Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2023

Notes:
Multiple Grand Slam winner Leander Paes emerged as the first Asian man to be nominated for the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the player category.
The 50-year-old Paes was one of the six nominees announced for the Class of 2024. He will be competing with Cara Black, Ana Ivanovic, Carlos Moya, Daniel Nestor and Flavia Pennetta in the Player Category. Li Na, the Chinese player became the first Asian player to get nominated to the ITHF in 2019.

Notes:
Drugmaker Cipla has launched drone-based deliveries of its critical medicines for hospitals in Himachal Pradesh, in partnership with Skye Air Mobility.
The medicines included cardiac, respiratory, and other essential chronic therapies. The use of drones will support on-time delivery of the company’s medicines to chemists and clinics in remote areas, while minimising risks including temperature-linked issues affecting cold chain products.

Notes:
Nepal became the first team to score more than 300 runs in a T20I when it posted a total of 314 against Mongolia at the Asian Games, China.
Nepal’s Kushal Malla scored 137 not out off 50 balls, including 12 sixes and eight fours, while Dipendra Singh blasted eight sixes in 10 balls in his unbeaten 52 on the way to recording the fastest fifty in the format, breaking Yuvraj Singh’s record.

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:
Uttar Pradesh has attained a significant milestone by achieving 100% ODF Plus coverage in the Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen, with 95,767 villages declaring themselves ODF+ with solid and liquid waste management systems.
Over 80,000 villages achieved ODF Plus status in the past nine months, coinciding with the nationwide ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign, where 88 lakh people participating in the state.

Notes:
Assam is encouraging pipe composting as an efficient method to transform biodegradable waste into fertilizer within two months, particularly emphasizing its adoption in rural areas.
This initiative is part of the ongoing Swachhata Hi Seva campaign, aimed at promoting sustainable waste management at the household level.

Notes:
The Indian Army, in partnership with the United Service Institution of India (USI), recently orgnised a hybrid panel discussion as part of Project Udbhav.
Project Udbhav, initiated by the Indian Army, is a program designed to reexamine the deep-rooted Indian traditions of statecraft and strategic thinking, drawing insights from ancient Indian texts on statecraft, warfare, diplomacy, and grand strategy.

Notes:
A recent study has highlighted that earthworms play an equivalent role in global food production to that of Russia, contributing to around 140 million tonnes of food annually.
If earthworms were considered a country, their food production would make them the fourth-largest global producer, trailing only behind Russia, which produced 150 million tonnes in 2022 and expects to produce 120 million tonnes this year.

Notes:
The Warehousing Development Regulatory Authority (WDRA) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of India to support farmers and traders by providing low-interest rate loans against electronic negotiable warehouse receipts (e-NWRs).
The objective of this partnership is to raise awareness and facilitate funding against e-NWRs.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to procure 156 additional ‘Prachand’ Light Combat choppers with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
They will be deployed at both the China and Pakistan front by the IAF and the Indian Army.  Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari announced about the intent to buy around 100 more Light Combat Aircraft Mark 1A to push indigenisation.