Current Affairs Quiz- November, 2019

Notes:
In New Delhi, the first-ever National Agrochemicals Congress (NAC) was conducted by Society of Pesticide Science India at IARI, Pusa under the theme “Country’s Status on various fronts of Agro chemicals”. The 4-day long Congress is conducted in view of the role chemical pesticides still continue to play in pest management as more and more target specific and environment friendly products are being introduced. 

Notes:
The Assam Olympic Association (AOA) has decided to launch a new programme –  “Grassroot Olympic – Mission Talent Hunt” – to identify the sports talent in the state and groom them. The AOA will organize sports events in five categories covering players from 10 years to 60 years of age in the state.

Notes:
The Assam government has decided to start Arundhati gold scheme by January 2020 for the registered newly married couples. Under the scheme, an amount of 30 thousand rupees will be given to the bride to purchase gold. The purpose of the scheme is to promote marriage registrations and prevent under-age marriages in the state.  To get the benefit, the annual income of the bride and her father should not be more than 5 lakh rupees per year. As per the scheme, the minimum age of the bride and groom to be 18 and 21 years to avail the benefit.

Notes:
The Union Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has appointed senior Andhra Pradesh bureaucrat Rajat Bhargava as head of a high-level committee to suggest necessary policy initiatives for attracting more investments into the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemical Investment Regions (PCPIR) in the country. This is the first time the Union government  is seeking to amend the PCPIR Policy after it was introduced. As per the PCPIR Policy, the Centre approved four PCPIRs at Dahej (Gujarat) on the west coast and Visakhapatnam- Kakinada (Andhra Pradesh), Paradeep (Odisha) and Cuddalore- Nagapattinam (Tamil Nadu) on the east coast. The VK-PCPIR is the largest in the country spread over an area of 640 sq km along the Bay of Bengal coast.

Notes:
The United States has recently declared that Israeli settlements on occupied Palestinian land “West Bank “ donot violate international laws. The US declaration marks the rejection of a 2016 UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution that settlements on the West Bank are a “flagrant violation” of international law and the US legal position on the issue since 1978. It is also a rejection of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which outlaws transfers of population by an occupying power, and a new rift with US allies in Europe and in the Islamic world.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of South Asia Safety Summit 2019 was held in New Delhi to highlight the issue of safety while individuals and communities are connected on the digital platform. It was organized by Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) and Facebook. During the Summit, Union Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched “We Think Digital” website. The website is a four-part course designed to empower students with the knowledge to use, understand, evaluate, communicate and create with digital technologies. The programme will focus on online safety, privacy and misinformation.

Notes:
The World Television Day (WTD) is observed every year on 21st of November across the world to acknowledge the role of broadcast media. The day also marks the commitment of governments, news organisations and individuals to deliver unbiased information in times when veracity of content on social media is questionable.

Notes:
The people of Bougainville have started casting vote in a referendum on independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). If the vote for independence passes, the autonomous province with 206,000 people could become the world’s newest independent nation. The referendum is part of a peace deal in 2001 that ended a bloody civil war between Bougainville and PNG. The referendum presents two options, either greater autonomy from PNG, or complete independence. However, the referendum is nonbinding and a vote for independence would require ratification from the Papuan Parliament. Bougainville  is the small archipelago of Pacific islands.  Its history includes colonial exploitation, attempts at independence, a 9-year war and a gradual peace process.

Notes:
The Oxford Dictionaries has declared “climate emergency” as its 2019 Word of the Year. In 2019, “climate” became the most common word associated with “emergency”.  The Word of the Year citation is intended to highlight a word or expression shown through usage evidence to reflect the ethos, mood, or preoccupations of the passing year, and have a lasting potential as a term of cultural significance. 

Notes:
The 70th Constitution Day (or Samvidhan divas) is celebrated on 26th of November 2019 across the country to mark the adopting of the Indian Constitution by the Constituent Assembly on this day in 1949.  The constituent assembly took two years, 11 months and 17 days to accomplish the stupendous task of drafting the historic document.  It is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. The Constitution declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring its citizens justice, equality and liberty and endeavours to promote fraternity. It came into force on 26th January 1950 to marking the beginning of a new era in the history of Indian Republic.