Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
UAE announced the establishment of the first graduate-level, research-based AI university  – Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence( MBZUAI) – in the world. The MBZUAI will enable graduate students, businesses and governments to advance the artificial intelligence field. The University is named after Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, who has long advocated for the UAE’s development of human capital through knowledge and scientific thinking to take the nation into the future.

Notes:
The SBI Card has  launched the ‘SBI Card Pay’ that allows contactless payment using mobile phones at PoS terminals. Using SBI Card Pay, customers can make contactless payments at Near Field Communication (NFC) enabled point of sale terminals with just one tap of their mobiles, without using the physical credit card or entering any PIN. The SBI Card Pay is a payment feature based on Host Card Emulation (HCE) technology for faster, convenient and more secure card payments using mobile phones.

Notes:
Kanwar Sain Jolly (86), the Veteran journalist, has passed away in Gurugram. He served at various positions for 40 years at Press Trust of India  (PTI),  India’s premier news agency. He was retired as Deputy General Manager of PTI news agency in 1993.

Notes:
The book “Dark Fear, Eerie Cities: New Hindi Cinema in Neo-liberal India” has been authored by Sarunas Paunksnis. The book analyses the wide array of films made in the early 21st century to offer a philosophical and psychoanalytical critique of the transforming cinematic imaginary – from the pre-1990s feudal family ideal to the contemporary construction of the new middle class’s subjectivities in the post-colonial context.

Notes:
Rajnath Singh has recently inaugurated Col. Chewang Rinchen Setu which has been constructed at an altitude of 14,650 feet in the forward area of Ladakh region. This bridge has been built by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO). This Bridge is built on the strategically important road Durbuk Shyok Daulat Beg Oldie in sub sector north in eastern Ladakh. According to BRO, micro pile technology was used during the foundation of the bridge to overcome the technological challenges in the remote areas of Ladakh. It is named in honor of Colonel Chewang Rinchan who was one of the highly decorated officer in the Indian Army from Ladakh and he was awarded the Maha Vir Chakara twice.

Notes:
Sociopolitical philosopher-writer KB Siddaiah (65) has passed away in Bengaluru. He was one of the founder members of Dalitha Sangharsha Samithi (DSS) during the 80’s and co-authored many songs to inspire the movement. He was a disciple of Jnapith awardee Dr U R Anantamurthy and critic Ki Ram Nagaraj. 

Notes:
The researchers from Queen Mary institute of London have developed a new dielectric capacitor- a device that stores energy like a battery, taking inspiration from a French pastry. The croissant is made by folding multiple layers of dough. They found that by pressing and folding a polymer film capacitor, they were able to store 30 times more energy than the best-performing commercially available dielectric capacitor. This is the highest energy density ever reported in a polymer film capacitor. The advance may pave the way for efficient, low-cost, and environmentally-friendly electric energy storage systems for wind and solar sources. With this technique, large amounts of renewable energy can be stored.

Notes:
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has won the  Sportsperson of the Year 2019 in the 3rd edition of the Vogue Women Of The Year awards. Besides winning the prestigious honour, Dutee will also feature on the cover of Vogue India’s November 2019 edition. Dutee broke the national record in the 100-metre event at the National Open Athletics Championships in Ranchi Ocrober 11. Besides her record-breaking feats on the track, she is also considered as India’s first openly gay athlete.

Notes:
India’s first plant to convert paddy straw into Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) will come up  at Gharaunda village in Karnal, Haryana. The biogas generated at the Indra Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) ‘s plant will be used as CNG in vehicles and as piped cooking gas and help fight menace of stubble burning in fields.  The plant is estimated to be completed by May 2020. It will  have the capacity to convert stubble generated from  20,000 acres in a year into gas, which will then be sourced by IGL for its City Gas Distribution (CGD) network in Karnal. This unit has been set up by Ajay Bio-Energy Pvt Ltd under ‘SATAT’ (Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation) scheme on CBG launched by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

Notes:
The International Osteoporosis Foundation observes the World Osteoporosis Day (WOD) every year on October 20th to raise global awareness on prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. The 2019 theme is ‘Love your bones and Protect your future’.