Current Affairs Quiz- November, 2019

Notes:
The Odisha government has decided to partner with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) for targeted intervention in a set of social sectors including poorest of the poor through policy formulation and evaluations based on experimental research. The co-founders of J-PAL are Nobel laureates Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo. The Massachusettes Institute of Technology (MIT)-based J-PAL is known for its experimental research studies or randomized controlled trials. It has worked extensively in Africa as well India and its evaluations have helped improve outcomes of social sector initiatives.  

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:
The Spanish capital city of Madrid will host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) from 2nd to 13th December 2019. The decision was taken after Chile withdrew as host for the event due to the ongoing street protests in the South American country. The annual Conference of the Parties (COP) summit is a key event which allows representatives from around 200 nations to monitor and discuss the current situation of the world’s warming climate.   

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:
The first-ever India-Uzbekistan joint military exercise titled “Dustlik-2019” has started at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent on 4th November. During the 9-day exercise, an Indian Army contingent will train along with Uzbekistan Army. The exercise will enable sharing of best practices and experiences between the Armed Forces of the two countries and will lead to greater operational effectiveness.

Notes:
On 4th November 2019, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Joint Exercise on Urban Earthquake Search and Rescue in New Delhi. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is hosting the event which will continue till 7th of this month. The purpose of the exercise is to rehearse the disaster response mechanism, share knowledge, experience and technology for mutual coordination. This simulation exercise will also provide an opportunity to enhance the coordination and co-operation involving multi-agency operations in an earthquake scenario.       

Notes:
Pooja Gehlot (53kg) has won India’s 2nd silver at the 2019 U-23 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Hungary. In the final, she defeated by Japan’s Haruna Okuno by  in the finals of championships. India’s first silver was won by Ravinder (61kg).

Notes:
In an effort to productively use India’s wastelands, the Union Ministry of Rural development has released with the 5th edition of Wasteland Atlas -2019 that provides State and district wise distribution of different categories of wastelands area in the country and will be helpful in addressing land degradation. This is significant as it also takes into account 12.08 MHa of unmapped area of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for the first time. The changes in wastelands between 2008-09 and 2015-16 have been presented in the Atlas. The new wastelands mapping exercise was carried out by National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)  using the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite (IRSS) data. It is helpful in rolling back the wastelands for productive use through various land development programmes and schemes. The last edition was published in 2011.

Notes:
The Government of Bangladesh has banned the Islamist outfit ‘Allar Dol’ because it poses threat to public safety and security. It is the 9th Islamist group to be banned for extremism and militancy in Bangladesh.The Allah’r Dol was formed in 1995 with the aim to establish Caliphate through armed struggle. In 2004, it merged with banned militant organisation Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). After arrest of leaders of JMB following serial blasts of 2005, some of its leaders left it to re-organise Allar Dol. 

Notes:
The world’s first multi-targeting and carbohydrate-based drug “GV-971” for Alzheimer’s disease is extracted from brown algae. Recently, China has approved this home-grown seaweed-based  drug to potentially cure disease. The drug is the only Alzheimer’s medicine out of more than 320 developed by pharmaceutical companies around the globe to survive clinical trials. The orally taken drug can treat mild to moderate forms of the disease and improve cognition. The Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible and progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory, thinking ability and the capability to carry out simple tasks.