Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
India’s first multi-wavelength astronomical observatory named ‘Astrosat’ has recently completed five years of imaging objects in space.
The satellite was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2015. It has successfully carried out over 1000 observations of 800 unique celestial sources. A discovery of a galaxy located at a distance of about 10 billion light-years from Earth has been made using it.

Notes:
The first ever “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste” is observed on 29th September 2020 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The day is observed with the message “Stop food loss and waste – for the people, for the planet”. The day aims to create awareness about food loss and calls for global action to maximize the use of food.

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 World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020-2030 as the “Decade of Healthy Ageing”. International Day of Older Persons is observed on October 1 every year.
United Nations designated this day to focus on the well-being and special needs of the elderly people. The UN theme of the International Day of Older Persons 2020 is “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”.

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 Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed to launch its Venus mission by the year 2025.
French space agency CNES would also participate in the mission. Presently, the two nations are working closely on ISRO’s human space mission Gaganyaan that aims to send 3 Indians to space by 2022.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test fired an indigenously developed laser-guided anti-tank guided missile (ATGM).
The missile was test fired from the third-generation main battle tank, Arjun from a range at Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. The ATGM has been developed with a capability to launch from multiple platforms.

Notes:
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Vaishwik Bharatiya Vaigyanik (VAIBHAV) Summit on October 2.
The summit is a global virtual summit of overseas and resident Indian Researchers and Academicians. It is to be organised from October 2 to October 31. The summit creates a single platform for Science and Technology (S&T) related discussions.

Notes:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has developed highly purified ‘Antisera’ for prevention and treatment of Covid-19.
ICMR along with Hyderabad-based Biological E. Limited have developed highly purified antisera, which was raised in animals, for prophylaxis and treatment of COVID-19. This was previously used in medical science to treat many viral and bacterial infections.

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.