Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has conducted the first-ever Orientation Workshop on Election Management for IAS Asstt Secretaries in New Delhi on August 3, 2018. The aim of the workshop is to familiarize the Assistant Secretaries with all facets of Electoral Management before they are required to handle crucial assignments in conducting Elections in their field postings soon. In it, Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat advised the officers to be prepared for facing the newer challenges like Data harvesting; targeted messaging & profiling; money and media influencers.

Notes:
The two week-long joint military exercise “Maitree 2018′ has started between Indian Army and Royal Thai Army in Thailand on August 6 with a focus on enhancing anti-terror cooperation between the two sides. The exercise will emphasize to hone the tactical and technical skills in joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in rural and urban scenario under UN mandate. Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in urban warfare scenario. Experts from both sides will also hold detailed discussions to share their experience on varied topics for mutual benefit. Exercise Maitree will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and bonhomie between the two armies in order to counter terrorism.

Notes:
Rajinder Kumar Dhawan (81), the veteran Congress leader and a former Union minister, has passed away in New Delhi on August 6, 2018. As personal secretary and confidante to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Dhawan was a witness to Indira Gandhi assassination in 1984. During his years as Indira Gandhi’s personal secretary, from 1962 to 1984, Dhawan reportedly wielded immense clout, with some claiming that he controlled information and access to the then prime minister. During the Emergency years (1975-77), Dhawan was among Indira Gandhi’s inner circle of leaders. However, Indira’s son, Rajiv, after initially removing Dhawan from his post, cleared him of all charges. He continued to retain enormous clout in the Congress even after Rajiv Gandhi’s death and was subsequently elected twice to Rajya Sabha and was a member of the Congress Working Committee. He was Minister for Urban Development when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, the elephants at the Kanha National Park (KNP) are on a week-long picnic. This picnic, which is arranged every year, includes massaging for the elephants and a delicious menu. The purpose of a picnic is to provide family time to Jumbo. The Kanha National Park management has been organizing such picnic for the service of more than a dozen elephants for the past 7-8 years. Picnic includes bathing of elephants, massaging as well as special health tests and treatments. Elephants are given their favourite food like mango, sugarcane, pineapple, banana, coconut and Jaggery. During this period, all the elephants of National Park are residing in one place as a bigger family. Picnic is also helpful in increasing the population of elephants.

Notes:
UNESCO has included the Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR) in the list of World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR) at the 30th Session of the Man and Biosphere International Coordinating Council (ICC) in Palembang, Indonesia. With this, KBR has now become the India’s 11th internationally designated WNBR and joined the list of other biospheres such as Nandadevi, Simlipal, Sunderbans, Nokrek , Pachmarhi and Nilgiri. The reserve, which is located in Sikkim, includes a range of ecoclines varying from subtropical to arctic, as well as vast natural forests in different biomes that support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats resulting in high species diversity and endemism. The core zone of the biosphere alone has over 150 glaciers and 73 glacial lakes, the prominent one being the famous 26-km-long Zemu glacier. It is home to a number of globally threatened fauna including musk deer, snow leopard, red panda and Himalayan Tahr and many ethnic communities including Lepcha, Nepalese, and Bhutia.

Notes:
NDA candidate Harivansh Narayan Singh has been elected as the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha after defeating opposition nominee B K Hariprasad on 9th August 2018. Mr Harivansh, a veteran journalist, represents the state of Bihar in the House as a JD(U) member. He polled 125 votes as against 105 by Hariprasad in a division of voting in the House.The post of Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman was lying vacant since the retirement of P J Kurien on July 1, 2018.

Notes:
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed every year on August 9 in recognition of the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva in 1982. On this day, people from around the world are encouraged to spread the UN’s message on the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples. The 2018 theme “Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement” focus on the current situation of indigenous territories, the root causes of migration, trans-border movement and displacement, with a specific focus on indigenous peoples living in urban areas and across international borders.

Notes:
NCW member Rekha Sharma from Haryana has been appointed the new chairperson of the National Commission for Women (NCW). She was recently embroiled in a controversy after she recommended abolishing the practice of “confessions” in churches as it can lead to blackmailing of women, after such a case came to light in Kerala. The NCW is a statutory body of the Government of India (GoI), which represent the rights of women in India and to provide a voice for their issues and concerns.

Notes:
The Punjab Government will start ‘Tatkal Sewa’ for property registration across the state from 13th August 2018. The state government has fixed the sum of Rs 5,000 as facilitation charges to seek appointment for ‘tatkal’ (instant) registration for properties. Beside this, an hour-long slot from 9 am to 10 am has been reserved for availing the service under instant mode. People could seek an appointment by visiting the website “www.revenue.punjab.gov.in”. So far, over 1.62 lakh online documents have been registered under the new system. This service comes on the heels of the State starting on line property registration in June 2018.

Notes:
Annie Zaidi, an Indian author, has won the 2018 Hindu Playwright Award 2018 for her play ‘Untitled’ at the 14th edition of The Hindu Theatre Fest at the Taj Coromandel. The award was presented by Ratna Pathak Shah, actor and director. The award, instituted in 2008, carries a prize of Rs 2 lakh for the best original, unpublished and unperformed play script in English.