Daily Current Affairs Quiz: October 28, 2023

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: C

• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has become a member of the steering group of the International Competition Network (ICN) at the ICN Annual Conference 2023 at Barcelona, Spain.
• The ICN comprises 140 competition agencies from 130 countries.
• ICN is guided by its apex body – a Steering Group of 18 members
• This is the first time that the CCI has become a member of the ICN’s steering group and the membership is for two years.
• The ICN provides competition authorities with a specialised yet informal venue for maintaining regular contacts and addressing practical competition concerns.
• The ICN’s mission is to advocate the adoption of superior standards and procedures in competition policy around the world.

ANSWER: D

• India will likely miss reaching targets set by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to reduce premature deaths from four major Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), according to an analysis by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• The premature mortality rate for four major non-communicable diseases (NCD) namely
  • cancer,
  • cardiovascular disease (CVD),
  • chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), and
  • diabetes, is projected to decrease by 13.9 per cent from 2010 to 2025 in India.
• Therefore, the country’s progress toward the WHO target of a 25 per cent reduction in premature mortality for the four NCDs by 2025, compared to 2010, will likely be missed by a considerable margin.
• The “25 by 25 target” was outlined when the WHO adopted a global NCD monitoring framework in 2013.

ANSWER: B

• A new report ‘Interconnected Disaster Risks Report 2023’ was recently published by United Nations University — Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS).
  • Environmental tipping points are critical thresholds in the Earth’s systems beyond which abrupt and often irreversible changes occur, leading to profound and sometimes catastrophic shifts in ecosystems, climate patterns and the overall environment.
• The report looks at six environmental tipping points —
  • accelerating extinctions,
  • groundwater depletion,
  • mountain glacier melting,
  • space debris,
  • unbearable heat and
  • an uninsurable future.
• It has also found that 27 of the world’s 31 major aquifers are depleting faster than they can be replenished.
• India is close to reaching its groundwater depletion tipping point.
• India is the world’s largest user of groundwater, exceeding the use of the United States and China combined.
• The north-western region of India serves as the breadbasket for the nation’s growing 1.4 billion people, with the states of Punjab and Haryana producing 50% of the country’s rice supply and 85% of its wheat stocks.
  • However, 78% of wells in Punjab are considered overexploited, and the north-western region as a whole is predicted to experience critically low groundwater availability by 2025.
• The report offers a new framework that categorizes risk mitigation solutions into four types based on their approach-
  • Avoid (preventing risk),
  • Adapt (dealing with risk),
  • Delay (slowing risk progression), and
  • Transform (system overhaul).

ABOUT UNU-EHS

• The United Nations University (UNU) is the academic arm of the United Nations and acts as a global think tank.
• The mission of the Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) is to carry out cutting edge research on risks and adaptation related to environmental hazards and global change.
• The institute is based in Bonn, Germany.

ANSWER: A    

• PM recently inaugurated the 37^th edition of the National Games in Panaji, Goa.
• The National Games are being held in Goa for the very first time.
• The Games will be held from October 26 to November 9.
• More than 10,000 athletes from across the country will compete in over 43 sports disciplines across 28 venues.

ANSWER: C

• To augment the training infrastructure of special forces and combat free-fallers, the Army’s Special Forces Training School (SFTS) at Bakloh, Chamba, got the Army’s first Vertical Wind Tunnel (VWT).
• Functioning as a freefall simulator, the VWT creates a column of air at specific velocities, orchestrating different CFF conditions.
• The system simulates varied freefall scenarios which is crucial in assessing individual reactions to numerous situations in an airborne operating environment.