tour and a $3,000 top prize with a round to spare.

Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched a ‘National Nursery Portal’ to connect nursery operators with consumers.

Corporate Agency Agreement has been signed between SBI General Insurance (one of the leading General Insurance companies in India) and Uttarbanga Kshetriya Gramin Bank (one of the key Banks in North Bengal) recently.

The much-awaited autobiography of Suresh Raina, titled ‘Believe – What Life and Cricket Taught Me’, is set to hit the bookstands in May 2021.It will be published by the prestigious publishing house, Penguin India.

Sarita Mor became the first Indian woman to win two consecutive gold medals in the Asian championships as she defended her women’s 59kg title in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Seema Bisla (50kg) and Pooja (76kg) settled for bronze medals at the continental Championship.

Probably in one of the highest yearly spend towards disaster mitigation, the central government has released more than Rs 30,000 crore of disaster funds to states and Union Territories since the beginning of the pandemic last year.

India has been listed under countries considered “bad” for journalism and is among the most dangerous places in the world for journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders, which published its 2021 World Press Freedom Index

E-commerce giant Amazon India has launched $250 million Amazon Smbhav Venture Fund(the venture fund) to invest in startups and entrepreneurs focusing on technology innovations in SMB (small and medium business) digitization, agriculture and healthcare.

The Ministry of Rural Development recently launched the Gender Samvaad Event. It is a joint initiative between DAY-NRLM and IWWAGE.

India has operationalised 75,532 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres so far despite the COVID-19 pandemic and is on track to functionalise 1.5 lakh HWCs by December 2022, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said.

Sutapa Basu, a TOI Write India winner and AutHor Award for Best Fiction 2020 winner, released her seventh book ‘The Cursed Inheritance’.