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:
The World Thrift Day (WTD) is celebrated every year on 31st October worldwide to promote savings and financial security of individual and nation as a whole. In India, due to death of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on the same day in 1984 this day is being celebrated on 30th October. The day was established to inform people all around the world about the idea of saving their money in a bank rather than keeping it under their mattress or at home.  

Notes:
India’s first-ever Arts Exposition for Artists blessed with Down Syndrome, Autism, Mental Retardation, Seizure Disorder and Dyslexia has started in New Delhi on 3rd November 2019. The “eCAPA 2019 – Art from the Heart” is a unique nationwide platform-cum social venture for such artists to showcase their visual and performing arts.  The aim of this exposition is to create an exclusive platform to showcase the visual and performing art talents of young adults with intellectual challenges. It will also provide Divyang artists with opportunities to find mentors in the visiting artists and eminent masters of different crafts. This exposition will continue till 14th November at STIR Gallery, Chattarpur Farms. 

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:
Noted writer Anand has been selected for the 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram for his overall contributions to Malayalam language and Literature. It is the highest literary honour of the Kerala government. The prize is named after Ezhuthachan, the father of Malayalam language. It consists of a purse of Rs 5 lakh and a citation.    

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.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has recently launched two new IT Initiatives – ICEDASH and ATITHI – for improved monitoring and pace of customs clearance of imported goods and facilitating arriving international passengers. ICEDASH is an Ease of Doing Business (EODB) monitoring dashboard of the Indian Customs that allows public see and compare import clearance times at all ports and airports across India.  The ATITHI app will facilitate hassle-free and faster clearance by Indian Customs at the airports and increase the experience of international tourists and other visitors at the airports. 

Notes:
On the first day of India International Science Festival (IISF- 2019), the Guinness World Records for the largest astrophysics lesson (45 minutes) and assembly of spectroscopes was successfully achieved at the Science City in Kolkata with the participation of over 1,598 students. A small personal model of advanced spectroscopes can easily be made by anyone using a box made of cardboard that has a very narrow window used to channel light into the spectroscope. A piece of a Compact Disc (CD) is used to split the light by a process called diffraction. This attempt is dedicated to Meghnad Saha and Sir C V Raman. The astronomers use spectroscopes to know details like temperature, chemical composition, etc. of celestial objects hundreds or millions of light years away from us.

Notes:
In New Delhi, the International Conference on Soil and Water Resources Management for Climate has been organized jointly by the Soil Conservation Society of India in association with World Association of Soil and Water Conservation (WASWAC), China and International Soil Conservation Organization (ISCO), USA  on November 6, 2019. The aim of the 5-day long conference is to deliberate upon the various issues and challenges of soil and water conservation. Over 400 national and international experts are expected to share effective cutting-edge technological breakthroughs in ensuring global food security.