Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

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.

Notes:
Using data from the Chandrayaan-I spacecraft, that was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 2008, NASA Scientists have confirmed the presence of frozen water deposits in the darkest and coldest parts of the Moon’s polar regions. Scientists used data from NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) instrument aboard the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft to identify three specific signatures that definitively prove there is water ice at the surface of the Moon. According to the study published in the journal PNAS, the ice deposits are patchily distributed and could possibly be ancient. The study said with enough ice sitting at the surface within the top few millimetres water would possibly be accessible as a resource for future expeditions to explore and even stay on the Moon. Most of the newfound water ice lies in the shadows of craters near the poles, where the warmest temperatures never reach above minus 156 degrees Celsius. Due to the very small tilt of the Moon’s rotation axis, sunlight never reaches these regions.

Notes:
The 2018 International Buddhist Conclave (IBC) will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind with theme “Buddha Path – The Living Heritage” in New Delhi on August 23. The aim of the conclave is to showcase Buddhist Heritage in India and boost tourism. It is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the State Governments of Maharashtra, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh at New Delhi and Ajanta (Maharashtra), followed by site visits to Rajgir, Nalanda and Bodhgaya (Bihar) and Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh). The Ministerial level delegation from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka will participate in the conclave along with delegates from the 29 countries participating in the International Buddhist Conclave including US, UK, Russia, Japan, Germany and France. Japan would be the partner Country for the 2018 Buddhist conclave.

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:
In Rajasthan, India’s largest Startup incubation and acceleration- Bhamashah Techno Hub – was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje in Jaipur On August 23, 2018. The purpose of the techno hub is to create an ecosystem for promoting state’s youth for entrepreneurship. The hub would be able to accommodate over 700 startup ventures with one lakh square feet incubation space and also help them to get connected with potential investors. In it, free space, easier funding avenues and mentorship will also be provided to startup.

Notes:
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has lifted ban on retail sale of life saving drug ‘Oxytocin’ with effect from 1st September 2018, which was restricted to retail sale from July 2018. Though, the Centre has imposed strict regulations on its sales and retained the monopoly of Karnataka Antibiotics & Pharmaceuticals Ltd (KAPL) for manufacturing oxytocin. As per new rules, Oxytocin will be moved from schedule A to Schedule H1 that means retailer has to maintain a separate register giving the name and address of the prescriber, the patient, the drug and the quantity supplied. These records have to be maintained for 3 years and be available for inspection. Oxytocin is an essential drug used to prevent and treat bleeding after child birth. But, its misuse is widespread in the dairy industry, where livestock are injected with oxytocin to make them release milk at a time convenient to farmers. The hormone is also used to increase the size of vegetables and fruits such as pumpkins, watermelons, brinjals, gourds and cucumbers.

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 International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) has launched a Kerala Heritage Rescue Initiative to assess damage to rich cultural and built heritage in flood-devastated Kerala. The initiative aims to set up a platform for emergency response to the cultural heritage damaged by the floods in Kerala. It has also set up a Facebook page to collect information on the damage to buildings, museum collections, cultural artefacts, libraries, archives, and even intangible heritage. ICOMOS, which is headquartered in Paris, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage worldwide through training, information, research, cooperation and advocacy programmes. ICOMOS is also an advisory body to the UNESCO for cultural heritage, in particular for implementation of the World Heritage Convention (WHC).

Notes:
Renowned aerospace scientist Dr G Satheesh Reddy, who is scientific adviser to the Defence minister, has been appointed new chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for a period of two years. He will also be secretary in the Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D) for the same period. The post of DRDO chief was lying vacant since May 2018 after the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down. Dr. Reddy is the first defence scientist working in India to receive the Silver Medal of Royal Aeronautical Society, UK, and has also been selected for the first IEI (India) and IEEE (USA) joint award for Engineering Excellence.

Notes:
Indian shot putter Tejinder Pal Singh Toor from Punjab has clinched Gold in men’s Shot-Put event with a record-shattering throw at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games on August 25. He threw the iron ball to 20.75m to win the gold and set a national as well as Asian Games record. The previous mark of 20.57m was set by Sultan Abdulmajeed Al-Hebshi of Saudi Arabia at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games in China. With this, Tajinder became the first Indian to win the men’s shot put gold at the Asian Games since Bahadur Singh Sagoo, who had thrown a best of 19.03m to win the gold in Busan in 2002. This is the 8th gold medal for India in men’s shot put in the history of the Asian Games.