Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
Austrian capital Vienna has been ranked as the world’s most liveable city in a list of 140 global cities at the 2018 Global Liveability Index, which was released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Melbourne has secured 2nd position followed by Osaka, Calgary and Sydney. Delhi (112) and Mumbai (117) are only two Indian cities that are included in the EIU’s annual index. The Syrian capital ‘Damascus’ was ranked the least liveable city in the list of 140 cities, followed by Dhaka, Lagos and Karachi. The index assigns cities scores on five broad parameters — stability, healthcare, culture/environment, education, and infrastructure using 30 indicators. The EIU is part of UK magazine The Economist and provides forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis.

Notes:
On August 17, the 2018 International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing Technology (iCRAFPT) has started at Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu with theme “Doubling farmers’ income through food processing”. The 3-day conference is the valuable and important platform for inspiring international and interdisciplinary exchange at the forefront of food research. In it, internationally renowned speakers will share their research experiences in the areas of advances in food engineering and its industrial applications, food product development, food biotechnology, nano foods. The IIFPT is the premier national Institute working under the administrative control of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and its headquarters is located in Thanjavur.

Notes:
The 11th World Hindi Conference 2018 (WHC) has started in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius, with theme “Hindi World and Indian Culture” on August 18. It was organized by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India (GoI) in association with the Government of Mauritius. More than 2000 delegates from India and various countries of the world will deliberate on 8 subtopics on 2018 theme during the 3-day conference. The aim of the Conference is to expand the reach of the Hindi language at a global level. The WHC was started in 1975 to make the Hindi language a medium of service and knowledge and enable it to move forward with the time. Since then, Hindi has made remarkable progress and it has become one of the prominent languages of the world.

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 Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has become the first Public Sector Unit (PSU) to make a transaction on the “TReDS platform”. The transaction was financed by Bank of Baroda (BoB) and since stands settled. The TReDS platform is an online electronic institutional mechanism for facilitating the financing of trade receivables of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) through multiple financiers. The acronym ‘TReDS’ stands for Trade Receivables Discounting System. In October 2017, the central government mandated all major PSUs to join TReDS platform to facilitate payments to MSME vendors. RXIL (Receivables Exchange of India), which is India’s first TReDS platform, is promoted by the National Stock Exchange, Small Industries Development Bank of India, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank.

Notes:
Shooter Saurabh Chaudhary (16) has clinched gold in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games in Indonesia on August 21. It is India’s first shooting gold in the ongoing event. While another Indian shooter, Abhishek Verma won bronze in the same event. India have won five medals in shooting at the Games so far.

Notes:
On August 21, Indian Shooter Sanjeev Rajput clinched a Silver in the men’s 50-metres Rifle 3 Positions event at the 18th Asian Games in Palembang on August 21, 2018. Rajput, who is already an Arjuna Awardee, has been making India proud since the 2006 Asian Games. His consistency and commitment are admirable.

Notes:
The 4th summit of Heads of State/Government of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) will be held at Kathmandu in Nepal on August 30 and 31. All member states of BIMSTEC will participate in the Summit. During the two-day Summit, leaders of member states will review progressachieved so far in the areas of cooperation and provide guidance to the futurework of the BIMSTEC. Prior to the Summit, the 19th Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) and the 16th Ministerial Meeting of BIMSTEC will be held on August 28 and 29 in Kathmandu. BIMSTEC is a regional economic bloc comprising 7 member states lyingin the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity. The group was formed in 1997 and it brings together Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. Nepal is the current chair of BIMSTEC.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has appointed actor Raveena Tandon as the brand ambassador of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) to spread environmental awareness among citizens. The SGNP is spread over 103 Sq. Km. and is wedged between the suburbs of Mumbai and Thane. It is home to more than 274 species of birds, 35 species of mammals, 78 species of reptiles and amphibians, 170 species of butterflies and over a staggering 1,300 species of plants. The park is notable as one of the major national parks existing within a metropolis limit and is one of the most visited parks in the world. It was formerly known as Borivali National Park and was renamed SGNP in 1996, after Sanjay Gandhi, the son of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Notes:
On August 23, the 2018 India Banking Conclave (IBC) was held in New Delhi to address issues of India’s Banking Sector. It was organized by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) and the government Think Tank NITI Aayog. IBC 2018 is an important platform for varied stakeholders connected to India’s banking and financial sectors. The 2-day thought awareness programme witnessed panel discussions on NPAs, development of banks with changing times, privatization versus merger and the future of banking, among other issues.