Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

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:
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:
A ‘High Level Monitoring Committee’ is proposed to be set up by India and Bangladesh to review projects implemented with Line of Credit (LoC) provided by India.
The decision was made at the 6th Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting between the two countries held in a virtual mode. The High-Level Monitoring Committee would be headed by Secretary, Economic Relations Division of Bangladesh and High Commissioner of India in Bangladesh.

Notes:
China is expected to send the world’s first mining robot into space by November 2020 through a private Beijing company, Origin Space.
The mining robot named as an ‘Asteroid mining robot’ will be a part of the preliminary assessment to identify and extract valuable resources. The spacecraft NEO-1 will be launched onboard a Chinese Long March rocket.

Notes:
The 19th round of Foreign Office Consultations between India and Myanmar was recently held through virtual mode.
India committed to provide debt service relief under the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative, for the period May 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Both the countries agreed to enhance their mutual cooperation. A Joint Trade Committee Ministerial Meeting is also to be held on October 20.

Notes:
Singapore based sovereign wealth fund GIC and global private equity firm TPG Capital have invested a total of Rs. 7,350 crores in Reliance Retail.
Reliance Retail Ventures has attracted more than USD 2 billion in investments from global investors, over the past few months. GIC will invest for a 1.22 percent stake while TPG Capital Management will invest for a 0.41 percent equity stake.

Notes:
India’s new Ambassador to Bahrain, Piyush Srivastava has recently met Bahrain’s Minister of Finance and National Economy Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa.
The two leaders held strategic discussions on bilateral cooperation between the two countries in financial and business sectors. The dignitaries also reviewed the economic partnership between both the countries.

Notes:
The authorities of Saudi Arabia have announced that the Umrah pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca has been resumed.
Due to the spread of Covid-19, Saudi Arabia had earlier suspended the pilgrimage for foreign and domestic Muslims in March. The country has decided to open up the pilgrimage in gradual phases with precaution, depending upon the pandemic’s spread.

Notes:
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) became the second Indian firm after Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to attain a market valuation of more than Rs 10 lakh crore.
Due to a rally in its share price, the company’s market valuation jumped to Rs 10, 03,012.43 crore on the BSE. Last month, the company became the second Indian firm to have a market valuation of over Rs 9 lakh crore.

Notes:
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has recently launched a mega campaign ‘Yudh Pradushan ke Virudh’.
Under this anti-air pollution campaign, separate detailed plans have been prepared for the 13 pollution hotspots identified in the city. It also aims to eliminate two major issues namely Stubble burning and Dust emissions.