Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF) is a leading think tank from Taiwan and the organizer of the Yushan Forum.
The think tank was seen in the news recently, as it has signed a memorandum with India’s National Maritime Foundation (NMF), to promote cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region. The agreement also aims to conduct joint research.

Notes:
The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED), Ministry of Tribal Affairs in association with Chhattisgarh MFP Federation and IIT Kanpur launched the ‘Tech For Tribals’ initiative.
It has been launched under the ‘Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme’ (ESDP), in collaboration with the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Van Dhan beneficiaries across all districts of Chhattisgarh State are being trained for 6 weeks.

Notes:
The “Garba” is a form of folk dance of Gujarat. It is performed during the 9-day celebration of the Navratri festival, in the worship of Goddess Shakti / Durga.
Recently, the Government of Gujarat has disallowed performance of the Garba dance during this year’s Navratri festival, as a part of Covid management in the state.

Notes:
In order to clear the backlog for compensatory afforestation, the state of Uttarakhand has decided to conduct a plantation drive in Uttar Pradesh’s Bundelkhand region and in parts of Rajasthan.
The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) of Uttarakhand has set a target of 3,500 hectare of afforestation in the current financial year.

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:
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a second coronavirus vaccine after early-stage studies.
The Russian authorities have given regulatory approval to the peptide-based vaccine named ‘EpiVacCorona’ after early-stage studies, developed by the Vector Institute in Siberia. The President also announced that the priority was to supply vaccines to the Russian market.

Notes:
An inter-ministerial meeting with Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) was chaired by the Union Minister of Health Dr.Harsh Vardhan. The meeting aims to achieve “Vision 2050” of the Eat Right India Movement.
The health minister informed that the economic cost of foodborne diseases in India would be USD 15 billion and more than 50% of women and children in India are suffering from anaemia.

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:
The India – International Food and Agri Week has been launched by the Ministry of Food Processing and industries. The Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the event virtually.
During the inaugural event, the minister stated that 32% of India’s food market is constituted by food processing. The Ministry has also started an awareness programme named “Anna Devo Bhava”.

Notes:
The Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP) is located in Bhubaneswar. The NZP has revived ‘Adopt-An-Animal’ programme, since it has suffered a huge loss following its closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NZP is an important zoo in the country in terms of its species diversity. Since launch, the zoo has received more than 100 applications from animal lovers for amount of Rs.22 lakh.