10 PM Current Affairs Quiz : August 14, 2018

The World Heritage Council (WHC), which is a part of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), announced that the 606-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad has been declared a World Heritage City. The walled portion of Ahmedabad can boast off 26 structures which are protected by the Archeological Survey of India. The city was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah, is spread over 5.43 square kilometers and was picked over both Delhi and Mumbai to be India’s nomination last year. It is also the first Indian city to bag the honour.

The United Nations has awarded the West Bengal government the first place for Public Servicefor its “Kanyashree” scheme. Hence, statement 2 is correct.

The award ceremony was held at the World Forum, The Hague. A total of 552 projects from 62 countries were nominated for the award.

The “Kanyashree Prakalpa” is a targeted conditional cash transfer scheme for adolescent girls from disadvantaged families aimed at retaining girls in schools and other educationalinstitutions. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

It also aims towards skill development and prevent child marriage. Over 4 million adolescent girls have already enrolled in the scheme and about $ 500 millionhanded over to the beneficiaries through their bank accounts, a release from the Stategovernment said.

‘Vatsalya – Maatri Amrit Kosh’, a National Human Milk Bank and Lactation Counselling Centre: It is a national human milk bank and lactation counseling centre that will collect, pasteurize, test and safely store milk that has been donated by lactating mothers and make it available for infants in need. Hence, statement 2 is correct. In addition, this facility will protect, promote and support breastfeeding of their own healthy mothers by providing lactation support to mothers through dedicated lactation counsellors. Hence, statement 1 is correct.

A Multilateral Export Control Regime is an international body that states use to organize their national export control systems. There are currently four such regimes: Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies, the organization is designed to regulate the export of sensitive technologies that could possibly lead to destabilizing accumulations. Recently India has been admitted as the 42nd member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a global export control regime. The Australia Group is an informal forum of countries which, through the harmonisation of export controls, seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons. Recently, The Group decided to admit India as its 43rd participant. Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is a multilateral export control regime and a group of nuclear supplier countries that seek to prevent nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials, equipment and technology that can be used to manufacture nuclear weapons. India is not yet the member of this group because of opposition from some countries like China as India has not signed Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants – 193 members of the UN general assembly unanimously adopted in 2016, the General Assembly decided to develop a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. Hence, statement 1 is correct. It is a non-binding political declaration, pledging to uphold the rights of refugees, help them resettle and ensure they had access to education and jobs. Hence, statement 3 is incorrect. India is one of the signatories to the convention. Hence, statement 2 is correct. The global compact is a significant opportunity to improve the governance on migration, to address the challenges associated with today’s migration, and to strengthen the contribution of migrants and migration to sustainable development.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved two new World Bank supported schemes – Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) and Skill Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement (STRIVE). These are outcome focused schemes marking shift in government’s implementation strategy in vocational education and training from inputs to results.