Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
Noted Physicist Thanu Padmanabhan, a professor of Inter-university Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics in Pune, has won the M P Birla Memorial Award 2019 for his contributions to the world of cosmology. It consists of a citation, trophy and a cheque for Rs 2,51,000.

Notes:
Kerala has topped the NITI Aayog’s report titled ‘The Success of Our Schools-School Education Quality Index’ (SEQI) in list of 20 states, followed by Rajasthan and Karnataka. While the most-populous state Uttar Pradesh was ranked at the bottom position during 2016-17. The report is based on indexing of states and Union Territories (UTs) on the learning outcomes for school-going children. Of the 7 UTs, Chandigarh came at the top position, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi, Puducherry, Daman & Diu, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep. This school education report has considered 2015-2016 as the base year and 2016-2017 as the reference year.

Notes:
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) has named an asteroid after Indian classical singer Pandit Jasraj. With this, Pandit Jasraj has become the first Indian maestro to have a planet named after him. The asteroid, which is located between Mars and Jupiter, was discovered by Mt. Lemmon Survey  at Mount Lemmon in Arizona  (United States) in November 2006.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has opened its Melbourne office & became the first Indian bank to have a branch in the Australian state of Victoria. The Melbourne office will assist the growing trade and investment relations between Victoria and India and is the outcome of the state’s 10-year India Strategy – our shared future.

Notes:
According to a report ‘Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat 2019’ released by Ministry of Railways, the Jaipur station  has topped the list of cleanest railway stations in the non-suburban group of stations with a total score of 931.75, followed by Jodhpur, Durgapura, Jammu Tawi, Gandhinagar-Jp, Suratgarh, Vijayawada, Udaipur city, Ajmer and Haridwar. In the suburban group of stations, Maharashtra’s Andheri station has topped the list. The cleanest railway zone 2019 award has been given to the North Western Railway Zone under which the Jaipur railway station falls. The survey has been carried out by the Quality Council of India (QCI).

Notes:
In Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Swachh Bharat Diwas 2019 in Ahmedabad & declared India as Open Defecation Free (ODF) country.  He also released postage stamp and silver coin to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. PM Modi also underlined that the government would achieve its target of single-use plastic-free India by 2022.

Notes:
The Union Water Ministry has  excavated an old, dried-up river in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad) that linked the Ganga and Yamuna rivers. The aim is to develop a newly discovered river as a potential groundwater recharge source. This “ancient buried river” is around 4 km wide, 45 km long and consisted of a 15-metre-thick layer buried under soil. The discovery was made by a team of scientists  from the CSIR-NGRI (National Geophysical Research Institute) & the Central Groundwater Board (CGB) during a helicopter-borne geophysical survey covering the Prayagraj and Kaushambi region in Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
The book titled ‘India and the Netherlands – Past, Present and Future’ has been penned by Indian Ambassador to the Netherlands Venu Rajamony. The book highlights the significant place India occupied in the Dutch worldview and the relationship between the two nations secured by strong economic ties and vibrant exchanges in culture, sports, and yoga.

Notes:
Axis Bank has launched a short-term online fixed deposit product ‘Express FD’ that allows a customer to open a FD account in 3 minutes through the digital mode without opening a savings account with the bank. The new product offers a host of features like attractive interest rates, zero issuance fees and no penalty on pre-mature withdrawal (up to 25% of the amount). A customer can now open an Express FD account by investing a minimum Rs 5,000 up to Rs90,000, for a tenure of 6 to 12 months.

Notes:
The International Teachers’ Day  is celebrated every year on 5th October with an aim to acknowledge the significant role of educators across the world. The 2019 theme “Young Teachers: The Future of the Profession”, recognizes the critical importance  of  reaffirming  the  value  of  the  teaching  mission. The day also aims to address some of the issues that are key to attracting the brightest minds and young talents in the profession and retaining them.