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:
A report titled ‘Gender Gaps in Agriculture Productivity and Public Spending in Nigeria’ was released recently by the World Bank.
According to this report, the Nigerian economy can earn an additional 8.1 million USD each year if it closes gender gaps in the agricultural sector.

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Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Bhopal have pinpointed a Circular RNA virus known as ciTRAN, the function of which in HIV-1 virus replication has been a mystery.
Additionally, they have created a molecule capable of impeding viral transcription. Circular RNA is crucial for gene expression regulation and various biological functions, and its impact on HIV-1 replication remains largely unexplored, as explained by the researchers.

Notes:
‘Smart Cities Mission, India: Localising Sustainable Development Goals’ was prepared by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry and UN-Habitat.
It revealed that around 70 percent of projects under the SCM align with the SDGs on cities, clean water and sanitation, clean energy and economic growth.

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:
NASA has recently unveiled an ambitious USD 1 billion plan to coordinate the controlled descent of the International Space Station (ISS) back to Earth.
It will be undertaken with a specialized spacecraft, known as the US Deorbit Vehicle (USDV). NASA has invited companies to develop the specialised vehicle.

Notes:
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated an expansion of the state’s Inland Water Transport fleet.
As many as 10 Steel Catamaran Vessels, 3 Tug Boats, and a Search and Search and Rescue (SAR) boat were flagged off at the event. The aim is to utilize Assam’s extensive river systems to their fullest potential.

Notes:
Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav, a 75 day-long event to celebrate the Indian languages started in Lucknow. Padma Shri awardees and representatives of different Indian languages are taking part in the program.
The festival will continue from September 28 to 11 December which is birthday of Famous Tamil poet Subrahmanyam Bharti and celebrated as Indian Languages Day.

Notes:
The Sycamore Gap Tree is a famous sycamore tree situated in a dip between two hills in Northumberland, England. It was among the UK’s most-photographed trees.
This 300-year-old tree has been cut down by a teenager in an attempt of vandalism. Hadrian’s Wall, which is almost 2,000 years old and stands next to the sycamore, sustained some damage.

Notes:
Aditya-L1 spacecraft has travelled beyond a distance of 9.2 lakh km from Earth, successfully escaping the sphere of earth’s influence, after the Mars Orbiter Mission.
The spacecraft will remain in a halo orbit around L1, about 1.5 million km from Earth, to observe the Sun’s corona and other aspects without interruptions.