Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
India has successfully test fired a new version of the surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile BrahMos.
The missile with a number of indigenously developed sub-systems including a Booster was flight-tested from the integrated test range at Balasore in Odisha. It has an extended range of about 400 km from the earlier 290 km range.

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:
India’s Sehgal Foundation has emerged as a co-runner up of the USA’s “Citizen Diplomacy Award”. The institution has been selected for its human rights and women empowerment work in rural India.
The Department of States – Bureau of Global Public Affairs of USA, launched the Citizen Diplomacy Award in 2017 to recognize significant contributions by citizens and organizations to deepen USA’s foreign policy around the world.

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:
The United States has committed USD 1.9 million to support vulnerable people in India including those involved in informal sector workers.
This financial assistance from US Agency for International Development (USAID) is provided by the American people to partners in India. This will support the Revive alliance, to address challenges caused by unemployment and income gaps faced by workers.

Notes:
As per a report titled “Annual Crime in India 2019” published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), crime against Scheduled Castes (SCs) has increased over 7% and crimes against Scheduled Tribes (STs) has increased over 26% in 2019.
As per the report, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest number of crimes against SCs in 2019 followed by Rajasthan and Bihar.

Notes:
The state Government of Rajasthan has decided to give 30% of the new Public Distribution System (PDS) shops to women.
The decision has been taken by the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, to empower the women in the state. The state has also approved an additional budget of Rs.11 crore to “Sahyog Evam Uphar Yojna”, where financial assistance is provided to needy families for daughter’s marriage.

Notes:
Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), Govt. of India has initiated an anti-dumping probe against two products imported from China.
The probe has been initiated against the import of Hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) Blends (used in refrigerators and air conditioners) and Decor Paper. The probe has been initiated by DGRT after SRF Ltd and ITC Ltd have filed applications seeking investigation on dumping of the two products.

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:
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.