Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
World Health Day was first established in 1999 by the World Heart Federation (WHF) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
World Heart Day is annually observed on September 29 to raise public awareness about cardiovascular diseases and their prevention. The World Heart Federation asks people around the world to ‘Use Heart to Beat CVD’.

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:
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:
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:
Sheikh Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah, also known as Sheikh Nawaf has been sworn in as the Emir (Head) of Kuwait.
The previous ruler Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah has recently died in the United States at the age of 91. Sheikh Sabah ruled the country for more than 14 years and the new Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf is 83 years old.

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:
As per the Reserve Bank of India, India’s external debt stood at USD 554.5 billion at the end of June 2020. It is recorded a decrease of USD 3.9 billion compared to March 2020 level. The main reason for the decrease in external debt was depreciation of INR against major currencies like USD, Euro.
RBI has also stated that external debt to GDP ratio has increased to 21.8 % compared to 20.6 % as of March 2020.

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:
Nigeria is celebrating its 60th independence day on Oct 1, 2020. Nigeria gained independence from the imperial Britain on October 1, 1960 and a representative of Queen Elizabeth II handed over Nigeria’s constitution to the country’s new Prime Minister – Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The African country became a republic three years later.

Notes:
Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment will invest Rs 6,247.5 crore to acquire a 1.4 per cent stake in Reliance Retail.
This is the fourth investor in Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) and the third such deal recently. Earlier, global private equity firm General Atlantic and Silver Lake bought 0.84 per cent stake and 2.13 per cent stake in the company respectively.