WEEKLY UPDATED CURRENT AFFAIRS FOR WEEK 42/52(13-19 OCT 2020)

JacindaArdern re-elected as the Prime Minister of  Labour Party’s representative JacindaArdern has been re-elected as the Prime Minister of New Zealand  She has won the election by over 49% votes in the general elections with biggest victory for the Labour Party in over 50 years  This will also be the first time that a party will be governing alone since New Zealand moved to MMP (mixed-member proportional representation) electoral system in 1996.  She became the PM in 2017 for the first time. Education Minister addressed ASEAN PhD Fellowship Programme  Education Minister Ramesh PokhriyalNishank has virtually addressed students from ASEAN member states who have been selected for prestigious ASEAN PhD Fellowship Programme (APFP) funded by Government of .  APFP was announced on 25th Jan 2018 by PM in presence of all 10 ASEAN member states.  Under APFP, fellowships will be provided exclusively to the ASEAN citizens  It is also the largest capacity development programme for foreign beneficiaries by India. Indian Navy successfully test-fired Supersonic Cruise Missile ‘BrahMos’  Indian Navy and DRDO has successfully test-fired supersonic cruise missile ‘BrahMos’ from stealth destroyer INS Chennai, hitting a target in the Arabian Sea with pin-point accuracy after performing high-level and extremely complex manoeuvres.  BRAHMOS: It is a prime strike weapon that will ensure warship’s invincibility by engaging naval surface targets at long ranges.  It has been jointly designed, developed and produced by India and Russia  DRDO Chairman: G Satheesh Reddy. Indian and Sri Lanka Navy Maritime Exercise SLINEX-20 began  Eighth Edition of annual Indian Navy and Sri Lanka Navy bilateral maritime exercise SLINEX-20 has begun at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka  It will be conducted till 21st October 2020.  SLINEX-20 is conducted to enhance inter-operability, improve mutual understanding, and exchange best practices and procedures for multi-faceted maritime operations between both navies  Seventh edition of SLINEX was conducted off Visakhapatnam coast in September 2019. India’s first seaplane services to be inaugurated in Gujarat  India's first seaplane services in Gujarat, connecting Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia, Narmada district will be inaugurated on October 31 (birth anniversary of SardarVallabhbhai Patel).  It is a part of a directive of Ministry of Civil Aviation under which Airports Authority of India (AAI) requested govts of Gujarat, Assam, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and A&N for setting up water aerodromes boosting tourism sector. Nine States and UTs selected for upgradation to KISCE  Nine States and UTs namely Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Chandigarh, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Tripura and J&K have been selected by Ministry of Sports for upgradation to Khelo India State Centre of Excellence (KISCE)  They have been selected on their past performances, quality of infrastructure, management and sports culture  They will be provided assistance in bridging gaps in sports equipment, performance managers, coaches, technical support,etc. Marthoma Church Head Joseph Mar Thoma passed away  Spiritual head of the Marthoma Christian community Joseph Mar Thoma (89 years) passed away at a private hospital in Thiruvalla due to pancreatic cancer

