10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #6 October 9, 2019

Explanation: On 8th October 2019, 20 new moons of Saturn were discovered. With this Saturn has a total of 82 moons today. It is the highest of any planet in solar system. Till date Jupiter had the highest number of moons. It has 79 moons. The moons of Saturn discovered are relatively smaller moons. The discovery was made at the Subaru telescope set up atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano. Of 82 moons, 17 of them orbit in opposite direction. These moons take more than three years to complete their orbit. The moons were discovered by a team of astronomers led by Sheppard.

Explanation: The Global Competitive Index is compiled by World Economic Forum. India ranked 68th in the annual Global Competitive Index. It is the worst performing among the BRICS nations along with Brazil that is ranked at 71. India had dropped 10 places. A number of similar economies like South Africa, Turkey and Colombia have improved over the past year and have overtaken India. This year Singapore has replaced US as the world’s most competitive country. China was ranked at 28th position and was the highest ranked among BRICS nations. The report also said that Asia Pacific was the most competitive region globally. It was followed by Europe and North America.

Key findings of the report on India:
•India ranked high in terms of macroeconomic stability and market size.
•India also ranked high in terms of corporate Governance.
•India was at 15th place in the category.
•In terms of market India ranked third.
•India had positive remarks in terms of renewable regulation.
•In terms of innovation, India has punched above its development status. It was well ahead of most of the emerging economies that are on par with the advanced economies.
•Poor health conditions and low Life Expectancy were the shortcomings in the country according to the report. In terms of life expectancy India ranked 109 out of 141 countries. This is one of the shortest as compared to South Asian average.
•According to the report, India also needs to grow its skill base, market efficiency. Trade openness and worker protection rights according to the report are insufficiently developed.
•The education system of the world’s largest and most innovative economies failed to keep up the pace of innovation. IT included India, China, Brazil, France and South Korea.
•Economic stagnation was widespread. This has happened in spite of the central banks injecting more than 10 trillion dollars last year.
•Many of governments and central banks failed to use correct monetary policies to stimulate economic growth.

Explanation: The IFC-IOR stems from the importance of the Indian Ocean to world trade and security, and the need for the various maritime nations and organisations to collaborate towards enhancing maritime safety and security on the seas of this region. In addition to utilising the collective wisdom and resources towards addressing myriad challenges in the region, IFC-IOR will help interface and integrate, wherein, all partners and stakeholders would benefit from each other’s best practices and expertise.

The IFC has been established at Gurugram, India and is collocated with Information Management and Analysis Centre which is jointly administered by the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard. IFC-IOR is established with the vision of strengthening maritime security in the region and beyond, by building a common coherent maritime situation picture and acting as a maritime information hub for the region. Establishment of IFC- IOR would ensure that the entire region is benefitted by mutual collaboration and exchange of information and understanding the concerns and threats which are prevalent in the region.

The information Exchange at the IFC-IOR would be initially undertaken by virtual means, using telephone calls, faxes, emails and video conferencing over internet. Subsequently, to enable better interconnection, quicker analysis of information and provide timely inputs, the IFC-IOR would host Liaison Officers from partner countries. Additionally, towards enhancing capability building, the IFC-IOR would undertake conduct of exercises and training capsules in maritime information collection and sharing. The setting up of IFC-IOR underscores the governmental approach and effort in line with the vision of our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi towards Security and Growth of All in the Region (SAGAR).

Explanation: The United Nations designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. The Day is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns.

2019 theme: Frontier Technologies as an innovative tool to transform waste to wealth
Building on last year’s theme “Municipal Solid Waste Management” which focused mainly on managing garbage, the focus of this year’s World Habitat Day is promoting the contribution of innovative frontier technologies to sustainable waste management to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 11: inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. Going beyond solid waste this includes all waste produced by human activity (solid, liquid, domestic, industrial and commercial), which continues to have a devastating impact on climate change, public health and the environment.
This year’s Global Observance of World Habitat Day will be held in Mexico City on Monday, 7 October.

Explanation: The 2019 Nobel prize for Physics was awarded to Swiss Scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz and Canadian – American physicist James Peebles. One half of the prize was won by the American for his contribution towards “Theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology”. The other half was shared between the Swiss scientists for their work on “Discovery of an exoplanet orbiting a star similar to sun”. The prize consists of 914,000 USD that will be split with one half to the American scientist and the other half to be shared between the Swiss scientists.
James Peebles discoveries: The Canadian – American physicist James Peebles had contributed several discoveries in the field of physical cosmology for which he is awarded with the prize. His discoveries are as follows:
•In 1987, Peebles proposed Primordial Isocurvature Baryon Model which explains the development of early Universe.
•He is also known for the Ostriker – Peebles criterion that related to the stability of galactic formation.
•He has made significant contributions towards cosmic microwave background radiation, Big Bang nucleosynthesis, dark energy and dark matter.
•He was the pioneer in the theory of Cosmic structure formation.