Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2019

Notes:
Praveen Kumar has become the first Indian man to win gold in the 48kg category at the  15th Wushu World Championships. In the final, he beat Russel Diaz of Philippines in the men’s Sanda event in Shanghai. Wushu is a Chinese martial art which combines full-contact kickboxing, including close-range punches and kicks, with wrestling, takedowns, throws, sweeps and kicks catch.

Notes:
The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on 24th of October to draw the attention of the world public-opinion  to development problems and the necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them. It aims to disseminate information and mobilize public opinion, particularly among young people, in order to create awareness of the problems of development, promoting efforts in the sphere of international cooperation for development. This special day coincides with the United Nations Day (UND) which also falls on 24th October. 

Notes:
The World Polio Day (WPD) is observed every year on 24th October by the World Health Organization (WHO) and its allied agencies to commemorate the birth of Jonas Salk, who led the first team to develop a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The day provides an opportunity to celebrate progress towards a polio-free world and the tireless efforts of many towards the goal.

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:
The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is observing the Vigilance Awareness Week from 28th October to 2nd November 2019 with theme “Integrity- A way of life”. This is observed every year during the week in which the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (31st October) falls. This awareness week campaign affirms commitment to promotion of integrity and probity in public life through citizen participation. 

Notes:
Manohar Lal Khattar represents Karnal constituency in Haryana Legislative Assembly, and was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Haryana after BJP’s win in the 2014 Haryana Legislative Assembly election. He was sworn in a second time as the Chief Minister on 27 October 2019 after making an alliance with Jannayak Janta Party post 2019 Haryana Legislative Assembly election.

Notes:
Ex Shakti -2019 is a joint counter-terrorism drill between Indian and French armies to be conducted in Mahajan Field Firing Range (MFFR) Bikaner, Rajasthan from October 31 to November 13, 2019. The joint exercise will focus on counter-terrorism operations in the backdrop of semi-desert terrain under the United Nations mandate. This biennial exercise between the armies of the two countries had stated in 2011.

Notes:
The GHS Index is a joint project of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), with research by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Global Health Security Index is first comprehensive assessment and benchmarking of health security and related capabilities across 195 countries and it suggests that not a single country in the world is fully prepared to handle an epidemic or pandemic. The index has been topped by USA while India is on 57th position in the index.

Notes:
Premier speedster Jasprit Bumrah and batswoman Smriti Mandhana are the two Indian names among the five winners of the prestigious Wisden India Almanack Cricketer of the Year award. The other winners from Asia are Pakistan’s Fakhar Zaman, Sri Lanka’s Dimuth Karunaratne and Afghanistan Rashid Khan. Mandhana is the third woman to be named ‘Cricketer of the Year’, after Mithali Raj and Deepti Sharma. Stalwarts Gundappa Viswanath and Lala Amarnath are inducted into the Wisden India Hall of Fame.

Notes:
Don Valentine (87), an American venture capitalist who founded Sequoia Capital, has passed away in Woodside, Calif. Valentine spent nearly 40 years working in Silicon Valley, and Sequoia Capital is widely credited with cementing California’s Bay Area as the tech powerhouse it is today.