Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
The Arunachal Pradesh Government has recently launched the Chief Minister’s Sashakt Kisan Yojana (SKY) and Chief Minister’s Krishi Samuh Yojana (KSY) in Itanagar. The Sashakt Kisan Yojana (SKY) will subsume three state flagship programmes, namely – CM’s Employment Generation Scheme (EGS), CM’s Agri-Mechanization Programme (AMP) and CM’s Flagship Programme on Tea and Rubber. The aim of the KSY is to empower the farmers through cooperative approach, by providing timely supports and marketing interventions of the government for better price realization and doubling farmers’ income.

Notes:
US duo William D. Nordhaus and Paul M. Romer have won the 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for research “about innovation, climate and economic growth”. Laureate Romer was honoured for his work on the endogenous growth theory, which has generated vast amounts of new research into the regulations and policies that encourage new ideas and long-term prosperity. While Laureate Nordhaus was specifically honoured for “integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis”. His research shows that the most efficient remedy for problems caused by greenhouse gas emissions is a global scheme of carbon taxes uniformly imposed on all countries. Nordhaus was the first person to create a quantitative model that describes the global interplay between the economy and the climate. His model is now widespread and is used to examine the consequences of climate policy interventions, for example carbon taxes. & The pair will share the 9 million Swedish kronor (S$1.3 million) prize.

Notes:
Recently, Infosys Foundation announced Rs 1.5 crores Aarohan Social Innovation Awards (ASIA) to push innovation in social work following increase in funds under the government rules. The awards would be given in six categories including healthcare, rural development and destitute care. The purpose of the awards is to recognise and reward individuals, teams or NGOs that are developing unique solutions for the social sector that have the potential to positively impact the underprivileged in India, at scale. The application for the first edition of the awards would be available from October 15 till this year-end. Participants can submit entries describing their work in the form of videos that can be uploaded on the Aarohan social innovation awards website. Under the government rules, it is mandatory for certain categories of company to spend, in every financial year, at least 2% of the average net profits made during the three immediately preceding financial years, in pursuance of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted the high-level Strategic Policy Group (SPG) to assist the National Security Council (NSC), which advises the prime minister on matters of national security and strategic interests. The SPG will be chaired by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and its members include the NITI Aayog vice chairman, the cabinet secretary, the chiefs of the three defence services, the RBI governor, the foreign secretary, the home secretary, the finance secretary and the defence secretary. The secretary of the Department of Defence Production and Supplies, the scientific adviser to the defence minister and the secretary (R), Cabinet Secretariat will also be members of the panel. The group will assist the National Security Council and undertake among other tasks, a long-term strategic review of country’s security affairs.

Notes:
The book “The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India” has been authored by Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor. It is divided in five sections comprising 50 chapters & will release on 26th October 2018. The first section takes a close look at Modi’s life and times. The other four sections look at key aspects of the way in which Modi’s government functions and the lasting and often “deleterious impact” it has had on Indian society, major institutions, the economy, foreign policy and our fundamental values. In this explosive new book, Tharoor gives us an extraordinary portrait of Narendra Modi and his years in power. The book is currently available for pre-orders on Amazon.

Notes:
Kishour Giri (63), the noted Assamese singer and music director, has passed away in Guwahati on October 7, 2018 . He lent his voice to various social issues. He would often be seen on the streets of Guwahati, strumming a guitar and singing or raising his voice against the many evils that plague the society. Giri, who could play a number of musical instruments, including the guitar, violin and mandolin, composed music for a few Assamese films and television serials. Recently, he had appealed to the public and the state government, in his signature style, for financial support to ‘Village Rockstars’, India’s official entry to 2019 Oscars. Like the legendary Bhupen Hazarika, he too believed that the society needs ‘gaan’ (songs) instead of gun.

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NITI Aayog has organised Workshop on ‘Best Practices in International Arbitration’ in collaboration with ICC International Court of Arbitration in New Delhi on 10 October 2018. It purpose is to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms and to not only encourage ‘Make in India’ but also to ‘Resolve in India’. The workshop would cover basic concepts of international arbitration and include best practices on drafting, selection of arbitrators, enforcement of arbitral awards, role of courts in the arbitration life cycle, among other topics, with information sharing sessions to be conducted by world class faculty and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Singapore, Paris and India.

Notes:
India has been ranked 147th among 157 countries at the UK-based charity Oxfam International’s ‘Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index’ 2018. The 2nd edition of the annual index finds that countries such as South Korea, Namibia and Uruguay are taking strong steps to reduce inequality. However, countries such as India and Nigeria “do very badly” overall. In reference to India, the index finds that the tax structure looked reasonably progressive on paper but in practice much of the progressive taxation, like on incomes of the richest, was not collected. India also fared poorly on labour rights and respect for women in the workplace.The index was topped by Denmark, followed by Germany, Finland, Austria and Norway.

Notes:
On October 10, Pistol shooter Saurabh Chaudhary clinched Gold in the 10-metre air pistol event at the 3rd edition of Summer Youth Olympic Games 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is India’s third gold medal in the history of Youth Olympic Games (UOG) and all three have come in this edition in Buenos Aires. Earlier, Shooter Manu Bhaker became the first shooter from India to claim a gold at the ongoing event. She finished on top of the podium in women’s 10m air pistol event with a score of 236.5. While, Weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga won India’s first ever youth Olympics Gold.

Notes:
The Maharashtra Prison department has rolled out a smart video- calling facility for female prisoners and inmates lodged at open jails across the state, after gaining success in its pilot project at Pune’s Yerawada Central Prison (YCP). A prisoner can talk to his/her family members for five minutes and will be charged Rs 5. The department has obtained the smartphones for video calling through the Prisoners Welfare Fund. However, the face to face talking facility with the family members will only be available on the mobile phone numbers registered with the department. For security reasons, the conversations will also be tracked by a police constable to ensure that the talks centre around family issues. There are around 28,000 prisoners, which includes both convicts and under-trials, lodged across 54 jails, including 13 open prisons and 2 women prisons in the state.