Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Leading stock exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) announced that it has signed a pact with private sector bank Yes Bank to empower the small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
As per the BSE, the agreement aims to empower SMEs listed on the platform, through awareness and knowledge-sharing programmes, for export promotion and banking and financial solutions. The bank will also offer customised services and products to the listed SMEs.

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:
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:
Major E-commerce giant Amazon has launched its new Fulfilment Centre in Tamil Nadu. This is aimed to strengthening the firm’s network in the state.
This facility is expected to offer significant employment opportunities in Tamil Nadu and give a boost to the Economy. The facility has a 7 lakh cubic feet of storage space and can accommodate lakhs of products, appliances and furniture.

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:
Madhabi Puri Buch is the first woman Whole-time member (WTM) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
She is also the first from the private sector to be appointed a SEBI Board member. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has recently approved the extension of her appointment as WTM for one year beginning October 4, 2020.

Notes:
American Scientists Harvey J Alter and Charles M Rice, and British scientist Michael Houghton were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology.
The award has been presented for the discovery of the hepatitis C virus. Their work helped to explore a major source of blood-borne hepatitis, which couldn’t be explained by the hepatitis A and B viruses.

Notes:
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly proclaimed World Space Week to be celebrated during October 4-10.
The first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1 was launched on October 4. The Space week aims to celebrate the contributions of space science and technology. This year the theme of the week is “Satellites improve life.”

Notes:
India and Israel have agreed to advance bilateral cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus with special focus on technological cooperation.
During the telephonic conversation between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the leaders agreed to hold a digital conference on innovation in the field of solar energy.

Notes:
The Government has approved 16 Production Linked Incentive (PLI) projects related to the Electronics sector.
As per the statement issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, this approval will fetch Rs 11,000-crore additional investments in local electronics manufacturing. It includes five proposals from Indian manufacturers including Micromax and Lava.