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 He was the 21st Marthoma Metropolitan and primate of the Mar Thoma Syrian Church headquartered in Kerala, India.  Mar Thoma Church: It is also known also as the Reformed Syrian Church and is an autonomous Reformed Oriental church  According to the 2011 Census of Kerala it was the 6th largest Christian church in the state. Bogibeel got ‘zero Rajdhani' train connecting to Dibrugarh  A new superfast train named as ‘zero Rajdhani’ has been started between New Delhi and Dibrugarh at India’s longest (4.94 km) rail-and-road bridge throughout the Brahmaputra, Bogibeel  Zero Rajdhani train via this will save time of around 100 km  Its number is 02505/02506 whose zero makes it a special train, the likes of which are operated temporarily.  It will be the first of its kind among Rajdhani’s, connecting national capital with north east state. Govt extended 40% discount on cargo movement at Chabahar Port  Ministry of Shipping has extended current concessional rate of 40% discount for coastal movement of cargo and vessel between Jawaharlal Nehru Port and Deendayal Port from/to ShahidBeheshti Port, Chabahar, Iran for further 1 year  Concessional Vessel Related Charges (VRC) is to be applied proportionately, subject to vessel loading at Chabahar port  The ports in coordination with Indian Ports will jointly evolve SOP for fair discount boosting coastal movement of cargo. IRDAI rolled out standardised life insurance cover ‘Saral Jeevan Bima’  Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has unveiled is a standard individual term life insurance product ‘Saral Jeevan Bima’  It will help customers to make informed choice reducing mis-selling.  All life insurers will have to offer this by Jan, 2021.  It will be a non-linked, non-participating individual pure risk premium life insurance plan  Eligibility: 18-65 age group  Policy Tenure: 5-40 years  It allows for a maximum maturity age of 70 years. Rohan Jaitley elected unopposed as DDCA President  Advocate Rohan Jaitley (31 years) has been elected unopposed as President of Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA)  He was the single candidate left for the post, as another candidate withdrew his candidature.  He will hold his position till June 30, 2021  Rohan Jaitley is the son of former finance minister late ArunJaitley  ArunJaitley had also served as DDCA President (1999-2013)  Other posts including treasurer, director will be filled between Nov 5 to 8, 2020. Aishwarya Sridhar won Wildlife Photographer of the year award  Mumbai based Aishwarya Sridhar (23 year) has become first Indian woman to win 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year award (56th edition) for her image titled ‘Lights of passion’  She won the award among 50,000 participants of 80 countries for her photograph in Behaviour Invertebrates category  She is the first and youngest girl to win this award from India in Adult category  She is also the recipient of Sanctuary Asia young naturalist award and Princess Diana award. Pakistan’s Fast Bowler Umar Gul announces retirement from all forms of cric  Pakistani fast bowler Umar Gul (36 years) has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket after the end of the ongoing National T20 Cup that ended on 18th October 2020  He played 47 Test matches and took 163 wickets at an average of 34.06.

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 He also claimed 179 wickets from 130 ODIs, besides 85 wickets from 60 T20Is and 125 First Class cricket.  He made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in an ODI match at Sharjah in April 2003. India to handover Kilo class attack submarine to Myanmar  India will deliver Kilo Class submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar Navy as part of defence cooperation.  It will be the first submarine of Myanmar Navy.  This is in accordance with SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision and India’s commitment to build capacities and self-reliance in all our neighbouring countries  Myanmar is one of India's strategic neighbours and shares 1,640-km border with India  Kilo class refers to diesel-electric attack submarines. Pakistan, China and Russia win seats on UNHRC despite differences  Pakistan along with China, Russia and Cuba have been elected on the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) despite their abysmal human rights records.  US Secretary of State slammed the UN body tasked with defending human rights for this election.  UNHRC: Inter-governmental body of UN, founded in 2006 to investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in UN member states.  Members: 47 member states  Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland PM launched Property Cards under SVAMITVA scheme  PM Narendra Modi virtually launched physical distribution programme of Property Cards under SVAMITVA scheme.  SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) is a Central Sector Scheme launched in April 2020  Benefit: Allow the villagers to use the property as a financial asset for taking loans and benefits.  Scheme is implemented in a phased manner for 4 years covering 6.62 lakh villages. Shuttler Chetan Anand named brand ambassador of ‘Transform’  Commonwealth Games (CWG) medallist in Badminton, Chetan Anand has been named as the brand ambassador for India’s first-ever homegrown professional badminton brand ‘Transform’.  Chetan Anand: Former world no. 10 and men's singles bronze medal winner at the 2006 Melbourne CWG and was an Arjuna Awardee  Transform racquets/ Badminton is India’s 1st professional badminton brand at par with the best racquets in the market that are currently imported in India. Nihal Sarin won Chess.com's 2020 Junior Speed Online Championship  Indian player Nihal Sarin (16 year) wins in Chess.com's 2020 Junior Speed Online Championship in Chennai, beating Russia's world junior No. 6 Alexey Sarana by 18-7  He is awarded with $8,766 and enabled him to qualify for the 2020 Speed Chess Championship Final which will feature the world's best players  Nihal Sarin is a former world Under-10 champion and will join Indian men's team that is taking part in Asian Online Nations (Regions) Cup Team Championship. HDFC Bank partnered with Apollo Hospitals to launch ‘The HealthyLifeProgramme’ for its customers  India’s leading private sector bank, HDFC Bank and Apollo Hospitals have collaborated to launch a holistic healthcare solution, ‘The HealthyLifeProgramme’, exclusively for HDFC Bank customers, to make healthy living accessible and affordable while making the process convenient and easy for the customers.  Under the programme, customers will get round the clock access to emergency Apollo Doctor at No Cost on Apollo’s digital platform, Apollo 24|7.  It will also come with various other benefits such as choice of payment options and ease of finance for treatments at all Apollo Hospitals.

