Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2024

Notes:
Kerala has achieved the top rank in the Urban Governance Index (UGI), a study by the Praja Foundation assessing cities in India. Scoring 59.31 out of 100, it excelled in fiscal empowerment and local governance. The state’s commitment to decentralized planning has been acknowledged, despite challenges in city administration empowerment. Odisha followed in second place with a score of 55.10, highlighting the competitive nature of urban governance across India.

Notes:
BharatGen was inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in New Delhi as a generative AI aimed at improving public service delivery and citizen engagement. It is the world’s first government-funded multimodal large language model, focusing on developing efficient and inclusive AI in Indian languages. The project will take two years to complete and will benefit government, private, educational, and research institutions. BharatGen will support both text and speech, ensuring representation of India’s diverse languages and cultures. Its roadmap includes milestones up to July 2026 and aims to scale AI adoption across various sectors.

Notes:
The Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai granted GI tags to eight products from Assam, including ‘Bodo Jou Gwran’, a rice beer variant with about 16.11% alcohol, and ‘Bodo Napham’, a fermented fish dish. The Bodo community has a rich tradition of brewing and consuming rice beer, believing it originated from Lord Shiva.

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Researchers at IIT Madras have discovered a new method to treat retinal tears and diabetic retinopathy using mild laser-induced convection to improve drug delivery into the retina. They conducted simulations to study different treatment types, focusing on heat and mass transfer. This innovative approach could benefit around 11 million people in India with retinal disorders. Currently, laser-based techniques are employed to treat conditions like retinal tears, diabetic retinopathy, macular edema, and retinal vein occlusion.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP). The aim is to combat dengue and other Aedes-borne arboviruses like Zika and chikungunya through a coordinated global response. The SPRP will run for over a year, until September 2025. It focuses on five key components: emergency coordination, collaborative surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, and access to countermeasures. The SPRP aligns with other global initiatives, including the Global Vector Control Response 2017–2030 and the Global Arbovirus Initiative.

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IIT-Madras Pravartak has launched a cyber commandos training program for police. This six-month residential program is an initiative of the Union Home Ministry. It aims to provide specialized cyber training for law enforcement agencies across India. Unlike existing cybercrime cells that focus on reactive measures, this program will develop a proactive force to tackle cyber threats. The training will enhance the capabilities of police in effectively combating and preventing cybercrimes.

Notes:
Dholes have been found in Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary in the Kalyana-Karnataka region. Chincholi Wildlife Sanctuary is located around the Chandrampalli Dam in Kalaburagi district, Karnataka. It is the first dry-land wildlife sanctuary in South India and was notified in 2011. The sanctuary features dry and moist deciduous forests, acacia and teak plantations, and lateritic grasslands. It is Karnataka’s northernmost protected area, home to diverse flora and fauna, including sandalwood, red sanders, blackbuck, striped hyena, wolf, and fruit bats. The sanctuary also includes settlements of the Lambani community.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh government launched the Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan to empower youth and promote entrepreneurship in Uttar Pradesh. The scheme aims to set up 10 lakh micro units over the next 10 years. Each year, 1 lakh educated and trained youth will receive financial assistance. Applicants must have at least passed class eight, with preference for those who completed class 12. The scheme supports projects up to ₹5 lakh in micro enterprises and service sectors. Special provisions exist for Bundelkhand, Purvanchal, and aspirational districts. Digital transactions are incentivized with ₹1 per transaction, up to ₹2,000 annually.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh cabinet approved a Rs 100 crore project to build a memorial and garden for Gond queen Rani Durgavati.
Rani Durgavati (1524–2024) was a queen of the Gond kingdom of Garha-Katanga and a descendant of the Chandela dynasty of Mahoba. She was born on October 5, 1524, in Kalinjar (Banda, U.P.), part of the Chandela dynasty.

Notes:
Olympian and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Dipa Karmakar announced her retirement from gymnastics. She was the first Indian female gymnast to gain international recognition. She narrowly missed a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, performing the Produnova vault. Dipa won a bronze medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2018 World Cup in Turkiye. She also won gold at the 2024 Asian Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.