10 PM Daily Current Affairs Quiz | July 4 2021

The DRDO has successfully flight tested a New Generation Nuclear Capable Ballistic Missile Agni P from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha. 

About Agni Prime missile: 

• Agni P is a canisterised based missile. Canisterisation of missiles reduces the time required to launch the missile while improving its storage and mobility, 
• This means that it can be launched from rail and road and stored for a longer period.It can also be transported across the length and breadth of the country. 
• Weight: The missile weighs 50% less than Agni III and has new guidance and a new generation of propulsion. 

• Range: The missile has a range between 1000km to 2000km.It has been developed specifically to strike targets in Pakistan.Its range is too short to reach targets in the Chinese mainland. 
•  The Agni-P will replace the Prithvi, Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles that were built two decades ago with technologies that are now considered outdated. 

Source: PIB 

The central government has extended the term of K.K. Venugopal as Attorney General (AG) for one more year.

About the Attorney General (AG) of India:

• The Attorney General (AG) of India is a part of the Union Executive. AG is the highest law officer in the country.
• Appointment: AG is appointed by the President on the advice of the government. S/he must be a person who is qualified to be appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. i.e.

• s/he must be a citizen of India
• S/he must have been a judge of some high court for five years or an advocate of some high court for ten years or an eminent jurist, in the opinion of the President.

• Procedures and grounds for the removal of AG are not mentioned in the Constitution. S/he holds office during the pleasure of the President (may be removed by the President at any time).

Source: The Hindu

Both statements are correct

• Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) was launched by the Government of India in 2018.
• Aim: It aims to create an ecosystem to promote innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace. For that, it will attract industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes & academia.

• It will also provide grants/funding and other support to them to carry out R&D. However, R&D should have a good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.

• Objectives of IDEX:

• Facilitate rapid development of new, indigenized, and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sector in shorter timelines.
• Create a culture of engagement with innovative startups, to encourage co-creation for defence and aerospace sectors.
• Empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defence and aerospace sectors.

• Nodal Body: iDEX will be funded and managed by Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO).

• Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) is a not-for-profit Organisation, incorporated under Section 8 of the Companies Act.

Source: Article

• At the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (CoP) 2015 in Paris, the government of India made a Bonn Challenge pledge to bring 13 million hectares of degraded land into restoration by 2020 and an additional 8 million hectares by 2030.

Source: Article

• These principles called for the development of a universal set of standards for non-coercive interviewing and associated procedural safeguards during investigations to ensure that no person — including suspects, witnesses, victims, and other persons being interviewed — is subjected to torture, ill-treatment, or coercion while being questioned.

Source: Article

Both statements are correct 

• An independent Director is a director on a board of directors representing minority shareholders. He/she does not have a pecuniary relationship with the company or related persons, except for sitting fees. 
• Their role is to take an unambiguously and independently stand to have a check and balance on the majority shareholders. It reduces exposure of the company to unwarranted risks. 
• As per the Companies Act, 2013 all listed public companies need to have at least one-third of the total Directors to be independent. 

 Source: Article 

• NATRAX is one of the state-of-the-art automotive testing and certification centre under NATRiP, a flagship project of the Ministry of Heavy Industries, Govt of India planned under the Automotive Mission Plan launched by Government of India.
• The track has been designed for neutral speeds up to 250 kmph and a maximum speed of up to 375 kmph on curves. There is no limit to maximum speed on the straight patch.
• The zero-percent longitudinal slope makes this track an open-air test laboratory for precise measurement of the performance of vehicles.
• Moreover, the track is open to having vehicles from overseas being evaluated here as part of the testing process.

Source: Article

The G4 nations comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan are four countries which support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

Source: Article 

LEAF (Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition was announced at the Leaders Summit on Climate, 2021.

About the LEAF Coalition:

It is a collective of the governments of the USA, United Kingdom and Norway.

LEAF coalition will be one of the largest ever public-private efforts to protect tropical forests and intend to mobilize at least USD 1 billion in financing to countries committed to protecting their tropical forests.

As it is a public-private effort, thus also supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Nestle, Airbnb etc.

The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.

REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.

Source: Down To Earth

Recently, Indian Railway (IR) has opened the first movable freshwater tunnel aquarium at Bengaluru Railway Station.

The Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna Railway Station also known as Bengaluru City Railway Station has become the first railway station in India with a movable freshwater tunnel aquarium.

The aquarium is a one-of-its-kind aquatic park based on the Amazon River (of South America) concept.

This is a 12-feet long aquatic kingdom, first paludarium (vivarium that incorporates both terrestrial and aquatic elements) with myriad flora and fauna.

It is home to various aquatic animals such as alligator gar ranging, stingrays, sharks, lobsters, snails and shrimps. The aquarium is adorned with natural rocks and splashes of driftwood, artificial coral rocks.

Source: Indian Express