Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2020

Notes:
The Election Commission of India has recently set up a committee under its Director General Umesh Sinha and ex Indian Revenue Service officer Harish Kumar.
The panel has been set up to examine the existing expenditure limits for election candidates amidst the increase in number of electors and rise in Cost Inflation Index. Earlier, a 10% increase in the expenditure limit of election candidates.

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 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:
23rd October of every year is celebrated as World’s Snow Leopard Day. This day is observed to protect and conserve snow leopards and other wild animals of the Himalayas.
Snow Leopards are distributed across 12 countries in central Asia. They generally live in high altitudes of 3000 to 4500m. This day was first proclaimed at the Global Snow Leopard Forum at Bishkek, Kyrgyztan.

Notes:
Indian Army has recently organised the Inauguration Ceremony of Joginder War Memorial at Bum La, in Arunachal Pradesh.
The ceremony was held on October 23, the same day on which the Battle of Tongpen La (Bum La) took place in 1962. Joginder Singh, who served in the Sikh Regiment, posthumously received the highest gallantry award, ‘Param Vir Chakra’ for his sacrifice during the 1962 Sino- India War.

Notes:
During the third edition of the 2+2 talks held between India and the United States, the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement or BECA was signed.
The agreement gives India access to classified geo-spatial data as well as critical information having significant military applications from the United States. This is a long-negotiated defence pact.

Notes:
The India Post and the United States Postal Service (USPS) have entered into an agreement for Exchange of Customs data related to postal shipments.
This enabled the two countries to exchange electronic data of international postal items prior to their physical arrival at the destination. Exchange of Electronic Advance Data (EAD) as per the Agreement would enable to promote mutual trade between the two countries.

Notes:
Indian Army has recently developed a simple messaging application named the Secure Application for Internet (SAI).
The application supports end to end secure voice, text and video calling services for Android platform over the internet. It is similar to messaging applications including WhatsApp and Telegram. It is expected to facilitate secure messaging within the service.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Cambodia on cooperation in the field of Health and Medicine.
The MoU seeks to encourage cooperation through joint initiatives and technology development in the health sector. The MoU which will strengthen bilateral ties between the countries, shall remain in force for a period of five years.

Notes:
Cochin Shipyard and Italy’s Fincantieri, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for co-operation in the areas of design, ship building, ship repair, marine equipment manufacturing, besides training & skill development.
Fincantieri is one of the world’s largest shipbuilding groups. Cochin Shipyard is the largest shipbuilding and maintenance facility in India.