GK & Current Affairs Quiz: November 24, 2018

Notes:
The Jammu and Kashmir Bank has been brought under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) act of 2009, the Chief Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) guidelines and the State Legislature. The State Administrative Council (SAC) under the chairmanship of Governor Satya Pal Malik approved the proposal for treating the J&K Bank Limited as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU). Now, the J&K Bank Ltd shall be accountable to the State Legislature like other state PSUs. Established in 1938, the J&K Bank Ltd is the only state government promoted bank in the country, with the Jammu and Kashmir government currently holding 59.3% of the shares.

Notes:
The World COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) Day is observed every year on 21st of November by the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) to raise awareness of COPD and to improve prevention and treatment of this lung disease for patients around the world. The 2018 theme is ‘Never too early, never too late’. The COPD is not one single disease but an umbrella term used to describe chronic lung diseases that cause limitations in lung airflow. Tobacco smoking is the most common cause of COPD. The most common symptoms of COPD are breathlessness, or a ‘need for air’, excessive sputum production, and a chronic cough. According to the latest WHO estimates (2004), currently 64 million people have COPD and 3 million people died of COPD. WHO predicts that COPD will become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.

Notes:
To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019, the Union Cabinet has recently approved the building and development of the Kartarpur Corridor from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district of Punjab to the international border with Pakistan. The corridor will facilitate pilgrims from India who visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib, Kartarpur, on the banks of the Ravi River in Pakistan every year, where Shri Guru Nanak Devji spent 18 years. The Kartarpur corridor will be implemented as an integrated development project with Government of India funding, to provide smooth and easy passage, with all the modern amenities. The corridor was proposed by the then PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999. If connected on the both sides, this could also provide a major tourism boost as more pilgrims would be able to visit the holy shrine throughout the year.

Notes:
Emmy-nominated British actress Millie Bobby Brown (14) has been named the youngest-ever UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. The appointment was marked on 2018 World Children’s Day (WCD) at United Nations Headquarters and the Empire State Building in New York on 20th November. She has been tasked by the UN to help raise awareness around children’s rights and issues including poverty, bullying, education and violence. The World Children’s Day (WCD) is a global day of action ‘for children, by children’ to raise awareness and funds for the millions of children that are unschooled, unprotected and uprooted.

Notes:
Popular singer Nahid Afrin of Assam has been appointed as the first ‘Youth Advocate’ of the northeastern region by UNICEF India to fight for child rights. The UNICEF engages ‘Youth Advocates’ to harness their voice as agents of change in society. The youth advocates support initiatives of positive change that include access to quality education, basic healthcare, ending violence against children, and addressing the issues of equity and inclusion. Nahid made her playback debut in the 2016 Bollywood film ‘Akira’ starring Sonakshi Sinha in the lead. Recently, Nahid also won the best female playback singer award at the Assam state Film Award 2018. Recently, Asian Games gold-medallist sprinter Hima Das was appointed as first-ever youth ambassador of UNICEF India.