Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

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:
The annual Crime in India Report 2017 has recently published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). The statistics highlight the poor law and order situation in the country with 3.59 lakh cases of crime reported against women in 2017. Uttar Pradesh recorded the maximum number of crimes against women with 56,011 cases in 2017, followed by Maharashtra (31,979), West Bengal (30,992), Madhya Pradesh (29,778), Rajasthan (25,993) and Assam (23,082). The definition of ‘crime against women’ includes murder, rape, dowry death, suicide abetment, acid attack, cruelty against women and kidnapping. Assam recorded the highest crime rate of 143 in the country in 2017. Crime rate is offences registered per one lakh people. Odisha and Telangana recorded the second-highest crime rate of 94 each, followed by Haryana (88) and Rajasthan (73).

Notes:
The 126-member Assam Assembly has adopted a ‘Population and Women Empowerment Policy’& decided to make government jobs out of bounds for people with more than two children with effect from 1st January 2021 as per the small family norm.

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On the occasion of 2019 International Snow Leopard Day (ISLD), the Union Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar  launched the first national protocol to enumerate the snow leopard population in India. It was launched at the inaugural session of the 4th steering committee meeting of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection Program (GSLEP) in Delhi. Poaching is a major threat for the snow leopards. The Project Snow Leopard is an initiative of the Environment Ministry which aims to safeguard and conserve India’s unique natural heritage of high altitude wildlife populations and their habitats by promoting conservation through participatory policies and actions. Snow leopards play a critical role in their ecosystem as top predators.

Notes:
The International Snow Leopard Day (ISLD) is celebrated every year on 23rd of October to protect and conserve the snow leopards and preserve the beautiful wildlife of the Himalayas. It is believed to have 400 to 700 snow leopards spread across Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Notes:
Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu is leading the Indian delegation at the 18th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at Baku, Azerbaijan on 25th to 26th of October. The theme for the Summit is – “Upholding the Bandung Principles to ensure concerted and adequate response to the challenges of the contemporary world”. The theme is significant as it relates to the forthcoming 65th anniversary of Bandung Principles in 2020 and the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the Movement in 2021.The Ten Principles of Bandung is a political statement that encapsulate the need to promote world peace and cooperation were formulated at the Asian-African Conference in 1955. 

Notes:
Braj Raj Sharma, a 1984-batch IAS officer of J&K cadre, has been appointed as Chairman of Staff Selection Commission (SSC). He succeeded Pankaj Kumar, who recently became the new CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Notes:
The book titled “Ten Studies in Kashmir: History and Politics” has been authored by educationist and Padma Shri recipient Prof Kashi Nath Pandit. It sheds light on the events that happened from 1947 till the revocation of the special status of the J&K state (1947-2019 events). The author has described complexities in various aspects of contemporary Kashmir history. He has also described the issues like the genesis of the Kashmir crises, its roots, and ramifications, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and the Kashmir debate in the UN.

Notes:
India has been ranked 32nd among 39 nations at the 2019 Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index (MMGPI). The index is based on how they fare on providing pension and retirement benefits to citizens across different income groups. India’s index value increased largely due to the improvement in all three sub-indices of adequacy, sustainability and integrity. As per the index, the improvement was due to slight increase in scores across various dimensions, including net household savings, greater flexibility in managing retirement and part time work, steady progress in governance and reporting around private pension plans.

Notes:
Thakur Anup Singh, CMD of Marg ERP, has won the prestigious Udyog Rattan Award-2019 for his exceptional work in transforming how MSMEs can accelerate their business by using technology. The award is conferred annually to Indian citizens for their outstanding contribution to the economic development of the country. It is conferred by the Institute of Economic Studies (IES) affiliated to Government of India (GoI).