Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
On August 23, the International Water Colour Festival 2018 has started at Audrey House in Ranchi, which is organized by the Jharkhand Art Culture and Tourism Department in Audrey House. The aim of the 5-day fest is to bring local artists in touch with the international art and promote the rich art and culture of Jharkhand. During the water colour festival, the visiting artists will interact with school students and local artists on various themes including “nature” and “modern/abstract”. Approx 56 internationally renowned artists — from 24 countries and 25 Indian states are participating in the festival. The list of artists from different countries include names like Anna Massinissa (Fabriano), Zhou Tianya and Mong Sho (China), the Indian art diaspora in the festival will be represented by Milind Mulick, Sailesh Meshram, Nirupam Konwar, Ramesh Jhawar and Praween Karmaker, among others.

Notes:
Budget passenger carrier SpiceJet has successfully conducted India’s first-ever test flight powered by biojet fuel between Dehradun and Delhi on August 27, 2018. The 43 minute flight was operated by the airline’s Bombardier Q-400 aircraft with total 25 on onboard, including crew. The flight was powered with a blend of 75% Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) and 25% biojet fuel. The biojet fuel, which is made from Jatropha crop, has been developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) based in Dehradun along with Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP). The advantage of using biojet fuel as compared to ATF is that it reduces carbon emissions and enhances fuel efficiency. The biojet fuel has been recognised by American Standard Testing Method (ASTM) and meets the specification standards of Pratt & Whitney and Bombardier for commercial application in aircraft. Globally, bio-fuel powered flights are operated in Canada.

Notes:
On August 27, the 4th edition of Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. The two-day forum is held for the first time in South Asia with support from the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Asian network for free elections (ANFREL). The forum gives an opportunity for Asian election commissions, election observers, non-government organizations, and interstate bodies to gather and discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. The AESF was attended by more than 250 delegates from 45 countries. India is represented by Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra Ashwini Kumar and an NGO.

Notes:
Satya S Tripathi, the veteran Indian development economist and UN official, has been appointed Assistant Secretary-General and Head of the New York Office of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The appointment was made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Mr. Tripathi, who will succeed Elliott Harris of Trinidad and Tobago, has worked with the UN since 1998 in Europe, Asia and Africa on sustainable development, human rights, democratic governance and legal affairs. UN Environment is the leading agency at the world body focussed on environment. It works with governments, the private sector, the civil society and with other UN entities and international organisations across the world.

Notes:
Indra Nooyi, the PepsiCo Chairman and CEO, has been selected as Asia Society’s Game Changer of the Year for 2018 in recognition of her pioneering business achievements, humanitarian record, and advocacy for women and girls around the world. The award will be presented at the 5th Annual Asia Game Changer Awards Dinner and Celebration in New York City on October 9, 2018. The event will also feature the first-ever U.S. performance of Koolulam.

Notes:
Despite competing with a severe toothache, Swapna Barman from West Bengal clinched gold in the women’s heptathlon with 6026 points at the 18th Asian Games 2018 in Jakarta on August 29. With this, she created history by becoming the first Indian heptathlete to win an Asian Games gold. Before Barman, only Bengal’s Soma Biswas and Karnataka’s JJ Shobha and Pramila Aiyappa had returned with a medal from the Asian Games. Soma and Shobha had finished two-three at both Busan Asian Games (2002) and the Doha Games (2006), while Pramila had won a bronze at the 2010 Guangzhou edition.

Notes:
Ruchi Ghanashyam, the 1982 batch IFS officer, has been appointed India’s new High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK). She succeeded Y K Sinha. Prior to this post, she was the Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Ghanashyam was the first Indian woman diplomat to be posted in Islamabad when the harassment of Indian diplomats was routine.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) will provide a $250 million loan facility to Rajasthan for improving the performance of its electricity distribution sector under the 24×7 Power for All program. For this, an agreement was signed among the Government of India, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank. The key areas that the programme will support include strengthening governance in the distribution sector by establishing annual performance MoUs between the DISCOMs and the State Government. To address the concerns of affordability and access to electricity for the poor, the program also supports the Union Government’s Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), under which more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the State.

Notes:
Germany has sanctioned a soft loan of euro 120 million ( approx Rs. 990 crore) to India for National Clean Ganga Mission & to strengthen sewage water treatment infrastructure in Uttarakhand. The purpose of the project is to reduce the inflow of untreated waste water in River Ganga & to improve the water quality of the river. The project would focus on extension and replacement of sewerage system (around 360Km) including complete house connection, construction of sewage treatment plants of around 15 million litres per day (mld).The initiative also includes construction of 13 sewage pumping stations. Beside this, the German development agency GIZ has prepared a ‘Ganga Box’ that aimed to target schools-going children and inform them about the river. The concept ‘Ganga book’ was planned on the lines of ‘Danube Book’ when the cleaning of Rhine River was undertaken. The Ganga book would have information mythological, socio-cultural, economic importance about the river and suggestions to avoid pollution, like not dumping plastic in the water body.

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The Government of India (GoI) has signed a $346 million million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Karnataka State Highways lmprovement lll Project (KSHIP-lll). Under KSHIP-III, about 419Kms of state highways will be upgraded to two- and four-lane roads and will involve reconstruction as well as widening and strengthening of bridges and culverts. It will enhance connectivity and access to economic centers across 12 districts in the state. The key element of the project is the use of hybrid annuity contracts to increase participation of private sector and improve quality & sustainibility of road assets with performance based maintenance period of 7 years post construction. The project will also carry out a road safety audit to identify and mitigate critical accident blackspots across the state highway network and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Karnataka Public Works, Ports, and lnland Water Transport Department (IWTD).