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 Customers can avail unsecured loans of up to Rs. 40 lakh to pay for medical expenses incurred at the healthcare chain. RBI raised banks’ aggregate exposure limit for small businesses to Rs 7.5 crore  The Reserve Bank (RBI) has raised the banks’ maximum aggregate retail exposure limit to entities with turnover up to Rs 50 crore to Rs 7.5 crore. Earlier this limit was Rs 5 crore.  The decision has been taken to increase credit flow to small businesses.  RBI has also decided to extend the existing enhanced Held to Maturity (HTM) limit of 22 percent for SLR securities acquired between September 1, 2020 and March 31, 2021, up to March 31, 2022.  This means that Banks may continue to hold such excess SLR securities in HTM category upto March 31, 2022.  The enhanced HTM limit would be restored to 19.5 percent in a phased manner, beginning from the quarter ending June 30, 2022. RBI to conduct first-ever Open Market Operations (OMO) Purchase of State Government Securities worth Rs. 10,000 crores  Reserve Bank will conduct Open Market Operations (OMOs) in State Developments Loans (SDLs) of total amount of Rs. 10,000 crores on October 22, 2020.  This is the first ever OMO purchase of State Developments Loans (SDLs).  RBI may enhance the size of auction in the subsequent auctions depending on market response. Russia Approved Second COVID-19 Vaccine EpiVacCorona, After Sputnik V  Russia has announced the launch of a second Covid-19 vaccine, named ‘EpiVacCorona’, after early- stage studies.  ‘EpiVacCorona’ has been developed by the Vector Institute in Siberia and tested among 100 volunteers in early-stage, placebo-controlled human trials.  In August 2020, Russia launched world’s first Covid-19 vaccine Sputnik V, and became the first country to give regulatory approval to a Covid-19 vaccine Kyrgyzstan President SooronbaiJeenbekov stepped down due to Political Crisis  Kyrgyzstan President SooronbaiJeenbekov has resigned from his post on 15 October 2020, following 10 days of unrest caused by protesters who have demanded his removal from office.  On 4th October 2020, he was re-elected as the President in Parliamentary election, causing political turmoil throughout the country.  The 61-year-old has served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 2017 to 2020.  He was also the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan from April 2016 to August 2017. India & France re-elected as President and Co-President of International Solar Alliance (ISA)  India and France have been re-elected as the President and the Co-President of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) respectively for a term of two years on 14 October 2020.  This decision was taken during the Third Assembly of the ISA, held virtually from 14 to 16 October 2020.  India’s Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister, RK Singh will represent as the President of the ISA Assembly.  Barbara Pompili, the Minister for Ecological Transition from France will be the Co-President of the Assembly. India to hand over its kilo-class submarine INS Sindhuvir to Myanmar for training purpose  As per the information delivered by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India has decided to hand over INS Sindhuvir, a Kilo class submarine to the Myanmar Navy by the end of 2020.  This initiative has been launched under the vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), to guarantee security for all maritime partners and is also in line with India’s commitment to build capacities and self-reliance in all its neighbouring countries.  India ranks 94 among 107 Countries in Global Hunger Index 2020

