Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain has become the first woman shuttler to win the women’s singles World Badminton Championships thrice with an emphatic victory over P.V. Sindhu of India in Nanjing, China on August 5, 2018. Earlier, Marin won the title in 2014 and the 2015 Jakarta edition. Sindhu didn’t have answers to Marin’s blistering pace in the 45 minutes that the match lasted. The second silver meant Sindhu is the only Indian to have four world championships podium finishes. She had won two bronze medals at the 2013 Guangzhou and 2014 Copenhagen editions. In men’s singles, Kento Momota of Japan won the title with an easy 21-13, 21-11 victory over local boy Shi Yuqi. With this victory, Kento Momota became the first Japanese man to win the Championships.

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In the 14th edition of Women’s Hockey World Cup 2018, defending champions the Netherlands recorded a stunning 6-0 victory over Ireland in the summit clash at London on August 5 to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 32 matches. It must be noted that the Netherlands have been crowned the world champions for a record 8th time. Kitty van Male, who was among the 6 different goal scorers, finished the tournament as the top scorer with 8 goals. Spain won the third place match by beating Australia 3-1 to claim their first ever World Cup medal. India finished the tournament at the 8th spot.

Notes:
The Indian women chess team has clinched the gold in the Blitz event at the Asian Nations Chess Cup 2018 at Hamadan, Iran on August 3. It’s India’s first gold-medal finish at the event since 2014. The Indian team comprising Harika Dronavalli, Eesha Karavade, Padmini Rout, Vaishali R and Aakanksha Haga left the teams from Vietnam and China behind to clinch gold. Apart from this, they also bagged a silver and a bronze in the Rapid and Classical categories, respectively. India (1st) finished with 21.5 points, Vietnam (2nd) settled for silver with 18.5 and China (3rd) bagged bronze with 17.5.

Notes:
Italian motorcycle-maker Benelli has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana government to set up a manufacturing facility at Medichal, Pochampally, Hyderabad. Under the agreement with Adishwar Auto Ride India (AARI), a subsidiary of Mahavir Group, the assembly plant on 3 acres in Kompally is expected to become operational by October 2018. It will have a capacity to assemble 10,000 bikes and begin with around 100 employees. The partnership entitles AARI to assemble, manufacture bikes and import exclusive range of Benelli bikes from Italy and South East Asia regions. Established in 1911, Benelli is one of the oldest Italian motorcycle-manufacturer and has a presence in over 60 countries such as America, Africa, Europe and Asia Pacific regions.

Notes:
Javelin thrower star Neeraj Chopra from Haryana will be India’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. He will lead India’s contingent in the multi-sport event. So far, Chopra won gold in 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG), 2017 Asian Athletic championships, 2016 South Asian Games and the 2016 World Junior Championships. He also holds the for U-20 world record with a throw of 86.48m. He is currently coached by Uwe Hohn, a retired German track and field athlete.

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Nobel prize winning scientist Marie Curie was the most influential woman in this poll. The magazine ranked Polish born Curie at the top of a list of 100 women who changed the world, for her role in treating cancer.

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The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched an initiative “RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil)” that will enable collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel. Under this initiative, 64 companies at 101 locations have been identified to enable collection of used cooking oil. According to FSSAI regulations, the maximum permissible limits for Total Polar Compounds (TPC) have been set at 25%, beyond which the cooking oil is unsafe for consumption. Beside this, FSSAI is also working in partnership with Biodiesel Association of India and the food industry to ensure effective compliance of used cooking oil regulations.

Notes:
Justice Manjula Chellur has been appointed the new chairperson of Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (ATE), which is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Power. Prior to this, she was Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. The tribunal has been established by Central Government for those who are not satisfied with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) order or with a state. It has the authority to overrule or amend that order, just like the Income-Tax tribunal or the Central Administrative Tribunal. Justice Chellur was the first woman Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court. She also served as the Chief Justice of Kerala High Court and the first female judge of the Karnataka High Court.

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In Hyderabad, India’s first genetic bank for wildlife conservation has been inaugurated by Union Minister for Science and Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan at the Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) in CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) to protect India’s biodiversity and environment. It is dubbed as National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (NWGRB), which can store 17,000 vials worth of samples. Currently genetic material, including DNA, cells and tissues besides semen and eggs of 23 wildlife species are stored. This facility would also facilitate exchange of genetic material between Indian zoos for maintaining genetic diversity and conservation management made accessible to scientists and wildlife managers for implementing conservation programmes. The Genetic Resource Bank (GRB) is the systematic collection and preservation of tissues, sperm, eggs and embryos, genetic material (DNA/RNA).

Notes:
The Nepal-India Literature Festival 2018 was held in Birgunj, Nepal on August 12 to strengthen Indo-Nepal ties. On this occasion, the renowned writers from both the countries were also felicitated. Approx 250 participants from India and Nepal attended the two day festival. The event was organized by Nepal India Co-operation Forum.