GK & Current Affairs Quiz: October 11, 2018

Notes:
The book “The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi And His India” has been authored by Congress parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor. It is divided in five sections comprising 50 chapters & will release on 26th October 2018. The first section takes a close look at Modi’s life and times. The other four sections look at key aspects of the way in which Modi’s government functions and the lasting and often “deleterious impact” it has had on Indian society, major institutions, the economy, foreign policy and our fundamental values. In this explosive new book, Tharoor gives us an extraordinary portrait of Narendra Modi and his years in power. The book is currently available for pre-orders on Amazon.

Notes:
Kishour Giri (63), the noted Assamese singer and music director, has passed away in Guwahati on October 7, 2018 . He lent his voice to various social issues. He would often be seen on the streets of Guwahati, strumming a guitar and singing or raising his voice against the many evils that plague the society. Giri, who could play a number of musical instruments, including the guitar, violin and mandolin, composed music for a few Assamese films and television serials. Recently, he had appealed to the public and the state government, in his signature style, for financial support to ‘Village Rockstars’, India’s official entry to 2019 Oscars. Like the legendary Bhupen Hazarika, he too believed that the society needs ‘gaan’ (songs) instead of gun.

Notes:
On October 7, Badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has been honoured with the Ramineni Foundation’s Outstanding Person award. The award was presented by Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu. He also presented special awards to Telugu literary wizard Garikapati Narasimha Rao, film director Nag Ashwin Reddy and writer C Venkata Ramana. The Ramineni Foundation, based in the US, was established in 1995 and ever since has been honouring eminent persons for their achievements in various fields. The outstanding person award carries Rs 2 lakh and special awards Rs 1 lakh each.

Notes:
The section 151A of the Representation of the People Act of 1951 mandates the Election Commission of India (ECI) to fill the casual vacancies in the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures through bye elections within six months from the date of occurence of the vacancy. But, this is only if the remainder of the term of a member who is newly elected is one year or more. The term of 16th Lok Sabha is upto 3rd June, 2019. Therefore, it is understood that some newspapers have reported that the ECI on the one hand announced the bye elections to fill the 3 casual vacancies in Lok Sabha from Karnataka while the bye elections to fill 5 vacancies in LS from Andhra Pradesh have not been announced. As the vacancies from Karnataka have occurred more than one year before the expiration of the term of House, bye elections are required to be held under Section 151A of R. P. Act 1951 to fill these vacancies within 6 months from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 18th& 21st May, 2018. In the case of vacancies from Andhra Pradesh, there is no need to hold bye elections as the remaining term of the Lok Sabha is less than one year from the date of occurrence of vacancies that is 20th June, 2018.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has organised Workshop on ‘Best Practices in International Arbitration’ in collaboration with ICC International Court of Arbitration in New Delhi on 10 October 2018. It purpose is to strengthen dispute resolution mechanisms and to not only encourage ‘Make in India’ but also to ‘Resolve in India’. The workshop would cover basic concepts of international arbitration and include best practices on drafting, selection of arbitrators, enforcement of arbitral awards, role of courts in the arbitration life cycle, among other topics, with information sharing sessions to be conducted by world class faculty and practitioners from the United Kingdom, Singapore, Paris and India.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) with the support of World Health Organization (WHO) is organizing the ‘2nd World Conference on Access to Medical Products – Achieving the SDGs 2030’ at New Delhi from 9 -11 October 2018. The main purpose of the 2nd World Conference 2018 is to take forward the recommendations from the 1st World Conference 2017 and build on the work done for access to medical products in the context of SDGs (including trade agreements) in line with GPW 13 of WHO, foster new approaches in innovation landscape for medical products and health technologies for accelerating research and innovation and identify knowledge, information and policy options on the interface of international trade and health to achieve SDG 2030 goals.

Notes:
Shooter Manu Bhaker has become the first shooter from India to claim a gold at the 3rd edition of Summer Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina on October 9, 2018. She finished on top of the podium in women’s 10m air pistol event with a score of 236.5. With this, she also became the first Indian woman to win Gold in the ongoing event. Earlier, weightlifter Jeremy Lalrinnunga won the India’s first-ever gold medal at the 2018 Youth Olympics in Men’s 62kg Group A weightlifting. At the Youth Olympics 2018, Manu Bhaker was also the flag-bearer of the Indian contingent.

Notes:
India has been ranked 81st at the 2018 Henley Passport Index with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 60 destinations. The strength of the passport is determined by the number of countries a country gives free access to. The index is updated in real-time, as and when visa-policy changes come into effect. As per the 2018 index, Indians have access to travel without a visa to 60 countries – which includes Bhutan, Mauritius, Nepal, Fiji, among others. The index is topped by Japanese passport, which means Japanese passport holders enjoy the most visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to the most destinations at 190. Singapore acquired 2nd postion, with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 189 destinations. France, Germany, and South Korea follow at third with visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 188 destinations. The ranking is based on exclusive data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which maintains the world’s largest and most comprehensive database of travel information, and is enhanced by extensive in-house research. In it, Afghanistan and Iraq were ranked lowest on the index, as they have free-visa access to only 30 countries.

Notes:
Researchers at the Washington University in the US have developed the world’s first bio-electronic medicine — an implantable, biodegradable wireless device that speeds nerve regeneration and improves the healing of a damaged nerve. According to the study published in the journal Nature Medicine, the device is the size of a dime and the thickness of a sheet of paper.The technology, called “bioelectronicmedicine,” provides therapy and treatment over a clinically relevant period of time and directly at the site where it’s needed, thereby reducing side-effects or risks associated with conventional, permanent implants. Though, the device has not been tested in humans, the findings offer promise as a future therapeutic option for nerve injury patients.

Notes:
Senior Advocate Tushar Mehta has been appointed as Solicitor General of India (SGI). He will remain in office till 30th of June, 2020 or till further orders. Mr Mehta is currently serving as the Additional Solicitor General. The post of Solicitor General was vacant since October last year after the resignation of Ranjit Kumar.