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 India has been ranked at 94 among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020 report released on 16 October 2020.  With a score of 27.2, India has been placed in the “serious” category in the GHI scale.  The index is published jointly by Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Concern Worldwide, to measure and track hunger at global, regional, and national levels. IMF projects India’s GDP to contract 10.3% in 2020; rebound with 8.8% growth in 2021-22  In its latest ‘World Economic Outlook’ report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected the Indian economy to contract by 10.3 percent in 2020-21, from its earlier prediction of 4.5 percent due to rise in Covid cases.  However, IMF estimates the GDP of India to grow at 8.8 percent in 2021-22, as compared to 6 percent predicted earlier, regaining the position of the fastest growing emerging economy.  On the other hand, the Fund expects the world economy to contract by 4.4 percent in 2020. This projection was -5.2 percent earlier. World Economic Forum shifts annual meeting 2021 from Davos to Lucerne  The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced that the Annual Meeting 2021 will be held in Lucerne-Burgenstock, Switzerland, as against the traditional venue of ski resort town Davos.  The meeting has been re-scheduled to be held from May 18 to 21, 2021 instead of the usual January-end each year.  The change in schedule and venue has been taken due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Annual Meeting 2021 in Lucerne-Burgenstock will be held around the theme of ‘The Great Reset’. Odisha Launched ‘Sujal’ Mission To Provide Tap Water Fit For Drinking in Urban Areas  Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated “Sujal”- ‘Drink from Tap Mission’ scheme, to provide round the clock supply of quality tap drinking water in all urban areas of the state.  The state has set the target to provide piped water connections to all urban areas in the state by March 2022.  Odisha government has set Rs 1300 crore for this scheme which will benefit over 15 lakh people in 15 towns in a phased manner.  Once fully implemented, Odisha will become the first state in the country to provide quality drinking water, fit for direct consumption, in urban areas. Government set up a panel of secretaries headed by Rajiv Gauba to streamline telecom spectrum allocation  The Government of India has constituted a panel of secretaries to streamline the spectrum allocation process and also make the auction of spectrum an annual calendar event.  The panel will be headed by the Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba. Other members of the panel would include the secretaries of home, defence, railways, telecom, I&B and department of space.  The panel will also look into the possibility of identifying spectrum which is likely to be released for commercial purposes in future and convey that to the telcos  This step has been taken to help the telecom companies to get a clear road map of the quantum as well as the frequency of spectrum on offer for commercial use, following which they can then plan their strategies more efficiently. Microsoft & AICTE collaborate to empower students and educators in next-gen technologies  Technology giant Microsoft and All India Council For Technical Education (AICTE) have partnered to empower students and educators in new-age technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), data science and cloud computing.  Under the partnership, over 1,500-course modules from Microsoft will be made available to students and educators free of cost through AICTE’s e-learning portal Educator Licensure Information System (ELIS).

