Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Serum Institute of India (SII) has partnered with Gavi COVAX and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to produce an additional 100 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine.
The vaccine is presently being tested by SII. The additional production is targeted at 61 Low- and Middle-Income countries, including India.

Notes:
China is expected to send the world’s first mining robot into space by November 2020 through a private Beijing company, Origin Space.
The mining robot named as an ‘Asteroid mining robot’ will be a part of the preliminary assessment to identify and extract valuable resources. The spacecraft NEO-1 will be launched onboard a Chinese Long March rocket.

Notes:
The Union Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju has unveiled a new logo of Sports Authority of India (SAI).
The new logo signifies SAI’s journey of transformation from identifying grassroot level talent to creating sporting excellence in India. SAI was established in 1982 and has been an epicentre for sports in India.

Notes:
Nigeria is celebrating its 60th independence day on Oct 1, 2020. Nigeria gained independence from the imperial Britain on October 1, 1960 and a representative of Queen Elizabeth II handed over Nigeria’s constitution to the country’s new Prime Minister – Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The African country became a republic three years later.

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 E Way bill system is being implemented by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). It is an Electronic Way bill for movement of goods to be generated on the eWay Bill Portal. A GST registered person cannot transport goods more than Rs.50,000 without an e way bill.
Finance Secretary Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey has recently stated that more than 5.74 crore e-way bills have been generated in the month of September 2020 which is seen as a sign of revival of business activities in the country.

Notes:
The Department of Economic Affairs of the Union Finance Ministry is responsible for preparing the Union Budget.
The Finance Ministry has commenced the exercise for Union Budget 2021-22 by issuing the traditional circular. The Budget is expected to be presented to Parliament on February 1, 2021. The discussions will start from October 16 and continue till the first week of November.

Notes:
On Mahatma Gandhi’s 151st birth anniversary, the world’s highest architecture Burj Khalifa tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates was illuminated with Mahatma Gandhi’s image along with his message.
His famous quote ‘Peace between countries must rest on the solid foundation of love between individuals’ was displayed on the iconic tower.

Notes:
India and South Africa has formally submitted a request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and sought a waiver on agreements related to prevent Covid-19.
The countries claimed that there were many reports about Intellectual property rights (IPR) hindering timely provisioning of affordable medical products to COVID-19 patients. Many Developing countries face difficulties while using TRIPS Agreement.

Notes:
The Union Government has recently appointed economists Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by the prime minister, approved the names. The new members will replace Chetan Ghate, Pami Dua and Ravindra Dholakia. The RBI had earlier postponed the last meeting of the MPC.