Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Assam’s first and only woman Chief Minister Syeda Anwara Taimur has recently passed away in Australia, at 84 years.
She held various important positions including the Education Minister before becoming the Chief Minister from 1980 to 1981. She was also nominated for a Rajya Sabha term in 1988. She served as MLA for four times during his 4 decade-long political career.

Notes:
The CEO of NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant has stated that the organization is fine tuning parameters and indicators used in ranking the 112 Aspirational Districts of India.
The Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) was launched by the national think tank NITI Aayog in January 2018. It aims to transform 112 most backward districts that have shown relatively lesser progress in key social areas.

Notes:
Major Tech company Google has planned to pay USD 1 billion to publishers globally for their news over the next three years.
The CEO of Google, Sundar Pichai said the new product called Google News Showcase will be launched first in Germany. It will be unveiled in Belgium, India, the Netherlands and other countries. Google will pay publishers to create high-quality content for the news feature.

Notes:
The Island nation of Sri Lanka has recently announced to ban slaughtering of cows across the country.
The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa has announced that a legislature to implement the decision would be moved soon. The Cabinet has decided to import beef and provide it at a lower price to people who consume it.

Notes:
The Union Finance Ministry has permitted Uttar Pradesh to raise an additional Rs.4851 crore of debt which is linked to the reforms undertaken in Public Distribution System (PDS). The additional borrowing can be done by rolling out “One Nation One Ration Card” scheme in the state.
Andhra Pradesh has been permitted for additional borrowing of Rs.2,525 crore for which it will have to make reforms on Ease of Doing Business. In May, the centre increased the borrowing limits of states from 3% to 5% of GSDP. Out of the additional 2%, 0.25% is linked to reforms in PDS and 0.25% is linked to ease of doing business.

Notes:
Reliance Life Sciences, a subsidiary of Reliance India Limited has developed a Real Time PCR kit named R-Green Kit. The kit can be used for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection in about 2 hours.
At present, the PCR kits used in India takes about 24 hours to diagnose the infection. The R Green Kit developed by Reliance has been validated by ICMR for its performance.

Notes:
In order to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, “Shramdan” drive was organized by the Department of Justice, Government of India at New Delhi on 2nd October, 2020.
During the event, all the officers and staff members of Department of Justice participated in a cleanliness drive to clean the office premises.

Notes:
The all-weather “Atal Tunnel” which was constructed by the Boarder Roads Organisation (BRO) has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is the longest highway tunnel in the world that is 9.02 km long. It connects Manali to Lahaul-Spiti valley throughout the year. The tunnel reduces the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 km.

Notes:
The fourth World Conference on Women was convened by the United Nations during in September 1995 in Beijing, China.
The 25th anniversary of the fourth World Conference on Women was recently organised. Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani participated in the conference. She highlighted about the initiatives undertaken in India including the National Nutrition Mission.

Notes:
As per the recent press release issued by the Ministry of Defence, two exercises namely Bongosagar and Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) will be held between India and Bangladesh in October first week.
Under the India Bangladesh Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) exercise, both navies will undertake joint patrolling along the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL). The exercises are held as part of Prime Minister’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) initiative.