Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

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).

Notes:
The 11th edition of Global Agriculture Leadership Summit 2018 in New Delhi from October 24 with theme “Connecting Farmers to Market”. The purpose of the 2-day summit is to discuss the national and global marketing scenario and success models to provide the best marketing models and linkages to Indian farmers through policy reforms and collaborative efforts. In it, Agriculture Minister Somi reddy Chandramohan Reddy received the Global Agriculture Leadership Award in the ‘Policy Leadership’ category on behalf of Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. The award is given in recognition of the path-breaking policies that address issues of farmers and other stakeholders pro-actively making substantial difference in their lives and contributing to the growth of agriculture. The Agriculture Leadership Awards were instituted in 2008 to recognise excellence and leadership roles played by individuals and organisations to empower farmers and bring about rural prosperity. The awards jury was chaired by pioneer of India’s Green Revolution MS Swaminathan.

Notes:
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the International Arya Mahasammelan – 2018 in New Delhi on October 25. The Arya Mahasammelan is touted as being a platform for the Arya Samaj to project its views on major caste-related issues and problems concerning backward sections of society. The convention also aims to spread a message of human welfare originating from the Vedas, promote universal brotherhood and ensure safeguarding of social morals.

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The international ed-tech conference – Transforming Education Conference for Humanity (TECH 2018) will be organized by UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) in association with Government of Andhra Pradesh at Novotel, Vizag City from November 15 – 17, 2018. The aim of the 3-day conference is to showcase the role of games and digital learning in enabling a shift from “transmissive pedagogies” to “transformative pedagogies” to create peaceful and sustainable societies. The MGIEP is the UNESCO’s Category 1 Research Institute in the Asia-Pacific region focused on mainstreaming socio-emotional learning in education systems.

Notes:
In New Delhi, Malayalam author Benyamin has bagged the first JCB Prize for literature for his book ‘Jasmine Days’, which explores the lives of South Asians in the Middle East. The novel was originally written in Malayalam and translated by Shahnaz Habib. It tells the story of a young woman in a city where the promise of revolution turns into destruction and division. It revolves around the Jasmine Revolution that sprang up in December 2010 and was quelled by January 2011. Benyamin was awarded a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh, along with a magnificent trophy created by Delhi artist duo Thukral & Tagra, titled ‘Mirror Melting’. Habib received an additional prize of Rs 5 lakh.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently notified that the State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches from November 1 to 10, 2018. The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore. As per provisions of the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election , shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be cashed in via the party’s verified account within 15 days. It must be noted that an electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest.

Notes:
India’s Sourav Kothari defeated Peter Gilchrist of Singapore 1134-944 to clinch the 2018 World Billiards Championship title at Leeds in UK. The former national and Asian Billiards champion Kothari was pipped at the post for the coveted World Billiards crown on two occasions in the last two years, including a loss to Gilchrist in the 2016 final in Bengaluru.

Notes:
The 5th National Summit on Good and Replicable Practices and Innovations in Public Health Care System in India has started at Kaziranga in Assam on October 30, 2018. The purpose of the 3-days summit is to share and learn the good practices and innovations being implemented by several states and organizations for the betterment of the health sector. Senior officials, public health experts, representatives of development partners, experts from academic institutions are participating in the summit.

Notes:
Professor Qazi Abdussattar (85), a noted Urdu writer and former head of Aligarh Muslim University(AMU)’s Urdu department, has recently passed away in New Delhi on October 29, 2018. Born in Machretta village of Uttar Pradesh’s Sitapur district in 1933, Abdussattar joined the AMU as a researcher in 1954. He started his career as a short story writer. His most famous short story “Peetal Ka Ghanta” drew acclaim in the Urdu literary world. His early writings focussed on the decline of zamidaari culture in Avadh region. Later, he made a mark as a writer of historical novels. His most famous works include “Darashiko”, “Khalidbinwalid” and “Ghalib” which are considered as masterpieces in this genre.Winner of several national and international awards, Abdussattar was awarded Padma Shri in 1974. He was also the first recipient of Ghalib Academy Award in 1978.

Notes:
The 2nd International Day of Diplomats was recently celebrated in Brasilia on 24th October 2018 to highlight the contributions of diplomats as everyday peacemakers. Diplomats from over a dozen countries including Austria, India, Brazil, Egypt, Netherlands and Zimbabwe came together to mark the day dedicated to all diplomats, no matter where do they come from or which country they represent. The celebration of International Day of Diplomats was started in Brasilia in 2017 by Indian-poet diplomat Abhay K on October 24. The day, which also coincides with the United Nations Day, is observed to recognise the hard work and sacrifices of diplomats and their families.