Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
The Gujarat State Fertilizers and Chemicals India Ltd (GSFC) has launched the indigenous variety of calcium nitrate and boronated calcium nitrate. These two chemicals are being manufactured for the first time in India and till now they were imported.
Calcium Nitrate is a very soluble component and is widely used in Fertigation. It is also used for wastewater treatment and to increase the strength of cement. Boronated Calcium Nitrate is a water-soluble fertilizer which contains high-quality macro and essential nutrients.

Notes:
Carlton Chapman, the former Indian foot ball player, passed away recently. He was 49 years old.
Carlton Chapman led the Indian men’s football team in the 1990s and has played for India from 1990 to 2001. He was part of the winning team of 1997 South Asian Football Federation Gold Cup. He is known for a hat trick scored for the Kolkata club.

Notes:
The Government has selected Hughes Communications India to connect 5,000 village panchayats with satellite broadband under BharatNet project by March 2021.
The 5000 Gram Panchayats are to be selected from the border and Naxal-affected states as well as in island territories. It also includes those located in north-eastern states and the Galwan Valley in Eastern Ladakh as well as in Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

Notes:
The Union Government has allowed 20 states to raise Rs.68,825 crore from the market through open market borrowing. This would help the states to bridge the GST revenue shortfall.
The estimated shortfall in GST compensation to states is Rs.2.35 lakh crore. The central Government had given 2 options to the states – either borrower Rs.97,000 crore through a special window of RBI or borrower Rs.2.35 lakh crore from the market.

Notes:
The Culture Ministry has recently issued guidelines for holding events in online mode. The guidelines would ensure continued financial assistance to artistes and help them to tackle the crisis as they are unable to hold programmes in physical mode.
Under the ‘Kala Sanskriti Vikas Yojana’ (KSVY), the Ministry sanctions grants to hold programmes/activities which involved large audience.

Notes:
Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan recently announced that the government is looking at procuring and utilizing about 400-500 million vaccine doses, covering about 200-250 million people.
Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) that is used for the immunisation programme, is used for real-time tracking of vaccine movement, from procurement to storage, to delivery and distribution.

Notes:
The National Security Guard celebrated its 33rd Raising Day recently. The commandos demonstrated their Ninja style counter terrorism techniques during the celebrations at NSG campus in Manesar.
The function was attended by the Vice President Venkaiah Naidu. The NSG was formed in 1984 after the assassination of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi specially to combat terrorism.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released a report titled ‘The Global Tuberculosis Report, 2020’ recently.
As per the report, India recorded a decline in the notification of tuberculosis (TB) cases by about 85 per cent in April 2020, after the imposition of Covid-19 induced lockdown. However, India has the highest TB burden across the globe at 26 per cent.

Notes:
The Ministry of Finance has authorised State Bank of India (SBI) to issue and encash Electoral Bonds. These bonds would be made available through SBI’s 29 Authorized Branches from 19th October to 28th of October this year. The is the 14th phase of sale.
Electoral Bonds will be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment will be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period.

Notes:
The SLINEX-20 is a bilateral maritime exercise between Indian Navy and Sri Lankan Navy. This year’s SLINEX is the 8th edition and is taking place from October 19 to 21, 2020 at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka.
The 7th edition was held off the coast of Vizag in the year 2019. This exercise aims to improve the inter-operability of the two navies and exchange the best naval practices.