Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

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.

Notes:
The World Mental Health Day (WMHD) is observed every year on 10 October to raise the awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. It is a day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. The 2018 theme is “Young people and mental health in a changing world”.

Notes:
The 17th edition of Old World Theatre festival 2018 is being organised by India Habitat Centre and the audiences will be able to experience 15 plays starting from October 20 in New Delhi. The theatre festival has been recognised by UNESCO as a “Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity”. It will open with “Kutiyattam”, which is one of the most stylised and earliest forms of Sanskrit theatre. The 9-day fest will bring to stage productions that mirror the continuities in Indian theatre from the earliest to the most contemporary with a special focus on the next generation of theatre artistes and directors.

Notes:
Senegal will host the 4th summer Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in 2022, the first to take place on the African continent. The 2022 decision was taken at a two-day International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting on the sidelines of the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympics. Senegal will host the youth games in three places: Dakar; a new city of Diamniadio, close to the capital; and the coastal resort of Saly. The games will be held in May or June, at the end of the dry season to greatly reduce the prevalence of tropical diseases. Thousands of athletes age 15-18 from over 200 countries usually participate in the summer games competing in over 40 sports as diverse as badminton, boxing, fencing, table tennis, rugby, and weightlifting.

Notes:
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has participated in the 17th Council of Heads of Government (CHG-2018) meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was held in Dushanbe, Tajikistan from October 11th to 12th .The SCO CHG meeting is a forum that enables India to engage with SCO member countries and Observer states of Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia. It is the first major meeting since Kyrgyzstan took over as chair of the Organisation. The leaders discussed prospects for further development of SCO and exchanged in-depth views on current international and regional issues. This was the 2nd CHG meeting since India became a full member of SCO in June 2017. Last year, CHG meeting was held in Sochi, Russia and was also attended by EAM.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has signed pact with Microsoft India to deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to address challenges various sectors such as agriculture and healthcare. As per the pact, Microsoft will support NITI Aayog by combining the cloud, AI, research and its vertical expertise for new initiatives and solutions across several core area. It will also accelerate the use of AI for the development and adoption of local language computing, in addition to building capacity for AI among the workforce through education. Under the agreement, Microsoft will provide Niti Aayog advanced AI-based solutions such as farm advisory services, healthcare screening models at primary health centers along with building capacity for AI through education.

Notes:
Novak Djokovic, a Serbian professional tennis player. has recently won the 2018 Shanghai Masters Tennis tournament in Shanghai, China. In the final, he beat Croatia’s Borna Coric by 6-3, 6-4 to claim his fourth Shanghai title and second Masters title of the year. Djokovic now has 18 consecutive wins. With this win, he overtook Roger Federer and returned to the #2 ranking for the first time since the 2017 French Open.

Notes:
Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas is celebrated every year on 15th of October to increase active participation of women in agriculture & allied sectors. Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh will address the function in New Delhi this afternoon. Women farmers, entrepreneurs, farming organizations, agricultural scientists and researchers from different states will participate in the event. In 2016, the Ministry had decided to observe 15th of October as Rashtriya Mahila Kisan Diwas. Women are contributing invarious aspects of agriculture including sowing, planting, fertilizing, plant protection, harvesting, weeding, and storage.

Notes:
The SRiX Agri-Business Academy, which is an Indo-UK collaborative initiative, has been launched at SR Innovation Exchange (SRiX) Campus in Warangal. It is India’s first agri and food business online learning platform and was launched by Andrew Fleming, the British Deputy High Commissioner at Hyderabad. SRiX is a technology business incubator under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India. It is focused on startups in Agriculture, Cleantech and IoT. Sarras Academies Ltd (a UK-based company) and SriX have joined hands to launch the Academy. This highlights the collaboration between Telangana and UK.

Notes:
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has officially adopted a proposal to rename the historic city of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The city was known as Prayag before 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar built a fort near the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna and named it “Ilahabad”. His grandson Shah Jahan renamed the entire city “Allahabad”. An area near the confluence of the river continues to be known as Prayag. The confluence of two rivers is a ‘prayag’, and in Allahabad three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Hence, it is the king of ‘prayags’. That is why it is ‘Prayagraj’. Now, the proposal will now go to the Centre before the city is officially renamed even though an Uttar Pradesh minister seemed to suggest the change has already come into effect.