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:
The first ever “International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste” is observed on 29th September 2020 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.
The day is observed with the message “Stop food loss and waste – for the people, for the planet”. The day aims to create awareness about food loss and calls for global action to maximize the use of food.

Notes:
As per the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, senior bureaucrat P D Vaghela has been named as the new Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
P D Vaghela was a 1986- batch Gujarat cadre IAS officer replaces R S Sharma, who has held the post since 2015. Vaghela is to hold will serve as TRAI Chairman for three years or till he attains the age of 65.

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 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:
A Fast Patrol Vessel named “ICGS Kanaklata Barua” has been commissioned into the Indian Coast Guard.
The ship is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd (GRSE) and is the fifth and last in a series of FPVs built by the company. The ship has been named after a teen age freedom fighter of Assam who was shot dead during the Quit India Movement.

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:
In order to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, “Shramdan” drive was organized by the Department of Justice, Government of India at New Delhi on 2nd October, 2020.
During the event, all the officers and staff members of Department of Justice participated in a cleanliness drive to clean the office premises.

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:
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.