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 For this, Microsoft has integrated its learning resource centre Microsoft Learn with the ELIS platform to provide access to personalised learning paths and resources for students and educators. Kerala become first State of India to go completely digital in the public education sector  Kerala has become the first state in the country to have high-tech classrooms and labs in all its public schools.  Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan announced this through video conference.  All public schools in the state have become smart with high-tech classrooms and high-tech lab.  The project to implement the ‘high-tech school and high-tech lab’ projects was carried out by the Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KITE) with financial assistance from Kerala Infrastructure and Technology for Education (KIIFB). Haryana Government launched a Water Testing Lab On Wheels  Haryana Chief Minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar launched aRs 99-lakh state-of the art-Mobile- Water Testing Laboratory Van to determine the quality of potable water.  This initiative has been launched under the Jal Jeevan Mission for providing tap water connection to every rural household.  The objective of this mobile lab initiative is to provide easy access for water testing in remote locations of the state and also help identify the water-quality problems on the spot.  The Water Quality in Haryana is mainly affected by constituents like total dissolved solids (TDS), Fluoride, nitrate, iron and alkalinity.  The Mobile Water Testing Laboratory Van is fully equipped with multi-parameter system, capable of measuring different water quality parameters like pH, alkalinity, TDS, hardness, residual chlorine, zinc, nitrite, Fluoride, turbidity and micro-biological test of water samples. It is also GPS enabled for location tracking, and will help in quickly identifying the water quality problem on the spot at site.  Under the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Ministry of Jal Shakti aims to provide tap water connection to every rural home by 2024. PM Modi released autobiography of former Union Minister BalasahebVikhePatil  Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the autobiography of former Union Minister DrBalasahebVikhePatil through video conferencing.  The autobiography of Dr. Patil has been titled ‘DehVechwaKarani,’ means ‘dedicating one’s life for a noble cause.’  He also renamed the Pravara Rural Education Society as ‘LokneteDrBalasahebVikhePatilPravara Rural Education Society’.  Pravara Rural Education Society was established in 1964 at Loni in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra with the aim to provide a world-class education to the rural masses and empower the girl child. PM Modi releases Rs 100 commemorative coin in honour of 100th birth anniversary of VijayaRajeScindia  Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative coin of Rs 100 to mark the birth centenary of RajmataVijayaRajeScindia, one of the founder member of the ruling BJP, through a virtual ceremony.  The special coin has been minted by the Ministry of Finance.  VijayaRajeScindia, who dedicated her life to poor people, is also popularly known as the Rajmata of Gwalior. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced measures to boost consumer & capital demand by Rs 73000 cr by 31 March 2021  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 43rd GST Council meeting through video conferencing in New Delhi.  Sitharaman announced several measures to boost capital expenditure and stimulate consumer demand in the economy, which are are estimated to cost Rs 73,000 crore by 31 March 2021.  The major highlights of the announcements made during the meeting are listed below:

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 Rs 12,000 crore interest-free 50-year loan to states for spending only on capital projects in a bid to boost economy.  Out of this, Rs 1,600 crore will be for north-eastern states and Rs 900 crore will be for Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh, Rs 7,500 crore for the remaining states. Rs 2,000 crore will be given to states that fulfill pre-stated reforms.  Additional capital expenditure of Rs 25,000 crore. This will be provided over and above the existing Rs 4.13 lakh crore allotted in the annual budget.  The additional money will be for spending on roads, defence infrastructure, water supply and urban development, defence infrastructure and domestically produced capital equipment.  LTC Cash Voucher Scheme and Special Festival Advance Scheme to primarily benefit central government employees. The schemes will generate additional consumer demand of Rs. 36,000 crore by March 31, 2021. This would include Rs 28,000 crore through LTC voucher scheme and Rs 8,000 crore through festival advance scheme.  Leave Travel Concession (LTC) Cash Voucher Schemes  Central government employees get leave travel concession in a block of four years, but due to the covid-19 pandemic, employees will not be able to avail the LTC in the 2018-21 year block.  So the government will pay the entitled fare as cash vouchers, which employees could use to make purchases of their choice. This should be spent by March 31, 2021.  An employee opting for this scheme will have to buy goods and services worth three times the fare and one time leave encashment, and only on goods attracting GST of 12% or more and only digital payments will be allowed.  Special Festival Advance Scheme  The festival advance and other similar advances were abolished under the 7th Pay Commission. But the government has proposed to restore the festival advances to Government employees for festivals upto 1st January 2021.  Under this, all Central Government employees will get an interest-free advance of Rs 10,000, in the form of a prepaid RuPay Card. This needs to be spent by March 31, 2021.  The amount should be paid back in 10 instalments. Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath launched Mission Shakti for security of women in the state  The Uttar Pradesh government administered by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched ‘Mission Shakti’ programme, which also marks the first day of the Shardiya Navratri festival across the country.  The six-month long ‘Mission Shakti’ campaign aims to ensure the security of women in the state, by training women to become self-reliant and to sensitise people to respect them.  In the first phase, the campaign will run from 17 to 25 October 2020.  The campaign will continue in phases till the ‘Chaitra Navratri’ in April 2021.  Under the campaign, various awareness programmes will be organised to make women and children aware of the security measures to keep them safe and to sensitise them to speak out when they are victimised. J&K LG Manoj Sinha launched ‘My Town My Pride’ Campaign to provide doorstep governance in urban areas  In Jammu and Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has announced an initiative called ‘My Town My Pride’ to provide governance at the doorstep in urban areas. This programme is in line with the “Back to Village programme” launched for rural population.  The Urban Local Bodies will reach out to urban population living in towns, to provide governance at their doorsteps and ensure on spot redressal of their issues and grievances.  It includes time-bound delivery of documents like domicile, SC/ST/RBA/ALC/OBC certificates; revenue services besides ensuring benefits under various welfare schemes including pensions, scholarships, PMAY, KCC, Health Golden Cards, LadliBeti, among others.

