Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has launched the YSR Vahana Mitra welfare scheme under which the owner-driver of an auto-rickshaw (or taxicab) gets Rs 10,000 grant per annum. The amount is meant to meet maintenance expenses, and for obtaining insurance and fitness certificates among other documents.

Notes:
Surender Singh of India created three world records at the ongoing 2019 World Powerlifting Championship in Berlin, Germany. Surender bagged gold in 110 kg category, Classic Raw and the Best Lifter Award in Classic Raw and Single Ply. While, 3-time World Champion Mukesh Singh went on to add another feather to his cap by winning yet another gold only to be known as 4-time World Champion.

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:
Indian captain in the shortest format, Harmanpreet Kaur has become the first Indian cricketer to play 100 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) as she took the field against South Africa in Surat on 5th October 2019. She achieved this milestone before MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, who have played 98 T20Is for India. Beside this, she is also the first Indian cricketer – male or female – to sign a Big Bash League contract with Sydney Thunder in Australia. In June 2017, she became the first Indian to sign with Surrey Stars in ECB’s Kia Super League.

Notes:
India’s first e-waste clinic is being set up in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. For this noble cause, the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) have signed pact that would enable segregation, processing and disposal of waste from both household and commercial units. Initially, it will be 3-month pilot project and being successful, it would be replicated elsewhere in the country. The clinic will be formed in compliance with the Solid Waste Management Rules of 2016. 

Notes:
Ramesh Pandey, the 1996-batch Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, has been selected for the prestigious UNEP’s Asia Environmental Enforcement Award for his excellent work in combating transboundary environmental crime. He will receive the award on November 13 at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok.  Pandey is posted as Chief Conservator Forests (CCF) in Lucknow and Secretary of UP State Bio-diversity Board.  He is known for his investigation and intelligence gathering on poachers. The purpose of the Asia Environmental Enforcement Awards is to publicly recognise outstanding achievements by public organisations and individuals in Asia to combat transboundary environmental crime. 

Notes:
The Reliance Mutual Fund has been renamed as Nippon India Mutual Fund (NIMF). The name change came after Nippon Life Insurance of Japan completed the acquisition of 75% stake in Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management from Reliance Capital. Nippon Life is Japan’s largest life insurance company and a global financial services conglomerate. It manages assets worth over $700 billion.

Notes:
India has slipped sharply by 10 places to rank 68th on the 2019 WEF Global Competitiveness Index due to improvements witnessed by several other economies. The index is compiled by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). In the overall competitiveness ranking, Singapore replaced the US to take the first position.

Notes:
Indian sprinter Nirmala Sheoran has been banned for four years for doping and stripped of her 400m and 4x400m relay titles from the 2017 Asian Championships. The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) has stated that she tested positive for steroids drostanolone and metenolone in sample taken at the Inter-State meet in Guwahati in June 2018. Hence, the ban was backdated to June 29, 2018 & her results from August 2016 to November 2018 were disqualified.