Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
The Konso cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is located in a dry, hilly environment at the edge of the Rift Valley in southern Ethiopia. It has always been a relatively isolated area of the country, where life has remained largely unchanged for at least 400 years. The people live in closely-packed communities of wood-and-mud built, thatched dwellings from which they travel out to their fields of millet on a daily basis. The local chief’s hilltop ‘Palace’ comprises a collection of dome-shaped thatched rooms, with covered meeting and work areas, all surrounded by a heavy wooden ‘stockade’ with narrow gates. In nearby forest clearings, collections of anthropomorphic statues are maintained, one group of them kept under a pagoda-style shelter.

Notes:
The President of United States of America Donald Trump has announced its plans to distribute 150 million “15 minute” rapid Covid-19 test kits in the coming weeks.
Out of these 50 million test kits would be used for most vulnerable communities of the country, like nursing homes, assisted living facilities etc.

Notes:
It is reported that fraudulent transactions amounting Rs 12,705 crore has taken place in Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) during FY17 to FY19. These frauds pertain to development of 2 Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects undertaken by DHFL.
This observation was made by “Grant Thornton”, a transaction investigating agency. The assistance of Grant Thornton was sought by the administrator of DHFL appointed under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Notes:
Leading Power Sector organisation, NTPC Ltd has recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ministry of Power.
Under the MoU, the key targets were fixed for the year 2020-21, which include 340 BU of electricity generation, 15 MMT of coal production under excellent category. It also includes other financial parameters including Capex and Revenue from operations.

Notes:
Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL) has commenced the exploration of the Kolar Gold Fields (KGF) in Karnataka. MECL is a Mini Ratna PSU under the Ministry of Mines.
This mining activity is expected to help resolve Bharat Gold Mines Limited (BGML) issue over exploration of the gold field, which is pending for past 16 years.

Notes:
The (Indian Council of Medical Research) ICMR’s second sero-survey findings state that one in 15 individuals aged 10 years and above were estimated to be exposed to corona virus infection.
It shows that, there is a large section of population still susceptible to COVID-19. The report has also stated that containment and behavioural change among the people have effectively checked the potential spread of Covid 19.

Notes:
Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan has launched the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Technologies for Rural Development.
The technologies have been launched under a joint initiative of CSIR, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA). The technologies include improved beehive, dehumidified drier and agricultural waste-based biodegradable plates.

Notes:
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is celebrating the sixth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).
To commemorate the event, the Ministry is organising a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’. The Ministry said that 4,327 urban local bodies have been declared open defecation-free (ODF) so far.

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:
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the Swachh Bharat Diwas 2020 was celebrated which included the distribution of Swachh Bharat Puraskar.
In the Swachh Sundar Samudayik Shauchalaya (SSSS) campaign organized from 1st Nov 2019 to 30th April 2020, Gujarat state has been conferred with the first prize. Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu) won the best district award.