Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
The Union cabinet has recently approved the adoption of the Jammu and Kashmir Panchayat Raj Act.
After this approval, all the three tiers of grassroots-level democracy will be established in Jammu and Kashmir, for the first time since independence in Jammu and Kashmir, similar to other parts of the country. The process for local body elections will start in the Union territory.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has fixed the minimum Net Owned Fund (NOF) size for housing finance companies at Rs 25 crore.
As per the RBI notification, the housing finance companies (HFCs) that hold a Certificate of Registration (CoR) and having an NOF of less than Rs 25 crore will be required to achieve NOF of Rs 15 crore by March 31, 2022 and Rs 25 crore by March 31, 2023.

Notes:
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) has proposed to raise a sum of Rs.1,500 crore from Flipkart Group. This fund rising would be by means of preferential issue of shares.
The capital would be raised at Rs.205 per share. With this capital infusion Flipkart Group will own 7.8% equity stake in ABFRL.

Notes:

NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar is the head of the 14-member advisory committee, that will review the urban planning education system in India.
The panel will also examine the availability of qualified urban planners in the country and the challenges posed by rapid urbanization. NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and secretaries of three ministries are among the members of the committee.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated “Kisan Suryodaya Yojana” of Gujarat. It is an agricultural scheme under which, farmers would be entitled to power supply from 5am to 9pm for irrigation purposes.
The scheme was announced by the state’s Chief Minister Vijay Rupani. The state has allocated a budget of Rs.3500 crore for installing power transmission infrastructure under this scheme by 2023.

Notes:
The Finance Ministry has approved guidelines for a scheme to grant ex-gratia payment of the difference between compound interest and simple interest for six months of loans up to Rs 2 crore.
The scheme can be availed by borrowers in specified loan accounts for a period from March 1 to August 31, 2020. Earlier, the Supreme Court directed the Centre to implement the interest waiver as soon as possible.

Notes:
Indian Army observes Infantry Day every year on October 27, to mark the landing of first Indian troops in Jammu and Kashmir.
Top Indian Army officials including Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane gathered at the National War Memorial on the occasion of Infantry Day.

Notes:
As per a recent study published in Cardiovascular Research, long-term exposure to air pollution has been linked to an increased risk of dying from Covid-19.
For the first time, the study has estimated that about 15% of deaths worldwide from Covid-19 could be attributed to long-term exposure to air pollution.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman represented India in the 10th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue on Global Responses to coronavirus.
The meeting was held in a virtual mode through Video Conferencing. The conference aimed at sharing of experiences on coronavirus response and to implement policies for economic recovery during the pandemic.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated a seaplane service that connects Statue of Unity in Kevadia with Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad, Gujarat.
The sea plane service is being operated by Spice jet. Earlier, he inaugurated a cruise service near the Statue of Unity. The 40-minute cruise will cover a distance of six kilometres.