Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
Dr. Ajay Data from Jaipur, the Founder and CEO of Data XGen Plus, has become the first Indian to be appointed a council member of ICANN panel Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO). He has got a 2-year term and will take up the position during ICANN ‘s 63rd Annual General Meeting in Spain in October 2018. He will represent India at a global level and will also be the custodian of Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands as a member of ccNSO. The ccNSO is ICANN’s policy-development body for global issues regarding country code top-level domains (ccTLD) within the ICANN structure. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation

Notes:
On August 6, the world’s first-ever facility to create thermal batteries has been inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh by the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in Amaravati. The thermal battery plant, which is manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST), is expected to start commercial operations by May 2019. The technology will help in mitigating carbon emissions and is best suited for grid balancing and stabilisations. It will also be used to store energy for telecommunication, commercial establishments, electric vehicles and highway charging stations. It can also be effectively used in remote locations, such as hilly terrains and islands. The BEST also aims to set up a Greenfield Project in India, at an estimated cost of Rs 660 crores, through which nearly 3000 jobs are expected to be created within three years’ time. It must be noted that the thermal battery technology was patented in India by Dr Patrick Glynn in 2016.

Notes:
The communication exercise “Pacific Endeavor-2018 (PE-18)” under the Multinational Communications Interoperability Program (MCIP) has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on August 6, 2018. The basic objective of 12 day exercise is to develop common communications operating procedures to enable military forces in the Asia Pacific region to collectively work in the wake of disaster. Around 270 personnel from 20 Asia-Pacific Countries are participating in the exercise, which is jointly organised by the Nepali Army and United States Pacific Command (USPC). The Pacific Endeavor began in 2005 and it focuses on establishing rapid and effective inter-operable communication systems to jointly act in disaster relief operations.

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:
The 11th edition of the India Art Fair 2019 will be held from January 31 to February 3 in New Delhi. It is best known for its strong representation of leading Indian galleries alongside selected exhibitors from across the world. The art fair will attracts visitors with an interest in the art world, such as curators, artists, collectors, journalists, gallerists and critics and art lovers.The director of the 4-day annual art fair will be Jagdip Jagpal.

Notes:
Avi Goel (14), the Indian-American high school student, has won the International Geography Bee World Championship 2018 in junior varsity division in Berlin, Germany. Avi is a tenth grader at Silver Creek High School in Evergreen, San Jose, California. He won a gold medal in 7 out of the 10 medal events, and a silver medal in two of the events, topping the overall medals table. He also bagged the top spot in all the three events counting towards the world championship title: the International Geography Exam, the International Geography Showdown, and the International Geography Bee. The competition took place from 11th to 18th of last month, bringing together over 100 of the world’s top geography students to vie for the world championship title in the subject. The competition was held by International Academic Competitions, a worldwide organization that runs academic competitions across the world, including the newly formed International Geography Bee.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of surplus amounting to Rs 500 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) to the Government of India (GoI) for FY18. The decision was taken at its Central Board of Directors meeting on August 8, 2018. The RBI follows July-June accounting year. In the Union Budget for 2018-19, the government had budgeted Rs 54,817 crore to come from the payment of dividend or surplus from the RBI, nationalized banks and financial institutions. Thus, the surplus transfer should come as a huge relief to the Centre which would otherwise have been forced to look at other means of revenue to bridge the gap. Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central bank is required to pay the government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and, contribution to staff and superannuation fund among others.

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.

Notes:
The Wipro Consumer Care & Lighting will offer 3-year Santoor women’s scholarship for higher education to girls from economically weaker families in the three southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Approx 900 girls from the 3 states will be given Santoor scholarship, with Rs 24,000 for each of them per annum to do under-graduation.. The students can apply for the scholarship on “www.santoorscholarships.com” till September 15 or in state-run colleges across the three states. The scholarship is an attempt to empower women to change their life and the world. Enrollment ratio of women pursuing higher education in the country is low and many give up higher study due to lack of financial support. Santoor is the leading brand name of Wipro’s toilet soap.

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.