Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2018

Notes:
Yeshwant Deo (91), the veteran Marathi musician, has passed away recently in Dadar, Maharashtra on October 31, 2018. He had composed music for many films including Shabana Azmi-starrer “Saaz”. Born on 1st November 1926, Deo was a revered figure in the Marathi music circle and industry where he composed music for more than 40 Marathi films and plays. He worked in All India Radio (AIR) as a sitar player. A recipient of the Lata Mangeshkar award, Yeshwant was also known for his composition in Bhav Geet. He won several awards such as Maharashtra state award for music direction for the play Amrapali (1974). He also published books on devotional music.

Notes:
Justice Naresh Harishchandra Patil has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office to Justice Patil at a brief ceremony held at Raj Bhavan. The Bombay High Court is one of the oldest High Courts of India and its principle seat is at Mumbai. Its jurisdiction covers the states of Maharashtra and Goa, and the Union Territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Notes:
The scientists at CSIR have developed Less Polluting ‘Green’ Firecrackers which are not only environment friendly but 15-20 % cheaper than the conventional ones. These crackers have been named as Safe Water Releaser (SWAS), Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) and Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR). The commonly used pollution-causing chemicals – aluminium, barium, potassium nitrate and carbon – have either been removed or sharply reduced in the green crackers to reduce emissions by 15-30% . These eco-friendly firecrackers have the unique property of releasing water vapour and /or air as dust suppressant and diluent for gaseous emissions and matching performance in sound with conventional crackers. SWAS eliminates usage of (KNO3) Potassium nitrate and Sulphur, while STAR eliminates usage of KNO3 and S. On the other side, SAFAL has minimal usage of aluminium (only in flash powder for initiation) as compared to commercial crackers.The main point to be noted here is that these crackers match the same sound intensity with that of commercial crackers in the range of 105-110 decibel. The new crackers have been developed by scientists of two national labs of CSIR- Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) based in Karaikudi, Tamil Nadu and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur.

Notes:
The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS) organized a seminar on Gandhian Thought and Swachhata in Wardha district of Maharashtra on October 29, 2018. It was part of 150th birth year celebrations of Father of the Nation. The seminar was centered on the Gandhian ideology on sanitation and the implementation of the same through the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM). It addressed on topics such as appropriate technologies in rural sanitation, organic waste management, and preventive sanitation. The main focus of the seminar was the Gandhi ji’s concept of Swachh evam Swawalambhi Sankul. The SBM campaign is a massive people’s movement, which has shown significant progress with the rural sanitation coverage having increased from 39%, at the launch of the SBM in 2014, to over 95% today. With 8.7 crore toilets constructed, 5.15 lakh villages, 530 districts and 25 States and Union Territories have been declared ODF. The campaign was officially launched on 2nd October 2014 at Rajghat, New Delhi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Notes:
19-times world champion Pankaj Advani has won the second leg of Asian Snooker Tour title by delivering a power-packed performance to outclass China’s Ju Reti 6-1 in the final at Jinan, China.With this, Advani has become the first Indian to win an Asian Snooker Tour event. The IBSF World Billiards and Snooker Championships is less than a fortnight away and the Indian star cueist is the defending champion in both sports. The new 10-red format of the Tour was well-received by all players as some fine performances were on display throughout the second leg. Pankaj Advani will now have to immediately switch to Billiards as Myanmar hosts the prestigious world championships from November 12 to 27.

Notes:
Steel manufacturing giant Tata Steel has been named as an official partner of the 14th edition of the FIH men’s hockey World Cup 2018 to continue their efforts of promoting development through sports across the country. The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from November 28 to December 16. India will host the upcoming prestigious 2018 FIH World Cup for the 3rd time after having played hosts in 1982 in Mumbai and in 2010 in New Delhi. A total of 16 nations will take part in the tournament which will see each team play three matches during the league stage over a span of 12 days before four cross-over matches take place on December 10 and 11.

Notes:
On November 1, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to rename the Jharsuguda airport of Odisha after eminent freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. Renaming of the Jharsuguda airport in his name will fulfill long-pending demand of the Odisha Government, which reflects the sentiments of the local public of the respective area. It will also be a befitting tribute to the contribution of the revered personality associated with the State. Veer Surendra Sai, who was born on 22nd January 1809 in Sambalpur district of the State, had sacrificed his life fighting against British East India company. He and his associates resisted the British and successfully protected most parts of Western Odisha region for some time from the British rule. Many of them were hanged by the British & a few died in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Surendra Sai died in Asirgarh Jail on 23rd May 1884.

Notes:
According to India’s first-ever ‘Ease of Moving Index 2018’ – India Report 2018, Kolkata has topped the index in terms of cleanliness and affordability of public transport, followed by New Delhi and Chennai. The index offers insights on mobility preferences & aspirations of Indian commuters across 20 cities with a population of over 92 million. It was released by Ola Mobility Institute (OMI), the research and outreach arm of Ola ride-hailing platform. The 2018 report, which was released by the Union Minister for Surface Transport Nitin Gadkari, seeks to offer a comprehensive action plan for cities to further strengthen their public transportation systems and improve the overall state of mobility. Over 43,000 respondents from 20 cities across the country were surveyed. Cities were selected on five parameters — scale, character, culture, economy and geography. The report also assessed the accessibility, efficiency and safety of current transportation facilities. More than 95% of denizens prefer sustainable mobility and 80% observed transport ecosystem has improved over the last five years with 60% reporting using public modes of commute.

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has awarded the Assam Police for “good practices” under the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS), an e-governance project. The award was given for citizen centric service delivery, in which the state police has automated passport verification and Permanent Residential Certificate (PRC) services using the online CCTNS. Under the CCTNS, the force has recently launched a mobile application for ease of availability of services to the citizens, besides the existing online system.

Notes:
HSBC Holdings Plc has executed India’s first trade financial transaction using blockchain for a deal involving an export by Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to US-based Tricon Energy. The blockchain-enabled letter of credit (LC) reduces transaction timeline from 7-10 days to less than a day. The Letter of Credit (LC) was issued by ING Bank for Tricon Energy USA (importer) with HSBC India as the advisory and negotiation bank for RIL. The blockchain platform was integrated with the electronic bill of lading (eBL) platform to issue and manage an electronic bill of lading. This allows a digital transfer of the title of goods from the seller to the buyer in the underlying trade. It is claimed that the blockchain solution is a major improvement for any organisation involved in buying and selling goods internationally, as it brings together all parties onto one platform. It is a distributed database that maintains a continuously-growing list of ordered records called blocks and is deemed to be very transparent as all the stakeholders can view progress real time.