Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Famous Actor Sonu Sood has been conferred with “SDG Special Humanitarian Action Award” by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The award has been conferred upon him for his selfless assistance rendered to migrants, stranded students abroad and bring them back to India. He also opened his hotel in Mumbai for health care workers of nearby hospitals.

Notes:
Indian Foreign Service officer Devyani Uttam Khobragade has been appointed as India’s next ambassador to Cambodia.
This has been announced by the Ministry of External Affairs. Ms Khobragade is a 1999-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, currently serving as a joint secretary in the External Affairs Ministry. She has served in Indian missions in Berlin, Islamabad, Rome and New York.

Notes:
The Union Defence Ministry has designated Alpha Design Technologies Limited (ADTL) to upgrade the soviet era Pechora surface to air systems.
As per the Rs.591 crore contract, the firm would be upgrading 16 such systems. Alpha Design Technologies Limited is a Bengaluru based company that is specialized in defence electronics, avionics and space satellite systems.

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:
The ‘World Day for Farmed Animals’ is celebrated on October 2, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
The Day is being observed since 1983 by various international organisations including ‘World Day for Farmed Animals Asia’, World Animal Protection and Asia for Animals coalition. In this year, a campaign of ‘Pledge to #FastAgainstSlaughter’ was held.

Notes:
The Indian Navy along with Greater Vishakhapatnam Municipal Corporation had undertaken Aerial Seeding in Vishakhapatnam.
This initiative is aimed to increase green cover in and around Vishakhapatnam. Over 6.25 tonnes of seed balls were air dropped in five locations from the Naval helicopters.

Notes:
Indian Army has signed a Rs.7,796 crore project with ITI Limited, a telecom & Defence equipment manufacturing PSU.
The project has been signed for Phase IV of Army Static Switched Communication Network (ASCON) project. The ASCON is a telecom network for secured communication across the country. The project also includes maintenance of the network for a period of 10 years by ITI Limited.

Notes:
The Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda has announced to withdraw from Formula One (F1 racing) by the end of the 2021.
The decision has been announced by Honda, to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality and other environmental initiatives. Honda has been the engine supplier for the F1 teams Red Bull and Alpha Tauri.

Notes:
According to the official release of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), the new emission norms for Tractors will come into force from October 2021.
However, the emission norms of construction equipment vehicles will come into effect from April 2021. A deferment of six months has been provided to the date of implementation of the emission norms.

Notes:
Global technology company IBM will set up an Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence with the Government e-Marketplace (GeM).
The CoE aims to bring in transparency, efficiency and cost saving in the public procurement process. The CEO of IBM announced this during his address at the RAISE 2020 AI summit. The company is working with the Karnataka state and NITI Aayog in precision agriculture solutions using AI.