Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
Kerala is now set to become the India’s first smoke-free State with public sector oil companies eyeing 100% LPG penetration here. It is estimated that one crore tonnes of emissions, from poisonous gases like firewood cooking, have been contained and 25 lakh trees have been saved with the introduction of LPG in villages. The target has almost been achieved in most villages, mofussil towns and cities in the State under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY). The Indian Oil has 50% of the market share while the remaining are shared by the HPCL and BPCL. The Indian Oil is also prepared to provide the State with new generation fuels like CNG and other green fuels. Piped gas supply of LPG is also being attempted by the company. As per PMUY, an adult woman member of a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family identified through the Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) is given a deposit-free LPG connection with financial assistance of Rs 1,600 per connection by the Centre.

Notes:
The European Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) have successfully launched an unmanned Bepi Colombo spacecraft into orbit from an Ariane 5 rocket for a joint mission to Mercury, the planet closest to the sun. The spacecraft has been named after Italian scientist Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo. The unmanned spacecraft will have to follow an elliptical path that involves a fly-by of Earth, two of Venus and six of Mercury itself so it can slow down before arriving at its destination in December 2025. When it arrives, Bepi Colombo will release two probes – Bepi and Mio – that will independently investigate the surface and magnetic field of Mercury. Mercury’s extreme temperatures, the intense gravity pull of the sun and blistering solar radiation make for hellish conditions. The probes are designed to cope with temperatures varying from 430 degrees Celsius (806 F) on the side facing the sun, and -180 degrees Celsius (-292 F) in Mercury’s shadow. The ESA-developed Bepi will operate in Mercury’s inner orbit, and JAXA’s Mio will be in the outer orbit to gather data that would reveal the internal structure of the planet. The only other spacecraft to visit Mercury was NASA’s Mariner 10 that flew past the planet in the mid-1970s.

Notes:
By using Hubble Space Telescope, the scientists of NASA have found that violent flares from the Young Red Dwarf Stars may make planets orbiting it uninhabitable by affecting their atmospheres. Hubble is observing such stars through a large programme called HAZMAT — Habitable Zones and M dwarf Activity across Time. The purpose of the HAZMAT program is to help understand the habitability of planets around low-mass stars. The word “HAZMAT” describes substances that pose a risk to the environment, or even to life itself. “M dwarf” is the astronomical term for a red dwarf star. The programme is an ultraviolet survey of red dwarfs at three different ages – young, intermediate, and old. According to NASA, Stellar flares from red dwarf star, are particularly bright in ultraviolet wavelengths, compared with Sun-like stars. The flares are believed to be powered by intense magnetic fields that get tangled by the roiling motions of the stellar atmosphere. When the tangling gets too intense, the field breaks & reconnects, and unleashes tremendous amounts of energy. Red dwarf is the smallest, most abundant and longest-lived type of star in our galaxy.

Notes:
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed a panel to examine the feasibility of payment of general and health insurance claims in instalments. It will be headed by Suresh Mathur, ED (Health) in IRDAI. The panel will look into the need for allowing settlement of personal accident and benefit-based health insurance claims in instalments by general and health insurance companies.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated a 3-day ‘Vishwa Shanti Ahimsa Sammelan (VSAS-2018)’ at Mangi Tungi in Nashik district of Maharashtra on October 22. The VSAS, which is also known as World peace and ahimsa conference, has been organised by Bhagwan Rishabhdev Murti Nirmaan Samiti. The President will also give away the first international ‘Bhagwan Rishabhdev Award’ to Teerthanker Mahaveer University based in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh. The award, which carries a cash prize of Rs. 11 lakh, a memento and a citation, will be given to the chancellor of the university, Suresh Jain. President Kovind will also release a book, titled ‘Sarvoccha Digambar Jain Pratima’, on the occasion. Thousands of people from different parts of the country are expected to take part in the conference.

Notes:
The parliamentary standing committee on labour, which is headed by BJP MP Kirit Somaiya, will examine the functioning of retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), its coverage and recovery of arrears. It will review the implementation of labour laws, social security and welfare scheme for workers. The committee has selected a wide range of subjects related to labourers, including the International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions binding on India and the measures taken by the government to implement them. It will also look into the working conditions and welfare of mine workers, and review the working of Directorate General of Mines Safety.

Notes:
India’s first domestic cruise ‘Angriya’ has recently been flagged off from Mumbai to Goa on October 20 to boost the country’s lagging cruise service sector. The cruise has six decks and 104 cabins. It can ferry 399 passengers at a time. It has eight types of rooms – from dormitories to luxury rooms. The price range of the cruise will be from Rs 7,000 to Rs 12,000 for one-way. The ship will run four times a week, except during monsoons. It is named after India’s first naval commander Admiral Sarkhel Kanhoji Angre, who served in Shivaji’s armament, and who believed one should have a separate Navy to control the waters.

Notes:
India has been ranked as the 9th most valuable nation brand in the world, according to UK-based consultancy Brand Finance’s Nation Brands 2018 report. Despite, India lost one spot to rank, its brand value increased by 5% to $2,159 billion. The US topped the list with a brand value of $25,899 billion, an increase of 23% from the previous year. China ranked 2nd position with a brand value of $12,779 billion, followed by Germany ($5,147 billion), UK ($3,750 billion), Japan ($3,598 billion) and France with $3,224 billion of brand value. The Brand Finance measures the strength and value of the nation brands of 100 leading countries using a method based on the royalty relief mechanism employed to value the world’s largest companies. Its research covers nation brand strength, royalty rate, revenues, Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) and brand valuation, among other things.

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:
China has officially opened the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, which connects the Chinese city of Zhuhai to the semi-autonomous regions of Hong Kong and Macau. It includes an undersea tunnel allowing ships to pass through the Pearl River delta, the heart of China’s manufacturing sector. The 34-mile-long bridge forms a physical link between the mainland and Hong Kong, an Asian financial hub that was handed over from British to Chinese control in 1997 with the assurance it would maintain its own legal and economic system for 50 years. The bridge is part of China’s plan to create a Greater Bay Area, including Hong Kong, Macau and nine other cities in southern China. The area is currently home to 68 million people. In the past, travelling between Zhuhai and Hong Kong would take up to four hours – the new bridge cuts this down to 30 minutes. It costs about $20bn and build in almost a decade.