2nd November Current Affairs 2021

1. Which word has been selected as the “Word of the Year” by the Oxford Dictionary in 2021?

(1) Lockdown
(2) Climate
(3) Vax
(4) Single-use

Correct Answer – (3) Vax

Explanation:

• ‘Vax’ selected as Oxford English Dictionary’s 2021 Word of the Year.
• ‘Vax’ has been chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in 2021.
• Vax derived from the Latin word vacca, which means cow.
• Vax is used as a short form for vaccine and means a substance put into a person’s body to prevent them from getting a disease.
• Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, words related to vaccines saw surge in 2021, including terms like doublevaxxed, unvaxxed and anti-vaxxer.

2. Which state has topped the Public Affairs Index 2021 among the large states?

(1) Karnataka
(2) Telangana
(3) Tamil Nadu
(4) Kerala

Correct Answer – (4) Kerala

Explanation:

• According to the 6th edition of the Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru- based non-profit think tank, the top three slots have been taken by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana among 18 large states.
• PAI 2021 highlights the state government’s quality governance and especially the state’s government involvement over the curb of Covid-19.

3. Which state has achieved 100% target in providing FREE Ration and 1st Dose of COVID19?

(1) Kerala
(2) Goa
(3) Nagaland
(4) Gujarat

Correct Answer – (2) Goa

Explanation:

• Goa has achieved a 100 percent target in providing free ration and the first dose of Covid-19.
• Goa has already achieved the target of becoming Open Defecation Free.
• The state has also achieved targets of Har Ghar Jal Abhiyan and electricity connection to every household.
• Aatmanirbhar Bharat Swayampurna Goa programme was also launched in October 2020.

4. Who has been appointed as the Director General of World Health Organization (WHO)?

(1) Marise Payne
(2) Alpha Barry
(3) Tedros Adhanom
(4) Tete Antonio

Correct Answer – (3) Tedros Adhanom

Explanation:

• The World Health Organization, on 29 Oct 2021, informed that its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is running unopposed for a second five-year term.
• The announcement was made after the deadline for candidacies for the next term expired on September 23.
• Tedros, an Ethiopian national, is the first African to head WHO.
• He was a former Health and Foreign Minister of Ethiopia.

5. Which state government has launched the “Parents Samvad” program in all government schools?

(1) Haryana
(2) Delhi
(3) Gujarat
(4) West Bengal

Correct Answer – (2) Delhi

Explanation:

• Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has launched “Parents Samvad”, an outreach programme for parents of Delhi government school children.
• According to Deputy CM, over 18 lakh parents will be connected on a one-to-one basis under the programme called “Parents Samvad: let’s talk to parents”.
• In this programme, Delhi government schools will seek help from volunteer parents, who will be called ‘school mitras’, to bridge the gap between School Management Committees (SMCs) and parents.

6. Who has been appointed as the Chairperson of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)?

(1) Ashok Bhushan
(2) Arvind Bobde
(3) Ranjan Gogoi
(4) Dipak Misra

Correct Answer – (1) Ashok Bhushan

Explanation:

• Centre has appointed former Supreme Court Judge Justice Ashok Bhushan as the new Chairperson of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), for a period of four years or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is the earliest.
• Justice Bhushan was the former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court.
• NCLAT was formed by the government under Section 410 of the Companies Act, 2013.
• Apart from this, Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar has been appointed as the new President of quasijudicial body, National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for five years or till he attains the age of 67 years.
• Justice Sudhakar was the former Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.

7. Which corporate was elected as the President of World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA)?

(1) Nippon India
(2) India Invest
(3) BlueChip
(4) Invest India

Correct Answer – (4) Invest India

Explanation:

• Invest India has been unanimously elected as the President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) for 2021-2023.
• Invest India is the National Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency that helps investors looking for investment opportunities and options in India.
• WAIPA was established in 1995 under the auspices of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

8. Which medal has been won by Tajamul Islam in the recent World Kickboxing Championship?

(1) Gold
(2) Silver
(3) Bronze
(4) None of these

Correct Answer – (1) Gold

Explanation:

• Srinanagr’s Taijul Islam won a gold medal in the Under-14 category of the World Kickboxing Championship, held in Cairo, Egypt on October 22.
• Islam defeated the Argentinan player in the final of the World Kickboxing Championship.
• She had four bouts – two with Egypt, semi-final with France and faced Argentina in the final of the World Kickboxing Championship.

