GK & Current Affairs Quiz: October 18, 2018

Notes:
The ICICI Bank was originally established by ICICI Limited as a wholly owned subsidiary in 1994. Though, Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI) was formed in 1955 as a joint-venture of the World Bank, the Government of India (GoI) and representatives of Indian industry. The principal objective was to create a development financial institution for providing medium-term and long-term project financing to Indian businesses. Recently, it is in news because the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved appointment of Sandeep Bakshi as Managing Director and CEO of the private sector lender ICICI Bank for 3 years. He succeeded Chanda Kochhar, who is facing enquiry over the charges of nepotism and conflict of interest. Ms Kochhar had quit the bank on October 4 before her current tenure was to end. She also resigned from all subsidiaries of the bank, including ICICI Securities where she had sought reappointment as the chairperson.

Notes:
The book titled “Half the Night is Gone”, which is shortlisted for The Hindu Prize 2018 in the fiction segment, is authored by Amitabha Bagchi. It tells the story of a celebrated Hindi novelist Vishwanath, heartbroken by the recent loss of his son. The book raises questions of religion, literature and society that speak to our fractured times.

Notes:
Nimesh Shah, the MD & CEO of ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, has been elected as new Chairman of Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). He succeeded A Balasubramanian, CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund. Shah has been appointed as Chairman at a time when volatile equity markets and fears of liquidity at IL&FS are keeping investors jittery. As Chairman of AMFI, Shah’s challenge will be to focus on investor-centric initiatives through which industry will be able to attract inflows and grow its Assets under Management (AUM).

Notes:
Suraj Panwar has won the India’s first medal in athletics at the Youth Olympic Games 2018 after claiming the silver in the men’s 5000m race walk event at the Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was India’s third overall medal in athletics in the history of the Youth Olympic Games.

Notes:
Recently, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet has officially adopted a proposal to rename the historic city of Allahabad as Prayagraj. The city was known as Prayag before 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar built a fort near the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna and named it “Ilahabad”. His grandson Shah Jahan renamed the entire city “Allahabad”. An area near the confluence of the river continues to be known as Prayag. The confluence of two rivers is a ‘prayag’, and in Allahabad three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati meet. Hence, it is the king of ‘prayags’. That is why it is ‘Prayagraj’. Now, the proposal will now go to the Centre before the city is officially renamed even though an Uttar Pradesh minister seemed to suggest the change has already come into effect.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has launched a nationwide campaign ‘Swasth Bharat Yatra’ from October 16 on the occasion of 2018 World Food Day (WFD to create consumer awareness about eating safe and nutritious food for becoming healthy. As per the campaign, a pan-India cycle rally is being organized by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to sensitize people about eating safe food and be healthy. About 7,500 cyclists are expected to participate in over 18,000 km relay cycle rally travelling across six tracks through almost every state and UT over 100 days to propagate a powerful message ‘Eat Right India’. The cyclathon will culminate in the national capital on January 27. The ‘Eat Right India’ movement is a collective effort of key stakeholders and citizens and is aligned with Government’s recent focus on public health through its three key programmes – ‘Ayushman Bharat’, ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’, and ‘POSHAN Abhiyaan’.

Notes:
The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is observed every year on October 17 to recognize the struggles of the impoverished and to make their voices heard by governments and ordinary citizens. The 2018 theme is “Coming together with those furthest behind to build an inclusive world of universal respect for human rights and dignity”. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is important to recall the fundamental connection between extreme poverty and human rights, and that people living in poverty are disproportionately affected by many human rights violations.

Notes:
The World Food Day (WFD) is observed every year across the world on 16th of October to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 1945. The theme for WFD 2018 is “Our Actions Are Our Future ! A #ZeroHunger World by 2030 is possible”. Zero hunger means working together to ensure everyone, everywhere, has access to the safe, healthy and nutritious food they need. To achieve it, we must adopt a more sustainable lifestyle, work with others, share our knowledge and be willing to help change the world – for the better.

Notes:
The 12th Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit 2018 will be held in Brussels, Belgium from October 18 with theme “Global Partners for Global Challenges”. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu will lead the Indian delegation at the two-day summit. This will also be the first multilateral summit that Vice President will be attending after taking office in August 2017. Besides One to One meeting with the King of the Belgians, Mr. Naidu will have bilateral meetings with various Heads of State on the sidelines of the Summit. The ASEM summit is the highest platform for dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe in the areas of trade, investment, security and tourism.

Notes:
The festival of Fulpati has recently celebrated with traditional gaiety and religious fervour in various parts of Nepal. Fulpati is observed on the 7th day of Dashain festival. In Nepali, “Phool” means flower and “Pati” means leaves and plants. There is a tradition in Nepal to bring nine types of Fulpati into the home on the seventh day of Navaratri. It is believed that Fulpati represents nine Goddess and they brings health, wealth and prosperity to the homes. The tradition started during the period of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. The main function was held at Basantpur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, where Fulpati was brought to Dashainghar from Jamal in a traditional procession with Vedic rituals.