Current Affairs Today – Current Affairs 2020- 2021

Q. Which country has recently supported the temporary abolition of patents on the corona vaccine?
A. USA
B. UK
C. Russia
D. Germany

The US has supported India’s and South Africa’s demand for temporary removal of patents on the corona vaccine.
▪ The US has said that it is committed to protecting intellectual property, but supports the demand to phase out patents on the vaccine to combat the epidemic. This move of America is considered important for India
and other countries. If the patent on the corona vaccine is removed, it will not only increase the production of the vaccine, but it will also reduce the price.

Q. Recently, Jersey islands were in news due to dispute between which two countries?
A. UK and France
B. UK and Russia
C. Russia and USA
D. France and Spain

Authorities on the island of Jersey accused France of acting disproportionately after Paris threatened to cut off electricity amid dispute over fishing rights following Britain’s departure from the European Union.
▪ French maritime minister Annick Girdardin warned Tuesday that France was ready to take “retaliatory measures” after it accused Jersey of stalling in issuing licenses to French boats under the terms of the U.K.’s
post-Brexit trade deal with the EU

Q. A biotech firm of which of the following country has recently made the genetically modified mosquitoes for the first time?
A. Russia
B. USA
C. China
D. Japan

A Biotech firm in the United States, Oxitech, recently launched the most controversial field test of Genetically Modified mosquitos in Florida. Naturally, the male Aedes aegypti mosquitos do not bite.Only the females bite and spread diseases. The researchers have now bioengineered the male Aedes aegypti mosquitos. The bioengineered male Aedes aegypti carries a gene that passes to their offsprings and kills the female progeny alone in early larval
Stage.

Q. According to a recent study based on fossil leaves, Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled which present day country?
A. Australia
B. New Zealand
C. USA
D. Britain

According to a recent study based on fossil leaves, Indian monsoon 25 million years ago resembled present day
Australia’s.
▪ The morphological characters of fossil leaves from different geological ages collected from Deccan Volcanic Province, East Garo Hills of Meghalaya, Gurha mine in Rajasthan and Makum Coalfield in Assam were analysed.

Q. Recently, more than 100 seals was found dead on which water body’s coast?
A. Black Sea
B. Aral Sea
C. Caspian Sea
D. Black Sea

More than one hundred and seventy seals were washed up dead over the shores of Caspian Sea in Russia. Experts
believe that the seals might have died due to industrial pollution or might have got caught in the nets. Caspian Sea
is the largest inland water body in the world. It is bounded by five countries namely Kazakhstan, Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

Q. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently formulated a special Kharif Strategy. It is to be implemented by which year?
A. 2021
B. 2022
C. 2023
D. 2024

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare recently formulated a special Kharif Strategy. This strategy is to be implemented in the Kharif season 2021.
▪ It includes a detailed plan to expand the area of cultivation and eventually increase the productivity of Moong, Tur, and Urad has been formulated.

Q. Recently government has made it mandatory for all states and Union Territories to issue a certificate of disability only using UDID portal. When was UDID project implemented?
A. 2014
B. 2015
C. 2016
D. 2017

The UDID project is under implementation since 2016. The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities recentlymade it mandatory for all states and Union Territories to issue a certificate of disability only using UDID portal. This is to come into force from June 1, 2021.
▪ UDID is Unique ID for Persons with Disabilities Project. The project aims to provide a Universal ID And disability certificates for persons with disabilites

Q. Which of the following bank has recently launched a host of measures to protect individual borrowers and the small and medium enterprises in the country?
A. SBI
B. IDBI
C. Bank of India
D. RBI

The Reserve Bank of India recently launched a host of measures to protect individual borrowers and the small
and medium enterprises in the country.
▪ RBI has opened on-tap liquidity window of Rs 50,000 crores at repo rate of 4%. The loans provided under this
window will be classified under “Priority sector” till repayment.

Q. Recently, Hoolock Gibbons were in news. What are these?
A. Spider
B. Apes
C. Dinosaur
D. None of the above

Hoolock Gibbons are lesser apes. They are the second largest of the Gibbons after Siamang. Earlier it was said that India (North East India) is home to two species namely Eastern Hoolock Gibbon and Western Hoolock Gibbon.
▪ However, a recent study by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology has found that only western Hoolock Gibbon is found in India.

Q. Recently, former Union Minister Ajit Singh passed away due to Covid-19. He was associated with which
political party?
A. Congress
B. RLD
C. BJP
D. Shivsena

Ajit Singh was a seven-time Member of Parliament from Baghpat, and served as Union Minister for Civil Aviation,
Agriculture, and Food Processing Industries in different governments. He had served in the governments of VP
Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh.