Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
The state of Uttar Pradesh has attracted the highest number of domestic tourists in 2019. As per the Indian Tourist Statistics 2020, 23.1% of travelers in India visited Uttar Pradesh.
The state stood at third position in average number of foreign travelers. As many as 47 lakh travelers visited the state in 2019.

Notes:
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has recently held that environmental clearance was granted to the Kaleshwaram lift irrigation project in Telangana “ex post facto” in violation of the legal requirement.
NGT directed the Ministry of Environment to constitute a seven-member expert committee and suggest relief and rehabilitation measures. It will also assess the extent of damage caused by the project.

Notes:
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) chief Michelle Bachelet has recently appealed to the Government of India to review the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act.
The head of the UN forum also asked India to review compliance of the act with international human rights norms. She also regretted that it was being used to punish NGOs for human rights reporting. Earlier, Amnesty International shut its office in India after its bank accounts were frozen.

Notes:
The third World Statistics Day is celebrated in 20 October 2020. The theme of this year’s Statistics Day is “Connecting the world with data we can trust”. This day is organized under the guidance of the United Nations Statistical Commission.
As per the United Nations, this theme reflects the importance of trust, authoritative data, innovation and the public good in national statistical systems

Notes:
The use of telecom equipment from China’s Huawei and ZTE for 5G network has been banned by Sweden on security grounds. This announcement comes ahead of the spectrum auction scheduled for next month in the country.
The decision has been made in accordance to the advice rendered by the country’s armed forces which has described China as a biggest security threat to Sweden.

Notes:
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is to enable students their digital academic documents of class X and XII using Facial Recognition System.
The live image of the student will be matched with the photograph on the CBSE admit card. The application will be available in the digital academic repository of Central Board of Secondary Education- ‘Parinam Manjusha’ and Digi Locker.

Notes:
India has launched ‘Flash Flood Guidance’ services for itself and other South Asian countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, to provide impact-based forecasting.
The Flash Flood Guidance system has been designed by the India Meteorological Department (IMD), to provide forecasting of flash floods which occur at short duration. The services are provided at watershed and city level.

Notes:
The Labour and Employment Secretary of India Apurva Chandra has been elected as the Chairperson of the Governing Body of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) for the period October 2020 – June 2021.
He is a 1988 batch of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Maharashtra Cadre. With this, India has assumed the leadership of ILO after a period of 35 years.

Notes:
The Pune based Serum Institute of India has partnered with Merck KGaA and IAVI for development SARS-CoV-2 neutralising monoclonal antibodies. The Merck Group is a German multinational science and technology company.
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) is a global not-for-profit, public-private partnership working to accelerate the development of vaccines to prevent HIV infection and AIDS.

Notes:
Israel and Sudan have recently taken steps to normalize their bilateral relations. The deal was mediated by the President of United States of America Donald Trump.
USA has removed Sudan from the list of “official sponsors of terrorism”. USA has also restored economic aid and investment in Sudan. Recently, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have signed peace agreements with Israel.