10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #10 October 14, 2019

Explanation: Fourteen global cities have pledged to promote sustainable food policies to tackle the climate crisis as well as boost the health of its citizens, according to C40 Cities — a global climate leadership group comprising 94 cities around the world. The C40 Good Food Cities Declaration was signed by the mayors of Barcelona, Copenhagen, Guadalajara, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Quezon City, Seoul, Stockholm, Tokyo and Toronto at the ongoing C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen on October 10, 2019. As part of the declaration, mayors of these cities will work towards implementing a ‘planetary health diet’ for all by 2030. It will be balanced and nutritious food, based on the culture, geography, and demography of the cities.

Explanation: While speaking at the UN Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in New York on September 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the launch of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and invited all countries to join it. CDRI is an attempt to bring countries together to share and learn from the experiences of one another to protect their key infrastructure — highways, railways, power stations, communication lines, water channels, even housing — against disasters. The CDRI secretariat too would be based in New Delhi. While it is not envisioned to take the shape of a treaty-based organisation, CDRI can be seen as complementing ISA’s efforts. ISA is about climate change mitigation — deployment of more solar energy would bring down the reliance on fossil fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions. CDRI, on the other hand, is about adapting to climate change, a need that is inevitable.

Explanation: Joint Military Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN-219 between India and Japan will be conducted at counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare School, Vairengte from 19 Oct 2019 to 02 Nov 2019. Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) comprising 25 soldiers each will participate in the exercise with an aim to share experience gained during various Counter Terrorism Operations in respective Countries. Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN is an annual training event which is being conducted in India since 2018. Notably, in the series of military training exercises undertaken by India with various countries Exercise DHARMA GUARDIAN with Japan is crucial and significant in terms of security challenges faced by both the nations in the backdrop of global terrorism. The scope of this exercise covers platoon level joint training on counter terrorism operations in jungle and urban scenario. The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence co-operation between Indian Army and Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces (JGSDF) which in turn will further foster the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Explanation: Aiming zero preventable maternal and newborn deaths in India, the central government on Thursday 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.

Explanation: India along with several others countries, including China and African nations, has cautioned against diluting special and differential treatment provisions related to developing countries, saying it would lead to “intractable deadlock” at the WTO. A communication by west African country Benin, on behalf of the African Group, Bolivia, China, Cuba, India and Oman has said that developing countries’ should continue to enjoy benefits of special and differential treatment (S&D) under WTO rules and they must be allowed to make their own assessments regarding their own developing country status. They have also stated that existing S&D provisions must be upheld and it should be provided in the current and future negotiations in the World Trade Organisation (WTO).