Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them. The special day, which was established by UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 1972, coincides with the United Nations Day (UND) which also falls on 24 October. It aims to disseminate information and mobilize public opinion, particularly among young people, in order to create awareness of the problems of development, promoting efforts in the sphere of international cooperation for development.

Notes:
An ancient Greek merchant ship dating back more than 2,400 years has been found virtually intact at the bottom of the Black Sea by an Anglo-Bulgarian team. An international team of maritime archaeologists believed that the 23m (75ft) wreck is the world’s oldest intact shipwreck where it appears to have lain undisturbed for more than 2,400 years. The vessel is one of more than 60 shipwrecks identified by the Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project including Roman ships and a 17th-century Cossack raiding fleet. The ship, which is lying on its side with its mast and rudders intact, was dated back to 400 BC — a time when the Black Sea was a trading hub filled with Greek colonies. The project team said the vessel, previously only seen in an intact state on the side of ancient Greek pottery, was found at a depth of more than 2,000 metres (6,500 feet). The water at that depth is oxygen-free, meaning that organic material can be preserved for thousands of years. The project’s main investigator said that this would change the understanding of ship building and seafaring in the ancient world.

Notes:
India has won the 2018 CAPAM (Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management) Award in Georgetown, Guyana. The initiative entitled “Unnayan Banka- Reinventing Education Using Technology of Banka District, State of Bihar has been awarded under the Category “Innovation Incubation”. Another initiative entitled “Unified Agriculture Markets” of Co-operation Department of Government of Karnataka has also been selected under the Category ‘Innovation in Public Service Management’. This initiative has also been awarded the overall Gold Award for CAPAM Awards, 2018. The CAPAM Awards celebrate the spirit of innovation in the public service by recognizing organizations that have made significant contributions to improve governance and services in the public sector. The Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) under Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions is an institutional member of CAPAM. The CAPAM is a non-profit association representing an international network of over 1100 senior public servants.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has rejected a petition seeking disqualification of 27 MLAs of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for allegedly holding ‘office of profit’ by being appointed as chairpersons of Rogi Kalyan Samitis (RKS) attached to various government-run hospitals in the Capital. The decision was based on a recommendation by the Election Commission of India (EC) in July 2018, which stated that office was exempt from purview of ‘office of profit’ under provisions of the Delhi MLAs (Removal of Disqualification) Act, 1997. The Office of Profit is a position in the government which an MLA or an MP can’t hold. The post can yield salaries, perquisites and various other benefits. As per Articles 102(1)(a) and 191(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, MP and MLAs are barred from holding an office of profit as it can put them in a position to gain financial benefits. Even under section 9 of the Representation of People Act (RPA), holding an office of profit is grounds for disqualification.

Notes:
Asma Jahangir, Pakistan’s human rights activist and lawyer, has been posthumously awarded the 2018 UN Human Rights Prize along with three other winners. The other winners of the prize are Rebeca Gyumi of Tanzania, Brazil’s first indigenous lawyer Joenia Wapichana and Ireland’s human rights organisation Front Line Defenders. The United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights is an honorary award given for outstanding achievement in human rights. The award ceremony will take place on December 10 on World Human Rights Day (WGRD) in New York. Before Jahangir three Pakistani women, Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan (1978), Benazir Bhutto (2008) and Malala Yousufzai (2013 have been accorded the honour.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently notified that the State Bank of India (SBI) has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorised Branches from November 1 to 10, 2018. The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crore. As per provisions of the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election , shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be cashed in via the party’s verified account within 15 days. It must be noted that an electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest.

Notes:
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, a 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer of the Income Tax cadre, has been appointed as the principal special director in the central probe agency and entrusted with the “additional” charge of Enforcement Directorate (ED) director for three months. Mishra succeeded Karnal Singh. The post of ED director is an additional secretary rank post in the Union government. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India. It is part of the Department of Revenue under Ministry of Finance. The ED enforces two major laws in the country to check black money– the criminal Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Notes:
Indian table tennis player Ayhika Mukherjee has won a silver medal in the under-21 women’s singles category of the ITTF Challenge Belgium Open. She lost 1-3 to Korea’s Youjin Kim in the final. In the semifinals, Ayhika had defeated Hong Kong’s Chengzhu Zhu 3-1 to enter the finals. Her compatriots Anthony Amalraj and Sanil Shetty too fought their way into the medals’ bracket, bagging a bronze in the men’s doubles.

Notes:
The Arunachal Pradesh Government has recently signed pact with British Council to strengthen educational & cultural cooperation between the state and the United Kingdom. The overarching MoU celebrates the British Council’s 70th anniversary in India and seeks to strengthen the relationship for the next 70 years. As a result of the MoU, 50 faculty members from government higher education institutions of the state would be trained by the British Council every year, starting in December 2018. The MoU will also work towards improving English communication of state’s civil servants, developing capacity-building initiatives in the state, supporting improvements in the teaching of Mathematics and Science, capacity-building programmes for faculty and senior administrators of higher education institutions and it will seek to increase student and academic mobility, for the state.

Notes:
The Manipur government will celebrate the “2018 Sangai Festival” at three venues namely Keibul Lamjao, Imphal (Hapta Kangjeibung and Lamboikhongnangkhong) and Mao from 21st to 30th November. It is an annual cultural festival organised by Manipur Tourism Department to promote state as a world class tourism destination. This year, Thailand Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Imphal to attend the fest. For the first time in the history of Manipur, the U.S. Ambassador to India will also be present during the Festival. The fest will showcase the best of what the state has to offer to the world in terms of art and culture, handloom, handicrafts & fine arts, indigenous sports, cuisines & music, eco & adventure sports as well as the scenic natural beauty of the land. It is named after the State animal ‘Sangai’ the brow-antlered deer found only in Manipur.