Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

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 Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) is celebrating the sixth anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U).
To commemorate the event, the Ministry is organising a webinar titled ‘Swachhata Ke 6 Saal, Bemisaal’. The Ministry said that 4,327 urban local bodies have been declared open defecation-free (ODF) so far.

Notes:
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda is to launch India’s largest handicraft and organic products marketplace named ‘Tribes India E-Marketplace’
This marketplace will be launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. This initiative of TRIFED will showcase the produce and handicrafts of tribal enterprises from all parts of the country. The Minister will also launch Pakur Honey, gathered by Santhal Tribals from Pakur, Jharkhand.

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:
India and South Africa has formally submitted a request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and sought a waiver on agreements related to prevent Covid-19.
The countries claimed that there were many reports about Intellectual property rights (IPR) hindering timely provisioning of affordable medical products to COVID-19 patients. Many Developing countries face difficulties while using TRIPS Agreement.

Notes:
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully tested a system of Supersonic missile-assisted release of torpedo called SMART.
The lightweight anti-submarine torpedo has been tested from the Wheeler Island in Odisha. This system is to be deployed for anti-submarine warfare operations far beyond the torpedo range. All the mission objectives were met during the test.

Notes:
The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day, to sensitise on the basic right to adequate shelter.
This year, the theme of the World Habitat Day 2020 is ‘Housing For All — A Better Urban Future’. World Habitat Day was first celebrated in 1986 with the theme ‘Shelter is My Right’ and was hosted by Nairobi.

Notes:
The Union Government has appointed Dinesh Kumar Khara as Chairman of State Bank of India for three years from 7 October.
According to a notification issued by the Finance Ministry, Khara will replace SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar, whose three-year term is ending on October 7. Khara was serving as the Managing Director of SBI since August 2016.

Notes:
Veteran IPS officer M A Ganapathy has been appointed as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
As per to a Personnel Ministry order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Ganapathy, for a tenure up to his superannuation on February 29, 2024. He is a 1986 batch IPS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

Notes:
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for development of a method for genome editing.
The two scientists have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest toolsnamed the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors, using which the DNA of animals, plants, and microorganisms can be changed precisely. Charpentier and Doudna became the sixth and seventh women to win a Nobel for chemistry.