10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #19 August 23, 2019

Explanation: Sharavathi is a river which originates and flows entirely within the state of Karnataka in India. It is one of the few westward flowing rivers of India and a major part of the river basin lies in the Western Ghats. The famous Jog Falls are formed by this river. The river itself and the region around it are rich in biodiversity and are home to many rare species of flora and fauna.
The river Sharavathi originates at a place called Ambutheertha in the Thirthahalli taluk of Shimoga district. According to a legend of the times of Ramayana, this is the place where the Hindu God Rama broke a bow to win the hand of Sita. The total length of the river is around 128 km and it joins the Arabian Sea at Honnavar near Uttara Kannada district. On its way, the Sharavathi forms the Jog Falls where the river falls from a height of 253 mts. The river is dammed at Linganamakki and the portion of the river above the dam is upstream and the remaining is downstream. The major tributaries of the river are Nandihole, Haridravathi, Mavinahole, Hilkunji, Yennehole, Hurlihole, and Nagodihole. Sharavathi river basin falls into two districts of Karnataka namely Uttara Kannada and Shimoga. The upstream river basin is extended to two taluks in Shimoga viz. Hosanagara and Sagara. The entire basin has an area of 2985.66 km. With upstream being 1988.99 km2 and the downstream being 996.67 km

Explanation: ‘Smart India Hackathon 2017’ is a pan India 36 hour nonstop digital programming competition. The participating teams will simultaneously compete from across 33 locations in India to offer digital yet sustainable innovative solutions to solve real time challenges faced by the nation.
Smart India Hackathon 2020 is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem solving. The last edition of the hackathon saw over 5 million+ students from various colleges compete for the top prize at 65+ locations. In SIH 2020, the students would have the opportunity to work on challenges faced within various Ministries, Departments, Industries, PSUs and NGOs to create world class solutions for some of the top organizations including industries in the world, thus helping the Private sector hire the best minds from across the nation. It can help to:
•Harness creativity & expertise of students
•Spark institute-level hackathons
•Build funnel for ‘Startup India’ campaign
•Crowdsource solutions for improving governance and quality of life
•Provide opportunity to citizens to provide innovative solutions to India’s daunting problems
The first three editions SIH2017, SIH2018 and SIH2019 proved to be extremely successful in promoting innovation, out-of-the-box thinking in young minds, especially engineering students from across India.

Explanation: Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland, a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain. It’s sometimes known as the “cuddle hormone” or the “love hormone,” because it is released when people snuggle up or bond socially. The hormone causes uterine contractions during labor and helps shrink the uterus after delivery. When an infant suckles at his or her mother’s breast, the stimulation causes a release of oxytocin, which, in turn, orders the body to “let down” milk for the baby to drink.
From September 1, 2018 the Union Health Ministry will impose a highly controversial ban on the retail sale and private manufacture of oxytocin, a life-saving drug for new mothers. The reason for the ban is the misuse of oxytocin in dairy animals, like buffaloes, to increase milk production.
The government’s April ban order refers to a 2016 Himachal Pradesh High Court judgment, which said daily oxytocin injections made cattle barren and reduced their lifespans. In addition, it claimed that drinking milk from oxytocin-treated cattle led to male impotence, early puberty among women and cancers.

Explanation: When a government body wants to encourage the purchase of certain items or bolster participation in certain activities, it may issue a tax holiday; a temporary period during which the tax rate applied to certain products or services is reduced or removed. For instance, many local governments have a sales tax holiday the weekend before school resumes in the fall to reduce the cost burden that parents carry when shopping for their children’s school supplies or clothing.
The government has said small startups with a turnover of up to 25crore will get the tax holiday specified in Section 80-IAC of the Income-Tax Act.
Under the Section, eligible startups don’t have to pay income tax for three years out of seven from the year of incorporation, an incentive to promote such ventures. This, in effect, means any startup with turnover exceeding 25crore won’t get this tax break.

Explanation: Russia on Thursday launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot that will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station.
Named Fedor, short for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research, and the robot is the first ever sent up by Russia.