Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Human rights group Amnesty International has announced that it is halting all its ongoing campaign and research work in India.
The Group said that the Government has frozen the bank accounts for speaking out about rights violations. Amnesty had earlier highlighted rights violations that occurred in Jammu and Kashmir and riots in Delhi.

Notes:
India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India has announced that it has shortlisted five start-ups, as part of its MAIL (Mobility & Automobile Innovation Lab) programme.
With these new companies, Maruti Suzuki is engaged with 14 start-ups under the MAIL programme in the last 18 months. The initiative aims to create innovative business solutions and promote innovation in automobile sector.

Notes:
The Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited – Mukesh Ambani, has topped the IIFL Wealth Hurun India Rich List 2020.
He has been in the top of the list for 9 consecutive years. His total wealth amounts to Rs. 6,58,400 crore and it has grown by 73% in the past one year.

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:
The Environment Minister of France has announced that it would impose a gradual ban on using wild animals including bears, tigers, lions and elephants in circuses.
It also includes the ban on keeping dolphins and killer whales in captivity in marine parks and raising mink on fur farms. However, the ban does not apply to wild animals in other permanent shows and in zoos.

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:
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:
“Operation My Saheli” has been launched by the South Eastern Railway, to boost the safety of women passengers during their entire train journey. The operation protects women from originating point to destination.
In a pilot mode, the operation has been introduced in 3 trains namely trains Howrah-Yeshvantpur Duronto Special, Howrah- Ahmedabad Special and Howrah-Mumbai special trains.

Notes:
Suresh Prabhu, Member of Parliament from BJP, took part in the 3rd G20 Sherpas’ meeting, which was held in a virtual mode. He encouraged the member nations to enhance renewable energy production.
The G20 meeting is being organised under the Presidency of Saudi Arabia and the Sherpas’ meeting was attended by 30 participants including 20 countries.

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.