Test: August 2021 Weekly Current Affair - 1 - UPSC MCQ

The book titled “Leopard Diaries: The Rosette in India” book written by Wildlife Biologist Sanjay Gubbi has been released recently.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-RUPI, an electronic voucher-based digital payment system.
e-RUPI is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment. It gets delivered to the mobile phones of beneficiaries through a QR code or SMS string. It is developed by National Payments Corporation of India.

NITI Aayog released a report which presents reform pathways to transform the country’s power distribution sector. The report, titled ‘Turning Around the Power Distribution Sector’, is co-authored by NITI Aayog, RMI and RMI India.

Mumbai and Bengaluru are out of the global top-100 list and are currently ranking at 106 and 110, respectively in the latest edition of the QS Best Student Cities Ranking.While Mumbai lost 29 places, Bengaluru fell by 21 places in the ninth edition of the rankings brought out by global higher education analysts QS Quacquarelli Symonds. London retain its status as the world’s best student city for the third consecutive edition. It is followed by Munich, which rises from 4th to 2nd. Seoul, which jumps from 10th to joint-3rd, shares the bronze-medal position with Olympic hosts Tokyo.

Author Harshaa Bharatula’s debut novel, “The Khan of Khel Khudaai,” has been released recently.

India’s flagship military exhibition, DefExpo, which is the land and naval systems show of the Defence Ministry, is scheduled to be held in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar from March 11-13 next year.

Magma Fincorp has been renamed as Poonawalla Fincorp with effect from July 22 after Adar Poonawalla-led Rising Sun Holdings acquired a controlling stake in the non-banking finance company (NBFC).

Bangladesh and Canada has decided to accept the invitation to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

Chandel district in Manipur has topped the list of aspirational districts ranked by government think tank Niti Aayog for the month of June. Sahibganj (Jharkhand) and Firozpur (Punjab) have been ranked at the second and third positions, respectively, Niti Aayog said.

Renowned writer Kunal Basu’s new novel titled ‘In An Ideal World’ is expected to release in early 2022, publisher Penguin Random House India announced recently.

Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, a navigation and direction specialist, assumed charge as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Navy.

The book titled “Balakot Air Strike: How India Avenged Pulwama“, published by Garuda Prakashan, is written by Navy veteran Manan Bhatt.

Leading Indian-origin entrepreneur Ajay Dilwari has been honoured with Canada’s prestigious Order of British Columbia award, the province’s highest form of recognition.

National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) under Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India has entered into an MoU with Punjab National Bank, the premier Bank in the country, to extend financial assistance through the Bank.

Deepak Das took charge as the new Controller General of Accounts.Mr Deepak Das is the 25th officer to hold the position of Controller General of Accounts (CGA).

Incorrect
In a first in India, Lakshadweep will soon have water villas similar to those in the Maldives. Water villas will be set up at the cost of ₹800 crore to attract tourists to the scenic beauty of Lakshadweep.

Eutelsat Quantum, the world’s first commercial fully re-programmable satellite lifted off from French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 rocket, with the hope of a new era of more flexible communications. Eutelsat Quantum is developed under an ESA partnership project.

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, the highest sporting honour of India, has been renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced.

The Union Cabinet cleared changes to the deposit insurance laws to provide funds up to Rs 5 lakh to an account holder within 90 days in the event of a bank coming under the moratorium imposed by the RBI.
The government has also permitted raising the deposit insurance premium by 20 per cent immediately, and maximum by 50 per cent. The premium is paid by banks to the DICGC.

Shehroze Kashif, 19-year old Pakistani climber became the youngest person in the world to reach the summit of K2, the second-highest peak in the world.

Dhriti Banerjee has become the first woman to be appointed as director of the 105-year-old Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

Nikol Pashinyan has been re-appointed as the prime minister of Armenia by President Armen Sarkissian.

Multilateral funding agency Asian Development Bank (ADB) has okayed an over Rs 831 crore (USD 112 million) loan to finance water supply infrastructure in Jharkhand.

Indian Institute of Technology Madras has launched the country’s first Consortium for Virtual Reality called ‘Consortium for VR/AR/MR Engineering Mission in India’ (CAVE). As a group of academia, industries, start-ups, and Government bodies, this consortium is being coordinated by IIT Madras.

Seven Indian companies have found a place in 2021 Fortune’s Global 500 list. Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd is the highest-ranked Indian company on the list in terms of revenue, with revenues of nearly $63 billion. It is placed at 155th spot globally.
Globally, Walmart has topped the list in terms of revenue for the eighth consecutive year and the 16th time since 1995. Second and third position secured by State Grid (China) and Amazon.com (US)