Current Affairs For (July 17, 2021)

Answers With Explantion : (C) NTPC Renewable Energy (NTPC REL) has inked a pact with the Union Territory of Ladakh to set up a ‘Green hydrogen mobility project’ in the region. Leh would be the first city in the country to implement a green hydrogen-based mobility project, once completed. NTPC is set to ply 5 hydrogen buses and to set up a solar plant and a green hydrogen generation unit in Leh. NTPC’s first solar installations in Leh in form of solar trees and a solar car port were also inaugurated.

Answers With Explantion : (B) The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the appeal of Bihar government, against the acquittal of the accused in the Senari massacre of 1999, by Patna High Court. In 1999, 34 men were allegedly forced out of their homes in Senari village of Jehanabad district by cadres of the now defunct Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), and they were said to be slaughtered in the village. The massacre was a sequel in the prolonged caste war between the MCC and private armies of the villagers.

Answers With Explantion : (C) Bastille Day, also known as the National day of France is grandly celebrated on 14 July every year. The day is celebrated with fireworks and parades, across the country. The National day is celebrated in remembrance of the fall of Bastille on July 14, 1789. It was on the same day when an angry crowd stormed and captured the military fortress and prison (Bastille) where political prisoners were held captive.

Answers With Explantion : (B) Kármán line is the most widely accepted boundary of space, which is 100km above mean sea level. But the United States uses 80km as the edge of space. It was named after aerospace veteran Theodore von Kármán. Recently, British businessman Richard Branson reached the edge of space, to promote space tourism. But experts are in doubt whether he has really touched the official edge of space. While Branson’s Virgin Galactic flight reached a height of 86km, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin flight is expected to fly above 106km.

Answers With Explantion : (B) During the ‘Bol Bom’ yatra usually held in the state of Odisha, the devotees start their barefoot journey to Shiva temple to offer the holy water at Shiva shrines in the month of ‘Shravan’. Due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in Odisha, the state government announced a ban on the religious activities and congregations of ‘Kaudias’ or ‘Bol Bom’ devotees. The Uttarakhand government had earlier cancelled the Kanwar Yatra for the second year in a row.

Answers With Explantion : (D) The UN’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report says the number of undernourished people in India has declined by 60 million, from 21.7 per cent of the population in 2004-06 to 14 per cent in 2017-19.

Answers With Explantion : (A) China successfully sent a commercial telecommunication satellite, known as APSTAR-6D, into a planned orbit from the southwestern Xichang Satellite Launch Center.

Answers With Explantion : (B) Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank virtually released the PRAGYATA guidelines on digital education in New Delhi. The PRAGYATA guidelines include eight steps of online education that is, Plan, Review, Arrange, Guide, Yak(talk), Assign, Track, and Appreciate.

Answers With Explantion: (B) A parliamentary committee headed by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor held deliberations on banning of Chinese apps. The government has banned 59 Chinese apps, including TikTok, SHAREiT and WeChat, terming them prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and national security.

Answers With Explantion : (D) Every year World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is celebrated on 15 July to recognise the strategic importance of equipping young people with the skills of employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship. The theme for World Youth Skills Day 2020 is Skills for a Resilient Youth.