9. Who has been elected as the Director of National Drug Control Policy?

(1) Regina LaBelle
(2) Rahul Gupta
(3) Sanjay Gupta
(4) Vivek Murthy

Correct Answer – (2) Dr Rahul Gupta

Explanation:

• The United States Senate has approved Dr. Rahul Gupta as the Director of National Drug Control Policy on October 28.
• Gupta who is a prominent Indian-American primary care physician is going to be the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)’s first medical doctor to lead the position.
• Rahul was born in India and was raised in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. He is the son of an Indian official. He was then graduated from the University of Delhi’s medical school at the very young age of 21.

10. Which of the following was appointed on the Board of Trustees of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art?

(1) Isha Ambani
(2) Carolyn Brehm
(3) Peter Kimmelma
(4) All of above

Correct Answer – (4) All of above

Explanation:

• Board member of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance Retail and Reliance Foundation, Isha Ambani was appointed on the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art.
• The appointment is for 4 years.
• Apart from Isha Ambani, Carolyn Brehm, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Brehm Global Ventures LLC and lecturer, and Peter Kimmelman, also joined the board.
• Antoine van Agtmael is the chair of the museum’s board of trustees.
• The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art preserves, exhibits, and interprets Asian art in ways that deepen our understandings of Asia, the United States, and the world.

11. Who has inaugurated new Lighthouse at Valiyazhikkal of Kerala?

(1) Narendra Modi
(2) Amit Shah
(3) Piyush Goyal
(4) Sarbananda Sonowal

Correct Answer – (4) Sarbananda Sonowal

Explanation:

• Union Minister for Ports, Shipping & Waterways, and AYUSH, Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated a new Lighthouse at Valiyazhikkal in Alappuzha district of Kerala on 30 October 2021.
• The Government has approved the development of 75 lighthouses for tourism as a part of the 75th Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• 11 other Lighthouses in Kerala have been earmarked for the development of Tourism.

12. Who has launched the 6th edition of National Formulary of India?

(1) Dharmendra Pradhan
(2) Ashwini Vaishnav
(3) Mansukh Mandaviya
(4) Rajeev Bansal

Correct Answer – (3) Mansukh Mandaviya

Explanation:

• Union Minister for Health & Family Welfare, Mansukh Mandaviya, launched the 6th Edition of National Formulary of India (NFI) on October 25, 2021.
• NFI was published by the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) for promoting rational use of medicines in India.
• According to Minister, NFI 2021 would act as the guidance document for all the healthcare professionals like pharmacists, clinicians, dentists, nurses, etc.
• NFI 2021 will act as a guidance document for all the healthcare professionals such as clinicians, pharmacists, nurses and dentists. It will play a crucial role in daily clinical practices.

13. Which IT company has won the 2021 HPE GreenLake Ecosystem Partner of the Year Award?

(1) Accenture
(2) Cognizant
(3) Wipro
(4) TCS

Correct Answer – (4) TCS

Explanation:

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has won the 2021 Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) GreenLake Ecosystem Partner of the Year Award.
• The 2021 HPE Partner of the Year Awards recognize HPE partners from across the ecosystem for their incredible commitment to customer excellence, continued strong performance, focus on growth, and dedication to mutual achievements.
• This award confirms TCS’ ongoing commitment to providing the highest level of customer experience, as well as transformative and innovative IT solutions.

14. Union Minister Amit Shah has launched the “Dairy Sahakar” scheme in

(1) Delhi
(2) Gujarat
(3) Uttarakhand
(4) Uttar Pradesh

Correct Answer – (2) Gujarat

Explanation:

• The Union Minister of Cooperation Shri Amit Shah launched the “Dairy Sahakar” scheme on October 31, 2021 at Anand, Gujarat during a function organised by Amul to celebrate the 75th Foundation Year of Amul.
• Total outlay of the Dairy Sahakar scheme is Rs 5000 crore.
• The scheme will be implemented by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) under Ministry of Cooperation.
• The scheme will supplement the existing efforts of strengthening the dairy sector in the country, doubling the farmers income as well as realize the vision of ‘from cooperation to prosperity’.
• Under the scheme NCDC will extend financial support to eligible cooperatives for activities like bovine development, milk procurement, processing, quality assurance, value addition, branding, packaging, marketing, transportation and storage of milk and milk products, exports of dairy products among others.

15. Which company has become the World’s most valuable company?

(1) Apple
(2) Microsoft
(3) Amazon
(4) Google

Correct Answer – (2) Microsoft

Explanation:

• Microsoft Corp. has surpassed Apple Inc. to become the world’s most valuable publicly-traded company by market capitalisation on October 29, 2021.
• At market close on October 29, 2021, Apple stood at about $2.46 trillion while Microsoft reached nearly $2.49 trillion.
• Apple had held the top position for more than a year.