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 The main objectives of this programme is public outreach in towns, strengthening grassroots democracy and service delivery at doorsteps. India conducted successful night trial of nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile off Odisha coast  India successfully conducted the night trial of its nuclear-capable Prithvi-2 missile from Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur near Balasore, off Odisha coast.  The user flight trial was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command of the armed force under the watch of DRDO scientists as part of a training exercise.  The state-of-the-art missile is India’s first indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile, developed by DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme.  The 9-metre tall liquid-propelled Prithvi-2 has a range of 250 km and can carry a 1 tonne warhead. Centre to borrow Rs 1.1 Lakh Crore to meet shortfall of GST Compensation  The central government has announced that it will borrow Rs. 1.1 lakh crore under the special GST window to meet the revenue shortfall on account of implementing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation  Under the Special Window, the estimated shortfall of Rs. 1.1 lakh cr (assuming all States join) will be borrowed by Government in appropriate tranches.  The borrowed amount will be passed on to the States as a back-to-back loan and it will be in lieu of GST Compensation Cess releases. Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal launched ‘KAPILA’ Campaign on IP Literacy and Awareness; 15-23 October to be celebrated as Intellectual Property Literacy Week  The Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ has virtually launched the campaign ‘KAPILA’, which stands for Kalam Program for Intellectual Property Literacy and Awareness campaign.  The day was launched in honour of 89th birth anniversary celebration of former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.  Through the campaign, the government will spread the awareness through educational programs about the importance of patenting an invention, to lead India towards self-reliance.  In order to promote awareness in the field, the Ministry has decided to celebrate the week from 15 to 23 October as ‘Intellectual Property Literacy Week’.  Various awareness programs will be organised to create awareness about the system and the importance of the process of applying for a patent. Supreme Court appointed Former Justice M B Lokur as one-man panel to prevent stubble burning in Punjab, Haryana and UP  The Supreme Court has appointed Justice (retd) Madan B Lokur, a former judge of the apex court, as a one-man monitoring committee to prevent stubble burning in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, which is the main source of pollution in Delhi-national capital region (NCR).  The new committee will monitor the stubble burning and take preventive steps. It will get assistance from chief secretaries of all states as well as National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme and Bharat Scouts.  The panel shall submit its report on stubble burning within 15 days to the apex court. PM Modi released commemorative coin to mark 75th anniversary of FAO  Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually released a commemorative coin of Rs. 75 denomination on 16th October 2020, to mark the 75th Anniversary of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (Headquarter -Rome, Italy).  The FAO was founded on 16 October 1945.  16 October is therefore celebrated as the World Food Day (WFD), throughout the world.  As a part of the WFD occasion, PM Modi also dedicated 17 new biofortified varieties of 8 crops to the nation.

