Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has expected India’s economy to grow 7.0% in calendar year 2018 compared with 6.2% in 2017. As per the report “Trade and Development”, the effects of demonetization are still evident in private consumption trends within the economy. It also emphasised that countries like India and Thailand, which have been most favoured by foreign investors and experienced the largest spike in asset prices, would be most vulnerable to capital outflows. Further, countries like India which are dealing with Current Account Deficits (CAD) have a tendency of reducing imports. This assumes significance in the wake of India putting in place measures to control the rising CAD and capital outflows.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has recently constituted an 11-member high-level committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to review the existing framework and guide and formulate the roadmap for a coherent policy on CSR under the companies law. The Committee, which will be headed by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas, will analyze outcomes of CSR activities, programmes, projects and suggest measures for effective monitoring and evaluation of CSR by companies. Suggestions are also expected on innovative solutions, use of technology platform to connect stakeholders and social audit. The Companies Act 2013 mandates that firms with a net worth of at least Rs 500 crore or revenue of Rs 1,000 crore or net profit of Rs 5 crore should spend at least 2% of their net profit on CSR. The provision came into force from April 1, 2014. In India, around 14,000 companies are required to spend on various social projects under Section 135 of the Companies Act. The committee will review the Schedule 7 of the Act that defines the activities on which companies have to spend their CSR funds.

Notes:
On September 30, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced to set up a Ministry for Cows at a function in Khajuraho in Chhattarpur district to take care of cattle in a better way. It was attended by Digambar Jain monk Vidhyasagarji Maharaj. The cow ministry will replace the existing Madhya Pradesh Gaupalan Evam Pashudhan Samvardhan Board (MPGEPSB) because it (board) has limitations. If Madhya Pradesh implements the decision, it will become the 2nd Indian state after Rajasthan to get a cow ministry. Earlier, the MP government opened the India’s first cow sanctuary under the board in September 2017 at Agar Malwa district. The sanctuary is spread over 472 hectares, with a capacity for housing 6,000 cows. The Board also runs 600 cow shelters across the state where there are roughly 1.4 lakh bovines. The state is slated for assembly polls later this year along with Chhattisgarh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and possibly Telangana.

Notes:
The 6th edition of joint Multi – National Maritime Exercise “IBSAMAR 2018” between the Indian, Brazilian and South African Navies has started at Simons Town, South Africa from 1st Oct 2018. The aim of the 13-day exercise is to undertake collective training for participating navies, building inter-operability and mutual understanding as well as sharing of best practices. The Indian Navy is represented in IBSAMAR VI by Guided Missile Frigate Tarkash, Guided Missile Destroyer Kolkata, Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft P8I, Seaking and Chetak helicopters as well as a MARCOS contingent. The exercise includes both harbour and sea phases with various navigation and seamanship evolutions, surface weapons firing, force protection exercises, antipiracy exercise, anti-air and anti-submarine exercise as well as flying operations. Apart from professional activities, sports and social engagements are also planned.

Notes:
The Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC) has recently concluded in New Delhi on October 2. The purpose of the 4–day event was to share sanitation success stories and lessons from the participating countries. In it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres addressed the convention. MGISC is organised by the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation to mark the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. The convention also coincides with the fourth anniversary of the launch of Swachh Bharat Mission. 53 Ministers of Sanitation from around the world and more than 160 international representatives from 68 countries participated in the convention. The international conference brings together Sanitation Ministers and other leaders in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) from around the world.

Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javadekar has recently announced the “Swachh Campus rankings 2018” under different categories. In it, Haryana’s Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) has been declared the cleanest government varsity by the HRD Ministry, followed by Guru Nanak Dev University in Punjab’s Amritsar. The rankings were decided on the basis of a survey under the ‘Swachhta Hi Sewa’ campaign. The Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) in the national capital has been ranked third among the government institutions followed by Algappa University in Tamil Nadu’s Karaikudi and Acharya Nagarjuna University in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur. The universities were assessed for toilets adequacy and maintenance, garbage clearance system, hostel kitchen hygiene and sophistication of equipment, water purity, storage, distribution facility, campus greenery and rainwater harvesting, use of solar systems and villages or neighbourhood adoption for hygiene.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first-ever General Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi from 2nd October 2018. He pitched for “one-world, one-sun, one-grid”, to harness the energy potential offered by the sun. Beside this, PM Modi also announced the “universalization” of membership for the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India that will help provide a platform for climate justice. The same event also marked the inauguration of the 2nd IORA Renewable Energy Ministerial Meeting, and the 2nd Global RE-Invest (Renewable Energy Investors’ Meet and Expo). Over 150 speakers including 55 international speakers from 15 countries will take part in it. The India and France-led ISA is an inter-governmental treaty-based organisation of countries between the Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn to promote solar energy in the member nations.

Notes:
The 31st All India Railways Chess tournament 2018 has started at Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu on October 3. The 4-day tournament has formally inaugurated by General Manager of Southern Railway, SM Kulshreshta. The event is being conducted in Swiss League Format at both team and individual levels. Around 87 players including five grandmasters and 18 international masters from 14 Zonal Railways and seven Production Units from across Indian Railways are participating in the event. The successful players from this tournament will represent Indian Railways in the National Chess Championship to be held in November 2018.

Notes:
On October 5, the 4th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF – 2018) has started at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The mega science expo will be formally inauguratedby the President Shri Ram NathKovind. It is being organized by Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati. The theme of this edition of Science Festival is “Science for Transformation”. IISF-2018 is expected to be represented by approximately 10000 delegates including 5000 students, 550 teachers, 200 students from North-East Region, 20 international delegates and approximately 200 startups.

Notes:
The 10th Biennial International Exhibition & Conference “India Chem 2018” was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from October 4-6. The conference was jointly organised by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). India Chem 2018 will showcase Government policy for sustained growth in the sector that will provide platform for investors, both domestic and international, and other stakeholders to interact and forge alliances. It is one of the largest composite events of Chemicals and Petrochemicals industry of the Asia Pacific region. The event comprises of an international exhibition and a conference of representatives of participating global giants from various associated fields.