Weekly CA Quiz: October 2019 2nd week with PDF

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched a unique initiative called ‘Ganga Amantran’ to connect with the stakeholders of the river. It is a pioneering exploratory open- water rafting and kayaking expedition on the Ganga river.

The government set up a high-level inter-ministerial committee chaired by Ajay Bhushan Pandey, revenue secretary for better coordination among various departments and law enforcement agencies to prevent money laundering activities.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the Bharat Stage (BS) VI fuel will be made available in the country from April 1 next year. The BS-VI compliant vehicles will also be made available from next year. This initiative will reduce pollution in the air by 80-90 per cent.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on the occasion of Mahanavmi introduced the Mukhya Mantri Kanya Sumangala Yojana.

S&P Global Ratings reduced India’s growth projection for 2019-20 from 7.1% to 6.3%, but said it expected a “decent, albeit unspectacular” recovery in 2020-21 to 7%.

India’s Koneru Humpy is the new World No. 3, according to the latest rankings issued by FIDE. Recently, the 32-year-old from Andhra Pradesh made a brilliant comeback after a two-year hiatus to win the FIA Women’s Grand Prix held in Skolkovo, Russia.

Canadian-American cosmologist James Peebles and Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz won the 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics for shedding light on the evolution of the universe and discovering planets orbiting distant suns.

Arjun Bansal, the Vice President of artificial intelligence (AI) software and AI Lab at Intel, and Ankiti Bose, the CEO and co-founder of Zilingo, are two Indian-origin individuals featuring in Fortune’s 2019 ‘40 Under 40’ list.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar inaugurated tele-education and tele-medicine project for African countries.The EAM inaugurated e-VidyaBharti and e-ArogyaBharti (tele-education and tele-medicine project) for African countries on the occasion of the 55th Anniversary of India’s flagship capacity building programme – Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC).

The first Government-sponsored and operated day-care cum recreation centre for senior citizens has been inaugurated in Leh.

India has moved down 10 places to rank 68th on the annual Global Competitiveness Index, largely due to improvements witnessed by several other economies.Singapore, meanwhile, has replaced the US as the world’s most competitive economy.The annual Global Competitiveness Index is compiled by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF).

Fintech start-up Shubh Loans has received a licence from the Reserve Bank of India to set up a non-banking financial company.

US gymnastics star Simone Biles clinched a record-extending 15th world championship gold medal as the Americans won the women’s team title in Stuttgart.

The former Bayern Munich, Germany and Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has announced his retirement from football at the age of 35.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded jointly to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”

Ace singer Asha Bhosle has been conferred with an honorary doctorate by the University of Salford in Greater Manchester, England.

Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Programme- ‘DHRUV’, a 14 day learning programme, has been launched from Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Headquarters at Bengaluru.

The Union Cabinet approved an additional installment of Dearness Allowance (DA) to Central Government employees and Dearness Relief (DR) to pensioners with effect from July 1, 2019.

Union Minister of State for Home, Nityanand Rai launched a Government Railway Police (GRP) website and a mobile App (Sahyatri-Delhi Railway police) at NDMC convention centre in Delhi.

Andhra Pradesh government led by Chief Minister Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched a new eye care programme named ‘Dr. YSR Kanti Velugu’ on the occasion of World Sight Day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a commemorative stamp in honour of Marshal of the Indian Air Force late Arjan Singh. This year is the birth centenary of him.

To avoid communication blackouts that led to 20 fishermen going missing in the aftermath of Cyclone Okchi in 2017, a slew of government departments, research agencies and private companies have developed GEMINI, a portable receiver linked to ISRO-satellites, that is “fail-proof” and warn fishermen of danger.

The proposed merger of private sector lender Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) with home financier Indiabulls Housing Finance has failed to get approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

The Reserve Bank of India has given the final approval for the merger of district co-operative banks (DCBs) in Kerala with Kerala State Co-operative Bank. The combined entity will be called the ‘Kerala Bank’.

