Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
Telugu poet Dr. K Siva Reddy has been awarded the prestigious Saraswati Samman 2018 for his collection of poetry titled ‘Pakkaki Ottigilite (Turning Aside While Lying Down)’. The award has been conferred by the KK Birla Foundation &  carries a cash prize of  Rs 15 lakh, a citation and a plaque.

Notes:
Noted Physicist Thanu Padmanabhan, a professor of Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, has won the M P Birla Memorial Award 2019 for his contributions to the world of cosmology. It consists of a citation, trophy and a cheque for Rs 2,51,000.

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The International Day of Older Persons is observed every year on 1st October to highlight the important contributions that older people make to society and raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges of ageing in today’s world. The 2019 theme is ‘The Journey to Age Equality’.

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The first-ever National Nutrition Survey have been conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and UNICEF between February 2016 and October 2018 to measure malnutrition. The key findings of the survey, which are yet to be made public,are as follows: nearly 10% of children in the age group of 5-9 years and adolescents in the age group of 10-19 years are pre-diabetic, 5% are overweight and another 5% suffer from Blood Pressure (BP). The report is providing first time hard evidence of the coexistence of obesity and under-nutrition among school going children.

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The book titled ‘The RSS: Roadmaps for the 21st Century’ has been authored by Sunil Ambekar of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) student wing. The book represents RSS roadmap and vision for every sector in the country.

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Annu Rani has become the first Indian to qualify for Women’s Javelin Throw final at World Athletics Championships (WAC) in Doha. She smashed her own national record during the qualification round of the Championships with best attempt of 62.43 metres.

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The Union Water Ministry has  excavated an old, dried-up river in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The aim is to develop a newly discovered river as a potential groundwater recharge source. This “ancient buried river” is around 4 km wide, 45 km long and consisted of a 15-metre-thick layer buried under soil. The discovery was made by a team of scientists  from the CSIR-NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) & the Central Groundwater Board (CGB) during a helicopter-borne geophysical survey covering the Prayagraj and Kaushambi region in Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
On the occasion of nationwide Paryatan Parv 2019, the Union Ministry of Tourism launched the Audio Guide facility App “Audio Odigos” for 12 sites of India (including Iconic Sites) for the benefit of the tourists. It offers Government of India (GoI) verified content with visuals & voice over support. The app contains an inbuilt map of the site for a smooth navigation during the tour. Listeners will be offered various versions of history like Synopsis, Detailed History and Podcasts. The audio can be chosen in their preferred language & version of the history. 

Notes:
Under the Food Safety Act of 2006, the Rajasthan government has recently announced a ban on paan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured ‘supari’ in the state to reduce addiction among the youth. With this, Rajasthan has become the third State after Maharashtra and Bihar to announce such a move.

Notes:
The 2019 edition of World Space Week (WSW) is celebrating the 50th anniversary of humankind’s first step on the Moon on 20th July 1969 with theme “The Moon: Gateway to the Stars” from 4th to 10th October. The theme is devoted to our nearest space neighbor to celebrate the incredible achievement of landing on the Moon and to spark consideration of the value of the Moon in humankind’s future space endeavors.