Current Affairs Quiz- November, 2019

Notes:
India hosted the 2nd International Solar Alliance (ISA) assembly in New Delhi on 30th-31st October 2019. In it, two countries – Eritrea and Saint Kittis and Nevis – have signed the ISA’s Framework Agreement and took the total number of signatories to 83. The ISA was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. It is a major global initiative for contributing to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement through rapid and massive deployment of solar energy.  The Saint Kittis and Nevis is an island country in the West Indies, which is the region of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Notes:
Girija Kir (86), the noted Marathi author, has passed away in Bandra, Maharashtra on 31st October 2019. Kir has written dozens of novels, stories, travelogues and children’s books. She also worked as an assistant editor of ‘Anuradha’ magazine for 10 years from 1968 to 1978. Kir has won several awards for her writings, which largely originated from her on-field experiences in labour colonies, residences of patients suffering from leprosy and tribal areas. Her recent book ‘Janmathep’ was based on her study of inmates at Pune’s Yerawada jail.

Notes:
On the occasion of World Cities Day (WCD-2019), UNESCO has announced that Mumbai and Hyderabad have been designated as Creative City of Films and Creative City of Gastronomy, respectively. By joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), the cities pledge to share their best practices and develop partnerships involving public and private sectors as well as civil society to strengthen creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services. Beside this, Chennai and Varanasi are designated as UNESCO cities of music while Jaipur is the City of Crafts and Folk Arts.

Notes:
The 35th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit 2019 has started in Bangkok, Thailand on 1st of November with theme ‘Advancing Partnership for sustainability’. During 5-days summit East Asia summit (EAS) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Summit (RCEP) will be also held. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend this summit on 3rd and 4th November. The ASEAN is a group of 10 member countries that encourages political,economic and social co-operation in the region. The summit would  discuss comprehensive and sustainable ASEAN economic development and s on negotiations related to the RCEP including market opening. The RCEP is a proposed Free Trade Agreement ( FTA) between the 10 members state of ASEAN and its partner countries.

Notes:
IIT Delhi has decided to set up a space technology cell in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The cell would work for carrying out focused research projects in the space technology domain with specific deliverables. It is also proposed that IIT Delhi as an institute becomes academic partner of ISRO in research areas such as or example AI Artificial Intelligence, Nano-technology, functional textiles and smart manufacturing or any area of joint interest.

Notes:
Russia will be the partner country at the Golden Jubilee of International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2019) in Goa. It will be held from November 20 to 28 with close to 250 films from various countries being screened. The fest will honour superstar Rajinikanth with a special ‘Icon of Golden Jubilee’ award presented in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema. The Life Time Achievement (LTA) award for a Foreign Artiste will be conferred on French Actress Isabelle Hupert. During the 50th IFFI, 50 films of women directors will be showcased.

Notes:
Internationally acclaimed sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has been selected for the prestigious Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019. He will be felicitated during the International Scorrana Sand Nativity in Italy, which is going to held from 13th to 18th Nov.  He will also represent India in this fest.

Notes:
Lakshya Sen from Uttarakhand has won the 2019 SaarLorLux Open badminton tournament at Saarbrücken in Germany. He defeated Sen Weng Hong Yang of China in an exciting final on 3rd November.

Notes:
During the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) summit in Bangkok, India has decided not to join the RCEP deal as negotiations failed to address New Delhi’s outstanding issues and concerns. The summit included China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the 10-nation ASEAN grouping. The RCEP negotiations were meant to create the world’s biggest free trade region that represented half the world’s population and one-third of the global GDP. Beside, RCEP summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi took part in 16th India-ASEAN summit and 14th East Asia summit.

Notes:
Aditya Mishra, a 1989 batch IPS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been  appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI) for a period of 5 years. The LPAI is a statutory body  that works under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). It is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining and managing border infrastructure in India.  It manages several Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) all across Borders of India.