Growth in developing East Asian and Pacific economies is expected to slow from 6.3 per cent last year to 5.8 per cent in 2019 and to 5.7 and 5.6 per cent in 2020 and 2021 respectively, reflecting a broad-based decline in export growth and manufacturing activity, the World Bank said.

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) revised its forecast of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in current financial year downward to 6.1 per cent following the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) estimating Q1 growth to be 5 per cent, much lower than Ind-Ra’s estimate of 5.7 per cent.

India skipper Mithali Raj has achieved a remarkable feat by becoming the first woman cricketer to complete 20 years in the international cricket.

Indian referee G S Lakshmi will become the first woman referee to officiate in an International Cricket Council (ICC) event as the apex body of cricket announced the list of the match officials for the league phase of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2019 was awarded to Austrian author Peter Handke “for an influential work that with linguistic ingenuity has explored the periphery and the specificity of human experience.”The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2018 is awarded to the Polish author Olga Tokarczuk “for a narrative imagination that with encyclopedic passion represents the crossing of boundaries as a form of life.”

World Mental Health Day (10 October) is an international day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma.This year’s theme is “Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention”.

World Sight Day, observed annually on the second Thursday of October, is a global event meant to draw attention on blindness and vision impairment. This year it was celebrated on 10th October.This year’s theme is “Vision First”.

Aiming zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths in India, the central government launched the Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan (SUMAN) scheme, under which pregnant women, mothers up to 6 months after delivery, and all sick newborns will be able to avail free healthcare benefits.

India’s first plastic to diesel conversation plant in Mathura, UP, which was recently inaugurated by MP Hema Malini, is now become operational from October 11.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addressed the ‘C40 Climate Change Summit’ through video conferencing on solutions to tackle air pollution.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal attended the ninth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Intersessional Ministerial meeting in Bangkok.

Government e-Marketplace (GeM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Union Bank of India (UBI). Through this partnership, UBI will be able to offer an array of services including transfer of funds through GeM Pool Accounts (GPA), advising of Performance Bank Guarantees (e-PBG) and Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) to the registered users on the GeM portal.

International rating agency Moody’s announced the lowering of India’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth to 5.8 per cent. This is lowest projection after the Reserve Bank of India cut the GDP growth to 6.1 per cent earlier this month.

The World Bank has sharply cut India’s growth forecast for current fiscal to 6%, down from 7.5% forecast in April, and said the main policy challenge for the country is to address the sources of softening private consumption and the structural factors behind weak investment.

Skipper Virat Kohli scored his seventh double ton and he now has the most number of 200 plus scores for an Indian batsman.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali was awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation.

International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day on October 11 each year; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. The observation supports more opportunity for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage.This year’s theme is “GirlForce: Unscripted and unstoppable”.

India has said, it will extend a Line of Credit of over 60 million US Dollars to Comoros in the field of energy and maritime defence cooperation.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu was conferred the highest Civilian Honour of Comoros — The Order of the Green Crescent. The honour was conferred by the President of the Union of Comoros Azali Assoumani in Moroni, the capital city of Comoros.

Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched the mobile app, “mHariyali”. The app is aimed to encourage Public engagement in planting trees and other such Green drives.

The 2nd edition of Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) of the navies of India and Bangladesh has begun in Northern Bay of Bengal.

More than 1 billion people worldwide are living with vision impairment because they do not get the care they need for conditions like short and far sightedness, glaucoma and cataract, according to the first World report on vision issued by the World Health Organization.

Singapore will become the first country in the world to ban ads for the most unhealthy sugary drinks in its latest move to combat rising diabetes rates.

The Indian passport has dropped a rank to end at 82 in the latest global passport Index released by Henley & Partners.

Credit Saison India, the domestic subsidiary of Japanese financial services leader Credit Saison, has received a non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence from the Reserve Bank of India.

World Egg Day falls on the second Friday of October every year, when more than 40 countries around the world celebrate the food marvel that is The Incredible Egg!. This year is was observed on 11th October.This year’s theme is “Eat your egg today and every day”.