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Director-General of Shipping authorized as the National Authority for Recycling of Ships  The Central government has notified the Director-General of Shipping as the National Authority for Recycling of Ships.  The DG Shipping has been designated as the apex authority for the ship recycling industry of India under Section 3 of the Recycling of Ships Act, 2019.  The office of the National Authority of Ship Recycling will be set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.  National Authority for Recycling of Ships will administer, supervise and monitor all activities relating to ship recycling.  It would be the final authority for the various approvals required by the ship-recycling yard owners and the State governments. World’s biggest Zinc Smelter facility to be set up in Dosawada of Tapi district in Gujarat  The state Government of Gujarat has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL), a subsidiary of Vedanta Group, to set up a Zinc Smelter plant at Doswada in Tapi district.  The HZL will invest Rs 10,000 crore for this project, which will be the world’s largest zinc smelting facility.  It will have a generation capacity of 300 kilo-tonnes per annum (ktpa).  The first phase of the project is expected to be commissioned within 36 months from the date of signing of MoU.  The plant will accelerate the economic and industrial development of the state and satisfy the domestic as well as global needs through exports.  What is Zinc smelting? It is the process of converting zinc concentrates (ores that contain zinc) into pure zinc.

WEEKLY OBJECTIVE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS ON CURRENT AFFAIRS: FOR WEEK 42/52 – 13 October – 19 October (2020)

1. What is the rank of India in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2020? A) 94 B) 107 C) 87 D) 75 2. Who has recently become the first ever Indian women to win the 2020 Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award? A) Rathika Ramasamy B) Sooni Taraporevala C) Dayanita Singh D) Aishwarya Sridhar 3. RBI will conduct the first-ever Open Market Operations (OMOs) in State Developments Loans (SDLs) for how much amount? A) Rs 15,000 crores B) Rs 10,000 crores C) Rs 12,000 crores D) Rs 20,000 crores 4. Name the Prime Minister of New Zealand who has been elected for a second term in the Parliamentary election recently? A) B)

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C) Frank Bainimarama D) 5. Which state has launched the ‘Mission Shakti’ programme to ensure security of women in the state? A) Haryana B) Rajasthan C) Uttar Pradesh D) Bihar 6. Umar Gul has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. He played for which country? A) Afghanistan B) Pakistan C) South Africa D) Zimbabwe 7. Who has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to UNESCO? A) lndra Mani Pandey B) Brajendra Navnit C) Harsh Vardhan Shringla D) Vishal V. Sharma 8. Name the India’s first indigenous surface-to-surface strategic missile, which has been developed by DRDO? A) Akash-2 B) Agni-2 C) Prithvi-2 D) Gagan-2 9. Who has been appointed by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) as the new Chairman for 2020-21 session? A) Dinesh Kumar Khara B) Rajkiran Rai G C) Rajnish Kumar D) SR Mehar 10. Who is the author of the book “The Battle of Belonging”? A) Shashi Tharoor B) Subramanian Swamy C) Sachin Pilot D) P. Chidambaram 11. What is the estimated GDP growth rate for India in FY21 as per the RBI? A) -11.5% B) -8.5% C) -9.5% D) -10.5% 12. Which bank has recently partnered with the airline company Vistara to launch a co-branded forex card? A) ICICI Bank B) HDFC Bank C) Yes Bank D) Axis Bank 13. Which country conducted the successful testing of its new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile Tsirkon recently? A) Russia B) France

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C) Iran D) Germany 14. Name the CMD of the Jammu & Kashmir Bank whose term has been extended for another 6-months by RBI A) Vishwavir Ahuja B) Padmaja Chunduru C) Sumant Kathpalia D) RK Chhibber 15. When is the National Postal Day celebrated in India? A) 8 October B) 10 October C) 9 October D) 11 October 16. The Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 has been conferred upon______A) International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) B) Nadia Murad C) World Food Programme (WFP) D) Joseph Rotbla 17. Which bank has launched the initiative ‘MSME Prerana’, an online Business Mentoring Programme for MSMEs? A) Indian Bank B) Canara Bank C) Bank of Maharashtra D) Punjab National Bank 18. J Venkatramu has recently been appointed as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of which bank? A) Bandhan Bank B) India Post Payments Bank C) IDFC FIRST Bank D) IndusInd Bank 19. Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has passed away. He held which portfolio in the Modi Government? A) Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment B) Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs C) Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises D) Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution 20. World Sight Day is observed on which day? A) second Friday of October B) second Saturday of October C) second Thursday of October D) second Wednesday of October 21. World Egg Day falls on which day of the year every year? A) second Friday of October B) 9 October C) second Saturday of October D) 10 October 22. Ashwani Kumar, who has passed away recently was the former Chief of which organisation? A) Narcotics Control Bureau B) Central Bureau of Investigation

