Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

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.

Notes:
The festival of Fulpati has recently celebrated with traditional gaiety and religious fervour in various parts of Nepal. Fulpati is observed on the 7th day of Dashain festival. In Nepali, “Phool” means flower and “Pati” means leaves and plants. There is a tradition in Nepal to bring nine types of Fulpati into the home on the seventh day of Navaratri. It is believed that Fulpati represents nine Goddess and they brings health, wealth and prosperity to the homes. The tradition started during the period of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. The main function was held at Basantpur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, where Fulpati was brought to Dashainghar from Jamal in a traditional procession with Vedic rituals.

Notes:
India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy on the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2018. The WEF stated that India’s rank rose by five places from 2017, the largest gain among G20 economies. On the list of 140 economies, the US topped the list followed by Singapore and Germany. As per the report, India leads the region in all other areas of competitiveness except for health, education and skills. It further added that India has invested more heavily on transport infrastructure and services. As per the report, India’s greatest competitive advantages include its market size and innovation. Among the BRICS economies, China topped the list at 28th place. India, however, remained the “South Asia’s main driving force”. The GCI 4.0 is a composite indicator that assesses the set of factors that determine an economy’s level of productivity – widely considered as the most important determinant of long-term growth.

Notes:
On 16th October 2018, China has successfully tested the world’s largest unmanned transport drone “Feihong-98 (FH-98)”, which can carry a payload of 1.5 tonnes, at Baotou test site in North China’s Inner Mongolia autonomous region. The Feihong-98 has a maximum takeoff weight of 5.25 tonnes, a flight height of 4,500m, a cruising speed of 180 km/hr and a maximum range of 1,200 kms. The FH-98 was adapted from the prototype of the Shifei Y5B, a China-developed transport plane. It is developed and modified by the China Academy of Aerospace Electronics Technology (CAAET).

Notes:
Mohammed Zahur Khayyam Hashmi (91), the National Award winning music director, has been named for the 2018 Hridaynath Award for Lifetime Achievement. He is famous as ‘Khayyam’. The award, which is instituted by the Hridayesh Arts, carries a cash prize of Rs 100,000 and a memento. The veteran composer, lyricist and writer Khayyam started his music career in Ludhiana in 1943 at the age of 17. His some notable works are as follows: “Umrao Jaan”, “Kabhi Kabhi”, “Trishul”, “Razia Sultan”, “Aakhri Khat”, etc.

Notes:
On October 21, the UN-backed Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved 43.4 million for enhancing climate resilience for millions of people living in India’s coastal communities in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha as part of its efforts to combat extreme impacts of climate change. The grant is a part of more than 1 billion approved by GEC board in its 21st meeting in Bahrain’s capital Manama for 19 new projects to help developing countries tackle climate change. The new project will be supported through the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is an essential step for India in reaching its goals outlined in the Paris Agreement and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Notes:
The National Police Commemoration Day (NPCD) is observed every year on October 21 to remember the sacrifices of ten policemen who died in Chinese firing in 1959 in Ladakh’s Hot Spring area. Indian Police personnel were responsible for manning the 2,500 mile long border of India with Tibet until the autumn of 1959. In 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Police Memorial (NPM) in New Delhi to the nation in recognition of the sacrifices made by soldiers from the paramilitary forces and state police since India’s independence. The Prime Minister also announced an award in the name of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, to honour the police and paramilitary personnel, involved in disaster response operations. The award would be announced every year, recognizing the bravery and courage displayed in saving lives of people, in the wake of a disaster. Since independence, 34,844 police personnel have lost their lives while protecting the country. This year, 424 lost their lives.

Notes:
The Mumbai cricket team clinched the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy after a gap of 11 years with a 4-wicket victory over Delhi at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It’s their 3rd title. Mumbai last won the trophy way back in 2006-07 when they defeated Rajasthan.

Notes:
Nishtha Dudeja from Haryana has recently won the Miss Deaf Asia 2018 title at an international pageant held in Prague , Czech Republic. She is the first Indian to have won any title at the Miss Deaf World Pageant. Prior to this title, Nishtha had also won the 2018 Miss Deaf India title in Jaipur, Rajasthan on February 26. She is the brand ambassador for Sivantos India Pvt Ltd. (Formerly Siemens hearing Instruments Pvt Ltd.), the world’s leading brand of hearing aids.

Notes:
The joint military training exercise ‘Druzhba (Friendship)-III’ has started between the armies of Russia and Pakistan in the mountains of northwestern Pakistan, which will continue till November 4. The servicemen from the two countries’ armed forces will perform tasks at the altitude of 1,400 meters above the sea level. The purpose of the 15-days exercise is to boost ties between the two militaries and swap experience, especially in field of counterterrorism. This is third exercise as part of the Pakistan-Russia bilateral training cooperation. The exercise will include the destruction of conditional fighters (terrorists).