World Migratory Bird Day is observed on 12 October every year. It is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds.This year’s theme is “Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Plastic Pollution!”.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal launched a scheme ‘Farishte Dilli Ke’ to honour good samaritans who take accident victims to hospital, and said at least 3,000 lives were saved during the pilot project of the initiative which ran for 18 months.

Chhattisgarh Health Minister T S Singhdeo inaugurated a ‘Garbage Cafe’, which will provide free food in exchange for plastic waste.

Indian nun Sister Mariam Thresia and four others were declared Saints by Pope Francis at a grand ceremony at the Vatican City, Rome.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla visited Serbia to attend the 141st Assembly of the Inter Parliamentarian Union (IPU) from October 13 to October 17.

The 10th edition of the joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar’ between India and the US was held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, USA.

The Asian Development Bank and the Government of India signed a $190 million loan to upgrade 754 kilometres of state highways and major district roads (MDRs) to two-lane or intermediate-lane standards that will benefit about 26 million people in 14 districts of Rajasthan.

As per the latest report by independent brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, India jumped two levels to 7th position in the Brand Finance Nation ranking of 2019 despite the reduction in the overall economic growth due to slowdown in the manufacturing and construction sectors.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge has become the 1st athlete to run sub 2-hour marathon. He busted the mythical 2-hour barrier for the marathon on a specially prepared course in a huge Vienna park.

Sara Danius, the first female head of the prestigious Swedish body that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature, has passed away. She was 57. She passed away following a long illness.

The United Nations observes International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction on 13 October every year. The day celebrates how people and communities around the world are reducing their exposure to disasters and raising awareness about the importance of reining in the risks that they face.This year’s theme is “Reduce disaster damage to critical infrastructure and disruption of basic services”.

World Arthritis Day is celebrated every year on October 12. It is observed to raise awareness about the Arthritis around the world.The theme of the World Arthritis Day 2019 is Time2Work.

Power and New & Renewable Energy Minister R K Singh exuded confidence that India will achieve 175GW of renewable energy target by 2022.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced that his government will soon set up the ‘Delhi Skills and Entrepreneurship University’.

The World Bank cut India’s economic growth forecast by the most among South Asian nations, below the outlook pegged by the nation’s central bank for this year, mainly because of a deceleration in domestic demand.

Rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen clinched his maiden BWF World Tour title by winning the Dutch Open men’s singles title after beating Yusuke Onodera of Japan in the summit clash.

South Eastern Railway defeated North Eastern Railway 2-0 to lift 26th All India Railway Hockey Championship trophy.

World Standards Day (or International Standards Day) is celebrated internationally each year on 14 October. The aim is to raise awareness among regulators, industry and consumers as to the importance of standardization to the global economy.This year’s theme is “Video standards create a global stage”.

Air India scripted history by becoming the first airline in the world to use a TaxiBot on an Airbus A320 aircraft operating a commercial flight with passengers onboard.

The 2nd phase of an Indo-Dutch project called Local Treatment of Urban Sewage Streams for Healthy Reuse, or LOTUS-HR was launched at Barapullah drain in New Delhi.

ICICI Bank has launched a new Fixed Deposit (FD) scheme – FD Health. The scheme offers FD with a health benefit through a critical illness coverage. Customers will be offered a complimentary insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh.

Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat won the men’s singles title at the Bahrain International Series Badminton at Isa Town, Bahrain.

According to the Edelgive Hurun India Philanthropy List 2019, Shiv Nadar from HCL is the most philanthropic private individual.

Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo have jointly won the 2019 Booker Prize after judges flout the rules by declaring a tie.

The International Day of Rural Women is observed on 15th October. The day recognizes the crucial role of women and girls in ensuring the sustainability of rural households and communities, improving rural livelihoods and overall wellbeing.This year’s theme is “Rural Women and Girls Building Climate Resilience”.