Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli jointly inaugurated a 400-bed Nepal-Bharat Maitri Pashupati Dharamshala in Kathmandu, Nepal. It is a rest house for pilgrims, which is located on the banks of the Bagmati River. The Dharmashala is build with the Indian assistance and has provision for family rooms, kitchen, dining hall, library and some multipurpose halls to meet the requirements of the travellers and families on pilgrimage to Pashupatinath Temple.

Notes:
Renowned Digambar Jain Muni Tarun Sagar ji (51), who was popularly known for his sermons titled ‘Kadve Pravachan’, has passed away in New Delhi on September 1, 2018. He was born as Pawan Kumar Jain on 1967 in Damoh district of Madhya Pradesh, and accepted celibacy and decided to lead a life of a monk in the year 1981. Unlike most other Digambar jain monks, his audience often includes a majority of non-Jains. His discourses often address family or society issues, topics generally avoided by other Jain monks. All his life, he spread the message of peace and non-violence in the society.

Notes:
On September 3, India and Cyprus signed two agreements on combating money laundering and cooperation in the field of environment in the presence of President Ram Nath Kovind and his Cypriot counterpart Nicos Anastasiades in Nicosia. Both the countries also agreed for the revision in the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) made in 2016 to further enhance investment partnership to grow by strengthening the institutional framework to facilitate investment cross flows. Beside this, Cyprus also reaffirmed its support to India for its membership of the Nuclear Supplier’s Group (NSG) and UN Security Council (UNSC). Mr. Kovind is in Cyprus on the first leg of his three-nation visit to Europe to continue India’s high-level engagements with European countries.

Notes:
Former England captain Alastair Cook, who is country’s highest run- scorer in Test cricket, will retire from international cricket after the 5th and final match against India at the Oval, starting September 7. So far, he scored 12,254 runs at an average of 44.88 with 32 hundreds and 56 half centuries in 160 Tests. His highest Test score of 294 came against India at Birmingham during the 2011 series.

Notes:
Dr Arif Alvi has been elected as the new President of Pakistan and will take the oath of the office on September 9. He will succeed Mamnoon Hussain. Dr. Alvi is a close ally of Prime Minister Imran Khan and one of the founding members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

Notes:
The joint maritime naval exercise “SLINEX-2018” will be held between Indian & Sri Lankan navy at Trincomalee, Sri Lanka from September 7 to 13. The exercise which was previously held biannually has been converted to an annual event from year 2018 to enhance cooperation in the maritime domain and to further strengthen mutual trust and interoperability between the two navies. The exercise to be conducted in two phases, namely the Harbour and Sea Phase, will involve conduct of joint training, exchange of expertise, helicopter and maritime patrol aircraft operations, search and rescue, and maneuvers at sea. It would also involve sports fixtures and cultural events which would provide an opportunity for personnel from both navies to learn from each other and to build individual bonds of friendship and camaraderie.

Notes:
Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the son of former Assam chief minister Keshab Chandra Gogoi, will become the 46th Chief Justice of India (CJI), after the current CJI Dipak Misra retires on October 2. He will have tenure of 13 months – till November 17, 2019. As per convention, the senior-most judge of the Supreme Court has to be appointed as the next CJI. Therefore, once the recommendation by CJI Misra is approved, Justice Gogoi will become the first CJI from North-Eastern states. His appointment is crucial as it comes at a time when Assam is preparing to release a final National Register of Citizens (NRC), possibly by the end of the year 2018. Justice Gogoi was one of the four senior-most judges of the court who had called an unprecedented press conference this January, when they had publicly raised concerns about the administration of the court and the formation of benches for the allocation of important cases. He is also one of 11 judges in the Supreme Court who have disclosed their assets.

Notes:
The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu will address the 2nd World Hindu Congress (WHC) 2018, which is scheduled to be held in Chicago, United States on September 7 to 9. Apart from addressing the congress, Mr. Naidu will also participate in a programme organized by 14 Telugu Associations of the US at Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. He will also participate in bilateral discussions with several world leaders, who are attending this event, on the sidelines of this Congress. The WHC is a global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another, and impact the common good. It offers Hindus an opportunity to introspect towards improvement and tap into their collective resources to seek tangible solutions to the most pressing issues of this age. The global event also marks the commemoration of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Historic Speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893.

Notes:
In a landmark judgement on September 6, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) struck down Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and decriminalized homosexuality. The five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra unanimously scrapped a 156-year old colonial-era law banning gay sex that was punishable by a jail sentence of up to 10 years. Thereby, this verdict is the beginning of a journey towards greater dignity, equality and liberty. However, the court held that Section 377 will apply to “unnatural” sexual acts like bestiality. Sexual acts without consent continue to be a crime under the Section. IPC Section 377 came into force in 1861 during the British rule of India (modelled on the Buggery Act of 1533) which criminalised sexual activities “against the order of nature”, including homosexual activities.

Notes:
The Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention (MGISC-2018) will be organized by the Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in New Delhi from September 29 to mark the beginning of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi. It will be a 4-day international conference that will bring together Sanitation Ministers and other leaders in WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) from around the world. The purpose of the Convention is to share sanitation success stories and lessons from the participating countries. It will culminate on October 2nd, Gandhi Jayanti, which is also celebrated as the Swachh Bharat Diwas. Several mass mobilisation events and campaigns are being planned across the States in the run up to this Day.