Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
On the eve of Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, India’s largest ‘charkha’ (the 1,650-kg spinning wheel) made of used plastic waste was inaugurated by Union Minister Smriti Irani in Noida. The ‘charkha’ symbolizes Gandhi’s dream of Swadeshi (self sufficing and self reliance). It measures 14 ft × 20 ft × 8ft and is made of 1,250 kg of used plastic. The charkha has been recognized as the largest made of used plastic waste in the country by India Book of Records.

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:
Under the Food Safety Act of 2006, the Rajasthan government has recently announced a ban on paan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured ‘supari’ in the state to reduce addiction among the youth. With this, Rajasthan has become the third State after Maharashtra and Bihar to announce such a move.

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.

Notes:
The Union government has launched a Prakash portal – ‘Power Rail Koyla Availability through Supply Harmony’ – for better coordination among the Ministries of Power, Coal and Indian Railways for coal supply to power plants. The portal, which is developed by NTPC, is designed to help in mapping and monitoring entire coal supply chain for power plants, viz – – coal stock at supply end (mines), coal quantities/ rakes planned, coal quantity in transit and coal availability at power generating station

Notes:
The World Trade Organisation (WTO) is hosting the first-ever World Cotton Day (WCD) in Geneva on 7th October 2019. Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani is representing India in the 5-day event of WCD. The WCD will celebrate the many advantages of cotton, from its qualities as a natural fibre, to the benefits people obtain from its production, transformation, trade and consumption. It will also serve to shed light on the challenges faced by cotton economies around the world because cotton is important to least developed, developing and developed economies worldwide. 

Notes:
Novak Djokovic, World No. 1 won his 76th tour-level title by defeating Aussie John Millman 6-3, 6-2 to win the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships. It is the 10th time the Serbian has lifted a trophy on his main draw debut at a tour-level event.

Notes:
Bahrain sprinter  Salwa Eid Naser has become the first woman athlete from Asia to win the 400m gold in the ongoing IAAF World Athletics Championships (WAC) Doha 2019.  She clocked 48.14 seconds i.e., the third-fastest lap in history and the fastest in 34 years.

Notes:
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in collaboration with the Union Health Ministry has recently launched the first-ever website and mobile application “e-Dantseva” on oral health awareness. The digital platform will provide oral health information gathered from authentic scientific resources and connect the people to timely advise for managing any dental emergency or oral health problem. It contains information about the National Oral Health Programme (NOHP), a detailed list of all the dental facility and colleges, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) material and a unique feature called the ‘Symptom Checker’. The website also provides GPRS route and satellite images of the facility for easier access to the people.

Notes:
Austrian author Peter Handke has been honoured  with the 2019 Nobel Prize in literature for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience. His notable works include “Short Letter, Long Farewell” and “A Sorrow Beyond Dreams”. He will receive 9 million Swedish kronor (£740,000), as well as a medal and a diploma.