Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2018

Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has recently announced a new initiative ‘PEETHA’ to create awareness about various government schemes and improve transparency. It also aims at improving transparency in the distribution of individual and social benefits. The acronym ‘PEETHA’ stands for Peoples Empowerment Enabling Transparency and Accountability. The PEETHA is a sub-scheme of the state government’s flagship Ama Gaon Ama Bikas yojana. As part of the initiative, camps will be organised at gram panchayat level from 15th to 20th of each month, beginning from December 2018. Every month the best panchayat in each Block will be given Rs 5 lakh for organising PEETHA. Upon completion of the camps, the best panchayats in each district will be awarded at the district Level. Similarly, panchayats, blocks and best districts will be awarded with special funds at the state level.

Notes:
On December 5, India Water Impact Summit (IWIS-2018) has been inaugurated by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi. The discussions this year will be on the rejuvenation of the Ganga River Basin. Here, the spotlight will be on 5 states viz. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Delhi and Bihar, to showcase the efforts and works going on within the respective states. The 2018 Summit also introduced the inaugural Ganga Financing Forum (GFF) that will bring a number of institutions to a common knowledge, information and partnership platform. The 3-days summit is jointly organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga). The Summit is an annual event where stakeholders will discuss and develop model solutions for some of the biggest water-related problems in the country. Nearly 200 domestic and international participants from nearly 15 countries are participating in the summit.

Notes:
Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian has been appointed the new Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) for a period of three years. The post of CEA had been lying vacant since Arvind Subramanaian left the finance ministry after a four-year stint. Dr Krishnamurthy is currently working as an Associate Professor and the executive director at the Indian School of Business (IBS), Hyderabad. The CEA is the ex-officio cadre controlling authority of the Indian Economic Service (IES) & is under the direct charge of the Minister of Finance.

Notes:
On October 8, Rookie Madhya Pradesh opener Ajay Rohera has created world record for highest first-class score on debut. He scored 267 not out against Hyderabad in their Ranji Trophy Elite Group-B Cricket in Indore. The record was earlier held by former Mumbai stalwart Amol Muzumdar, who had hit 260 versus Haryana at Faridabad in 1994. Beside this, Rohera also became the highest individual scorer for Madhya Pradesh surpassing JP Yadav’s 265.

Notes:
Prathamesh Maulingkar from India has created history by becoming the first Asian/Indian to win 2018 Mister Supranational title in a competition held in in Krynica-Zdroj, Poland. He defeated 37 contestants from all over the world in the final round to win the coveted title. At the same pageant, Mister Supranational Poland was adjudged first runner-up, Mister Supranational Brazil was adjudged second runner-up and Mister Supranational Thailand was announced as the third runner-up.

Notes:
IIT Kharagpur has won the DSCI Excellence Award 2018 for cyber security education by Data Security Council of India (DSCI), an industry body on data protection set up up by NASSCOM. The institute was awarded for its focused curricula and research work in cryptography, hardware security, cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT) security, and network security. A number of research ventures led by Professor Debdeep Mukhopadhyay at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at IIT Kharagpur were primarily considered for this award. Some of the ventures include the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)-funded projects on developing lightweight protocols for authenticating IoT nodes, IC reverse engineering and trojan detection and the DST-funded ‘Swarnajayanti’ project on secure authentication protocols for smart grids.

Notes:
On December 7, the 2nd edition of Military Literature Festival (MLF) 2018 was held in Chandigarh with an aim to offer an opportunity for the younger generation to get acquainted with India’s glorious military heritage. It also brought a host of cultural activities, food cuisines and competitions to the public. Besides, marshal dances, weapons display, medallion gallery, artists’ corner, cultural activities and exhibitions, food and cuisine, book fair, children’s Saragarhi Samvadh are amongst other activities to reverberate the minds of participants and visitors with tales of India’s soldiers during the three-day event. The fest was also dedicated to the valour of over 74,000 Indians who had laid down their lives in World War I. This year also marks the centenary of the Great War of 1914-1918. The fest was a joint initiative of military historian and Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore.

Notes:
Dr. Rajanish Giri, an assistant professor at IIT Mandi, has been awarded the DBT Innovative Young Biotechnologist Award (IYBA) 2018. Dr. Giri is selected for his proposed innovative idea on Zika virus Capsid Folding and inhibitor discovery. Additionally, he has proven expertise on understanding and solving the fundamental problems of protein folding in various structured and Intrinsically Disordered Proteins. He was selected by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of Ministry of Science and Technology. Additionally, under the supervision of Dr. Giri, a PhD Scholar ‘Nitin Sharma from IIT Mandi’ received ‘Newton Bhabha Doctoral Placement Grant.

Notes:
On December 10, the Tamil Nadu government launched a 24-hour helpline ‘181’ for women facing domestic violence and sexual harassment at home or workplaces. Through this initiative, they can contact the toll-free helpline to get assistance ranging from police help, legal aid or medical services including ambulance. The service will be available round-the-clock on all days of the week. • Apart from offering authorities aid to victims of domestic violence, the helpline would assist ladies in receiving information on welfare schemes aimed at their advantage. The helpline initiative has been made at a expense of Rs 62.70 lakh.

Notes:
The Steel Authority of India (SAIL)’s Hockey Academy (SHA) has clinched the 115th All India Aga Khan Gold Cup hockey tournament 2018 by defeating the Army XI Danapur in the final by 2-1 at Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium in New Delhi. Aga Khan Gold Cup is one of the oldest hockey tournaments in the country.