10 PM Current Affairs Quiz #13 October 17, 2019

Explanation: The National Informatics Centre(NIC) will set up block chain technology centre in Bengaluru.
About the Blockchain centre:
•The Centre aims to provide BlockChain as a service to all the stakeholders who are interested in shared experiences, learning and resources.
•It will also share its block chain-based proof of concepts with selected government entities.
•The centre will also act to help different wings of the government understand the potential of the technology.
About Blockchain:
•Blockchain is a digital, immutable, distributed ledger that chronologically records transactions in near real time.
•In simple words,it is interlinked and continuously expanding list of records stored securely across a number of interconnected systems

Explanation: The Bangladesh Government has planned to accommodate 100,000 Rohingya refugees in its Bhasan Char Island.
About Bhashan Char Island:
•The Bhashan Char is an uninhabited island around 30 kilometre east of Hatiya island in the South East Bangladesh.
•The Island was formed with Himalayan silt in 2006 on the mouth of river Meghna.
•The Island falls in an ecologically fragile area prone to floods, erosion and cyclone.The island remains under water between June and September due to monsoon rains.
•However,the Bangladesh government has built a three metre high embankment along its perimeter to keep out tidal surges during cyclones.

Explanation: The Indian Army has conducted its biggest airborne exercise called the ‘Winged Raider’ comprising of more than 500 special forces troops in the North-Eastern theatre.
About Winged Raider exercise:
•The exercise aims to demonstrate the operational preparedness of the paratroopers and air warriors to undertake airborne missions.
•It involved a large number of the Special Forces troops and all kind of air transport platforms of the Air Force.
•The newly inducted aerial platforms and equipment were also validated during the exercise with clockwise precision and seamless integration between the Army and the Air Force.
Significance of the exercise:
•The exercise indicated the shift in the army’s focus towards the frontier with China.
•In October 2019,the Indian army had also carried out Exercise ‘Him Vijay’ in Arunachal Pradesh to test its mobility, communication and coordination of such a huge body of fast-moving troops in difficult terrain.
•The integrated battle groups(IBGs) had participated for the first time in an exercise.

Explanation: Recently, a Concession Agreement for completing the 6.5-kilometre long Z-Morh tunnel in Jammu and Kashmir was signed between NHIDCL and APCO Amarnathji Tunnelway.
About Z-Morh Tunnel:
•Z-Morh Tunnel is a 6.5km long two-lane bi-directional road tunnel project constructed near Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir.
•The tunnel is the first step towards ensuring all-weather connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil in Ladakh region of India.
•The tunnel gets its name from its Z formation between Sonamarg and Gagangir.
•The tunnel is also of high strategic importance for India as it would avoid the regions of snowfall and avalanches.
•Further,along with Zoji-la Tunnel, the Z-Morh tunnel will ensure year-long road connectivity between Srinagar and Kargil.
About Zoji-la Tunnel:
•Zoji-la Tunnel is a 14.2-km long tunnel project in Jammu and Kashmir to provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
•Once Constructed,the Zojila tunnel will be the longest bi-directional tunnel in Asia.
•The project is being implemented by the ministry of road transport and highways(MoRT&H) through the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited(NHIDCL).

Explanation: United Nations (UN) has released its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020.
About WESP Report, 2020: The report is released annually by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs(UN/DESA), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD) and the five United Nations regional commissions.
Report on India’s Growth:
•The report lowered its GDP growth estimate for India to 5.7% from 7.6% in the financial year 2019-20.However,the UN has projected India’s GDP growth to accelerate to 6.6 per cent in 2020-21.
•Further,the report has also forecasted a growth rate of 6.3% for the fiscal beginning in 2021.
•The report has also said that one in five countries will see per capita income stagnate or decline this year.But India will be among the few countries where the per capita GDP growth rate could exceed 4% level in 2020.