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C) National Investigation Agency D) Central Vigilance Commission 23. Nilesh Shah has been re-elected as the Chairman of which industry body recently? A) Food Safety and Standards Authority of India B) Securities and Exchange Board of India C) Association of Mutual Funds in India D) Telecom Regulatory Authority of India 24. Nityananda Nayak has been selected for the Sarala Puraskar 2020. It is an annual literary prize by which state? A) Assam B) West Bengal C) Maharashtra D) Odisha 25. In India, the National Postal Week is celebrated from______A) October 9-15 B) October 1-7 C) October 3-9 D) October 5-11 26. Nobel laureate Mario Molina of Mexico has passed away. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in which field? A) Literature B) Mathematics C) Chemistry D) Peace 27. Bishr al-Khasawneh is the new Prime Minister of which country? A) Qatar B) Jordan C) D) Sudan 28. The World Bank expects the Indian economy to grow at_____ percent in 2021-22 (FY22). A) 7.5% B) 6.1% C) 3.5% D) 5.4% 29. RBI has proposed to make the RTGS mode of fund transfer 24X7 from ______A) December 2020 B) November 2020 C) January 2021 D) March 2021 30. The World Post Day is marked to commemorate the anniversary of the Universal Postal Union (UPU). Where is the headquarter of UPU located? A) Vienna, Austria B) Bern, Switzerland C) Rome, Italy D) Paris, France 31. Name the winner of the 2020 French Open Men’s Tennis Championship A) Diego Schwartzman B) Rafael Nadal C) Denis Shapovalov D) Novak Djokovic

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32. World Arthritis Day is observed on which day? A) 12 October B) 11 October C) 10 October D) 9 October 33. Which player has claimed the Formula One Eifel Grand Prix 2020? A) Daniel Ricciardo B) Sebastian Vettel C) Max Verstappen D) Lewis Hamilton 34. How many Indian beaches have won the International Blueflag Certification in 2020? A) 5 B) 12 C) 8 D) 10 35. How many states have been selected as the beneficiaries of the ‘SVAMITVA’scheme in the first phase? A) 3 B) 6 C) 8 D) 10 36. Which state has launched the first ever Tree Plantation Policy? A) Delhi B) Assam C) Gujarat D) Andhra Pradesh 37. Who among the following beat Sofia Kenin to win the Women’s single title in 2020 French Tennis Open? A) Magda Linette B) Victoria Azarenka C) Sachia Vickery D) Iga Swiatek 38. What is the theme of the World Arthritis Day 2020? A) Time2Health B) Time2Work C) Time2Fight D) Time2Cure 39. Which state of India has become the first Har Ghar Jal state of the country by fully implementing the scheme of providing tap water connection to every rural household? A) Goa B) Andhra Pradesh C) Rajasthan D) Uttarakhand 40. International Day of the Girl Child is marked on which day? A) 8 October B) 9 October C) 10 October D) 11 October 41. Andhra Pradesh government has launched the ‘Jagananna Vidya Kanuka’ scheme for which purpose? A) Distribute mobile phones to school students for Online classes

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B) Scholarship scheme for school students C) Distribute School kits to students D) Waive fees for students of classes 1 to 5 42. Name the brand name of India’s first-ever homegrown professional badminton? A) Honor B) Transform C) Balance D) Victory

ANSWER KEYS

1 A 21 C 2 D 22 D 3 B 23 A 4 A 24 C 5 C 25 B 6 B 26 D 7 D 27 A 8 C 28 B 9 B 29 B 10 A 30 A 11 A 31 D 12 D 32 C 13 B 33 B 14 C 34 A 15 A 35 D 16 B 36 B 17 D 37 A 18 C 38 D 19 A 39 C 20 B 40 B

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