Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
The United Nations Day (UND) is observed every year on October 24 to make known to the people about the aims and achievements of the United Nations (UN). The day also marks the 73rd anniversary of the UN Charter, which came into force in 1945. UN is an intergovernmental organization tasked to promote international co-operation and to create and maintain international order. It’s a replacement for the ineffective League of Nations & was established on 24th October 1945 after World War II with the aim of preventing another such conflict. It’s headquarters is located in NewYork. The UN Charter of 1945 articulated a commitment to uphold human rights of citizens and outlined a broad set of principles relating to achieving ‘higher standards of living’, addressing ‘economic, social, health, and related problems,’ and ‘universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.

Notes:
On October 25, Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar launched the web portal of of the Scheme “Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC)” in New Delhi. The aim of the SPARC is to improve the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian and foreign institutions. It is a scheme for promotion of academic and research collaboration. Under the scheme, the Union Government will provide Rs 418 crores for 600 joint research proposals. The Indian institutions which come in top 100 or a top 100 in category wise in NIRF and the best institutes in the world from selected 28 nations with overall top 500 ranking and top 200 subject wise institutes in QS world university ranking will be part of the scheme. IIT-Khargapur is the national Coordinating Institute to implement the SPARC programme. The research work under both the scheme would start from January 2019.

Notes:
The Hindu’s Mumbai-based correspondent Jyoti Shelar has won the first place in the English category of Schizophrenia Research Foundation’s (SCARF) media for mental health reporting award 2018 in Anna Nagar, Chennai. Her report on suicides by farmers and the resultant impact on the mental health of their families won her the award. The other two winners of the award are S Ramanathan of ‘The Newsminute’ and Disha Shetty of ‘The Wire’. In the Tamil category, Usha Narayanan’s interview with a medical professional on addressing issues due to domestic problems and N. Maheswari’s review of a documentary film on autism were chosen for awards.

Notes:
Sri Lanka has been chosen as the best travel destination among the list of countries to visit in 2019, according to Lonely planet’s Best in Travel 2019 book. The projection done by Lonely planet said that Sri Lanka topped the list primarily because travel has become much easier there since the civil war ended in 2009. Germany acquired 2nd position, followed by Zimbabwe, Panama, Kyrgyzstan and Jordon.

Notes:
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) observes the Vigilance Awareness Week every year during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel (31st October) falls. This year, the Vigilance Awareness Week is being observed from 29th October to 3rd November, 2018 on the theme “Eradicate Corruption-Build a New India”. It seeks to motivate stakeholders to collectively participate in the fight against corruption and also aims at raising public awareness regarding the detrimental consequences of corruption.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a farmers’ conclave ‘Krishi Kumbh 2018’ in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh on October 26 via video conferencing. The 3-day event is being organized to promote modern technique and diversification in agriculture that could help farmers to double their income. In it, Israel and Japan are official partners while Haryana and Jharkhand as partner states. More than 1 lakh farmers, experts, scientists and entrepreneurs are expected to take part in the mega event.

Notes:
India has won the 2018 CAPAM (Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management) Award in Georgetown, Guyana. The initiative entitled “Unnayan Banka- Reinventing Education Using Technology of Banka District, State of Bihar has been awarded under the Category “Innovation Incubation”. Another initiative entitled “Unified Agriculture Markets” of Co-operation Department of Government of Karnataka has also been selected under the Category ‘Innovation in Public Service Management’. This initiative has also been awarded the overall Gold Award for CAPAM Awards, 2018. The CAPAM Awards celebrate the spirit of innovation in the public service by recognizing organizations that have made significant contributions to improve governance and services in the public sector. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is an institutional member of CAPAM. The CAPAM is a non-profit association representing an international network of over 1100 senior public servants.

Notes:
Madan Lal Khurana (83), the former Delhi Chief Minister, has passed awayin New Delhi on October 27, 2018. He was a member of Rashtriya Swayansevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In addition to holding posts including national vice-president and Delhi president within the BJP, Mr. Khurana also served as Governor of Rajasthan in 2004. He was the Union Minister of Parliamentary affairs and Tourism in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently signed $75 bn bilateral currency swap agreement with Japan to bring greater stability in foreign exchange and capital markets in the country. The currency swap pact would enable the two major Asian economies to swap their local currencies – either Indian rupee or the Japanese yen against the US$ up to 75 billion. It will be used only when required, and will help meet short-term liquidity mismatches. The facility will also help in bringing down the cost of capital for Indian entities while accessing foreign capital market. The facility is entered between the central banks of both the countries. However, this is not the first time there has been such an offer from Japan. Japan had offered a $50 billion currency swap in 2013 as well and even before that, one for $3 billion in 2008.

Notes:
On October 29, Justice A.S. Bopanna has recently taken oath as the new Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court. He took charge from the acting Chief Justice AK Goswami. The Guwahati High Court was established on 1 March 1948 after the Government of India Act 1935 was passed. It has largest jurisdiction in terms of states, with its area covering the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram. The principal seat of the High Court is at Guwahati in Assam.