Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2023

Notes:
The four riders and their horses Sudipti Hajela (Chinski), Divyakriti Singh (Adrenalin Firfod), Hriday Cheda (Chemxpro Emerald) and Anush Agarwalla (Etro) recently clinched India’s first-ever gold medal for India in Equestrian Dressage.
Equestrian first made its appearance at the Asian Games in 1982 and the host India dominated the competition with three gold medals. After 41 days, Indian team clinched a medal recently.

Notes:
Kongthong, a village situated in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, recently bagged the award at the National Tourism Awards 2023.
These awards were conferred by the Union Tourism Ministry. Meghalaya implements the Homestay Scheme, providing a subsidy of up to 7 lakh rupees per homestay. About 300 homestays were sanctioned in the last year.

Notes:
The Annual IAEA General Conference was held in Vienna. At this event, India announced its plans to generate 22 GW power through nuclear energy to achieve Net Zero.
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Ajit Kumar Mohanty shared India’s ambitious plans to step up nuclear power generation during a meeting with IAEA Director General.

Notes:
NASA astronaut Frank Rubio has recently created a new US record for the longest spaceflight. He returned to Earth with two Russian cosmonauts, after being stuck in space for just over a year.
The trio landed in a remote area of Kazakhstan, descending in a Soyuz capsule as a replacement after their original ride was hit by space junk and lost all its coolant while docked to the International Space Station.

Notes:
North Korea has adopted a constitutional amendment to solidify its nuclear force policy.
During a recent State People’s Assembly meeting held over two days, Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un announced that North Korea’s policy of building its nuclear forces has become a permanent and inviolable law of the state, which no one is permitted to challenge.

Notes:
The Prime Minister inaugurated a special week-long initiative called ‘Sankalp Saptaah’ for Aspirational Blocks.
‘Sankalp Saptaah’ will be observed in all 500 Aspirational Blocks located in 329 Districts across the nation. The 5th year of the Aspirational District Programme was also marked during the event.

Notes:
Directorate of Rural Sanitation, Jammu and Kashmir, has announced the nomination of country’s highest gallantry awardee, the Param Vir Chakra recipient, Captain Bana Singh as Ambassador for ‘War Against Waste’ in Jammu & Kashmir.
Theme of the Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS 2023) campaign is ‘Garbage Free India’ with focus on visual cleanliness and welfare of SafaiMitras.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force’s (IAF) MiG-29 fighter jets participated in the Exercise Bright Star in Egypt.
It was a biennial multilateral tri-services exercise held at the Cairo Air Base in Egypt.  The exercise involved nine countries, including India, in combat training and demonstrations.

Notes:
The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued its first-ever fine to Dish Network, ordering the company to pay USD 150,000 for failing to properly de-orbit its satellite.
EchoStar-7 satellite has been in space for more than two decades. Instead of deorbiting the satellite, Dish sent it into a disposal orbit at an altitude low enough to pose an orbital debris risk.

Notes:
An Australian woman has become the first documented individual globally to survive an infection typically responsible for the fatal “blackleg” ailment in cattle and sheep.
Blackleg in cattle bears a resemblance to gas gangrene syndrome in humans, leading to the death of all tissue surrounding the infection and significant gas accumulation.