Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
For the first time, the International team of scientists including 18 from India cracked the genetic code of wheat, the world’s most widely cultivated crop. The information generated will help to identify genes controlling complex agronomic traits such as yield, grain quality, resistance to diseases and pests, as well as tolerance to drought, heat, water logging and salinity. The research, which is published in Journal ‘Science’, stated that the DNA sequence of bread wheat has been ordered and it represents the highest quality genome sequence generated to date. The reference genome covers 94% (14.5 Gb) of the entire wheat genome. The bread wheat has a complex hexaploid genome which is 40 times larger than that of the rice genome and 5 times larger than the human genome. The availability of high quality reference genome would accelerate the breeding of climate-resilient wheat varieties to feed the ever-increasing world population and help address global food security in the decades to come.

Notes:
On 16 August, the Amnesty International India (AII) has launched a new campaign “Our Safety, Our Rights” to create awareness among children to help them understand and identify sexual abuse. The campaign seeks to empower children to speak up and report sexual abuse without fear. The AII has collaborated with Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti (BGVS), People’s Action for Rural Awakening (PARA), Institute of Social Education (ISE) to engage with children in 400 schools, across four Indian states – Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Through this campaign, an estimated 50,000 students, parents, teachers and other key stakeholders will be sensitized on the issue of child sexual abuse.The campaign will culminate on 2018 International Day of the Girl Child.

Notes:
The World Mosquito Day (WMD) is observed every year on August 20 to raise awareness regarding what all causes malaria and ways to prevent it. The day also observed to mark British doctor Sir Ronald Ross’ 1897 landmark discovery that female mosquitoes “Anopheles” transmit malaria to humans. This discovery laid foundations for scientists across the world to better understand the deadly role of mosquitoes in disease transmission and come up with effective innovative interventions. Some of the best ways to prevent malaria include insecticide treated mosquito nets, indoor spraying with insecticides and anti-malarial drugs. Quinine is a medication used to treat malaria.

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On August 21, Indian Wrestler Divya Kakran clinched bronze in the 68 Kg Freestyle wrestling event at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games. In the final, Kakran defeated her Chinese Taipei opponent Chen Wenling by technical superiority with the final score line reading 10-0. Her medal is a testament to her relentless hard work & determination. This is India’s third medal in wrestling after Bajrang Punia and Vinesh Phogat claimed gold in their respective categories.

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On August 21, the Chhattisgarh government has decided to re-name state’s new capital city of Naya Raipur as “Atal Nagar” in memory of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It has also been decided to develop an “Atal Memorial” in an area of five acres at state’s new capital. Besides, many institutions, including Bilaspur University and Rajnandgaon Medical College, will be named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The state government has also decided to name a battalion of state police force as “Pokharan battalion”. The chief minister said it has also been decided to install a statue of former Prime Minister in the state capital and district headquarters of all the 27 districts. The state capital Naya Raipur, a most modern smart city, has been developed at a cost of more than Rs 10,000 crore.

Notes:
Kuldip Nayar (95), the Veteran journalist, author and human rights activist, has passed away in New Delhi on August 23, 2018. Nayar, a former editor of the Indian Express, was also the author of 15 books including “Without Fear: The Life and Trial of Bhagat Singh”, “India after Nehru” and “Emergency Retold”. In his autobiography ‘Beyond The Lines’, he wrote about his interview with Pakistan’s nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, during which the latter revealed that Pakistan had a nuclear device well before it was thought to have had it. During Emergency, he was jailed under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act for leading a protest against the excesses of the administration. In 2015, he was honoured with ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ for his contribution to journalism at the 8th edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence awards. Nayar also served as High Commissioner of India to the UK in 1990 and as a member of the Rajya Sabha.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H) has launched an exclusive incubator “Fabless Chip Design Incubator (FabCI)” to boost chip design. It is a first of its kind in India that will focus on creating an ecosystem for start-ups in chip design. The purpose of FabCI is to incubate at least 50 ‘Make-in-India’ chip design companies that can compete globally and generate Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs). It will provide a bouquet of offerings including free software tools with leading technology partners in Electronic Design Automation (EDA), a characterization facility for testing chips, and equipment for performing DC and RF characterization. FabCI is funded by MeitY, with technology partners Cadence Design Systems and Mentor Graphics both are leading providers of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software, hardware and IP. The Incubator also offers virtual support to non-Hyderabad start-ups which can join FabCI and leverage the offerings and participate remotely.

Notes:
The European Space Agency (ESA) has launched a wind- sensing satellite “Aeolus” into orbit from French Guyana to track global winds. The satellite will be placed at an altitude of 320 Km above the Earth. The launch is part of the Copernicus project, a joint effort by the European Union and the European Space Agency (ESA) to track environmental damage and assist disaster relief operations. The “Aeolus” satellite – named after the keeper of the winds in Greek mythology – is designed to enable improved weather forecasting and aid disaster relief operations. It is equipped with a Doppler wind LIDAR – an advanced laser system designed to measure global wind patterns from space. Aeolus, which is built by Airbus, will be the first satellite equipped to perform global wind-component-profile observation on a daily basis in near real-time.

Notes:
The book “No Spin” is the autobiography of renowned Australian bowler Shane Warne, which will release on October 30. It is the true story behind the headlines, in Warne’s own voice, and challenges some of the enduring myths and untruths that surround him. The memoir is written with cricketer and TV presenter Mark Nicholas. Warne is widely regarded as one of the finest bowlers in the history of the game. He played his first Test match in 1992, and took over 1,000 international wickets.

Notes:
The world’s first blockchain bond “bond-i” has recently launched by World Bank (WB), which is to be created, allocated, transferred and managed through its life cycle using distributed ledger technology. The “bond-I” stands for Blockchain Operated New Debt Instrument and is also has reference to Sydney’s most famous beach ‘Bondi Beach’. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia is the sole arranger of the issuance for the bond. It was the first time that the World Bank bond raised capital from public investors through a legally valid bond issuance that uses blockchain from start to finish. This 2-year maturity bond has successfully raised 110 million Australian dollars (USD 80.48 million). The World Bank, whose bonds hold an AAA rating, regularly uses its borrowing power to help develop new bond markets as well as pioneering new means for selling and trading the securities. The bond-i blockchain platform was built and developed by the CBA Blockchain Centre of Excellence, housed in the Sydney Innovation Lab.