Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2018

Notes:
Sascha Bajin, coach of the World No.5 five Naomi Osaka, has become the first-ever recepient of the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Coach of the Year award. Bajin was behind the Osaka’s victory in the US Open 2018. She lifted the women’s singles title of US Open 2018 by defeating Serena Williams of US in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Now, Osaka became the first Japanese woman to contest a Grand Slam singles final and the first Japanese Grand Slam singles champion. The WTA Coach of the Year Award is given to the coach with not only success on-court, but also who serves as an ambassador of the sport and brings coaching to the forefront of the game.

Notes:
India has been ranked 11th out 56 nations & the European Union (EU) at the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index (CCPI), which was published by Germanwatch, the NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network. The CCPI analysis shows that India has improved its standing by 3 places compared to the 2018 report. However, the report has warned that coal projects threaten India’s progress on clean energy. The top three ranks have not been acquired by any country because none does well in all categories assessed. But, Sweden has acquired 4th spot, while Morocco spotted at 5th place. The 2019 CCPI was released on the sidelines of 24th Conference of the Parties (COP 24) UN climate summit on global warming in Katowice, Poland. The CCPI is an instrument designed to enhance transparency in international climate politics. Its aim is to put political and social pressure on those countries, which have, up until now, failed to take ambitious action on climate protection. It also aims to highlight those countries with best practice climate policies.

Notes:
Israel has recently become a full member of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global financial watchdog on money laundering, terror financing and other threats to the international financial system. The FATF is empowered to ensure that financing of UN-designated terrorist organisations is blocked. It has the power to publicly name countries not abiding by its norms, making it difficult for such countries to source financial flows internationally. Now, FATF has 38 members, including all five permanent members of the Security Council, and countries with economic influence.

Notes:
In a landmark ruling, the Delhi High Court has ordered a ban on the sale of medicines online by e-pharmacists across India and has directed the Delhi government and the Centre to put the order into effect immediately. The order was passed by a division bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V Kameswar Rao on a petition filed by Dr. Zaheer Ahmed, who sought a ban on “illegal” sale of drugs and medicines online. The PIL expressed concern over the unregulated sales of medicines on the internet. The PIL further stated that the government has failed in its responsibility to protect public health and fulfill its obligation under Article 21 of the constitution by allowing unchecked online sales. It also highlighted that the online sale of medicines is not permitted under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Pharmacy Act, 1948. In 2015, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) clearly instructed state authorities to curb sales of medicines online in order to protect public health, but the practice continued. In some cases, medicines were sold without prescriptions.

Notes:
The National Energy Conservation Day (NECD) is observed every year on 14th December by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under Ministry of Power, with an aim to demonstrate India’s achievements in energy efficiency and conservation, while working for its ambition of holistic development as part of the nation’s overall effort towards climate change mitigation. The day is also meant to raise awareness about the importance of energy & its conservation.

Notes:
In Hockey, Belgium has claimed their first ever World Cup title. They defeated Netherlands 3-2 in a dramatic shoot-out in the final of the 14th edition of Men’s World Cup 2018 at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on December 16. Both the teams, goalless at full time, were at level 2-2 after five penalties. Belgium has won the trophy after 16 years. Earlier, the defending champions Australia secured a consolation bronze medal after mauling England 8-1.

Notes:
Government think-tank NITI Aayog organised the 3rd edition of the Women Transforming India Awards 2018 in collaboration with United Nations, and launched the upgraded portal of the Women Entrepreneurship Platform on December 16. The awards were instituted to recognise and celebrate stories of exemplary women from across India. This year’s theme is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’ and 15 winners have been chosen through an extensive six-month long process to identify fascinating and inspiring stories of women entrepreneurs. The event will include panel discussions. The panellists include entrepreneurs, investors and experts such as Debjani Ghosh, Shivani Wazir Pasrich, Geeta Chandran, Radhika Ghai and Sania Mirza.

Notes:
Industry body Nasscom has collaborated with the IIT-Madras for its FutureSkills Platform that is targeted at re-skilling/upskilling 4 million people from the IT-ITeS industry, students entering the workforce and employees of other industries/government on digital skills. The partnership will be directly with the Sector Skills Council (SSC), which is the education and skill development initiative of Nasscom. The SSC and IIT Madras will work towards building a skills academy and establish a program with extensive courses and training programmes to facilitate skill building in the institution.

Notes:
An international team of astronomers has discovered the most-distant object ever spotted in our solar system. It’s provisional designation is ‘2018 VG18’ & nicknamed as “Farout” for its extremely distant location. The pinkish dwarf planet is more than 100 times farther from the sun than Earth is — and almost four times more distant than Pluto. Farout is about 120 astronomical units (AU), where 1 AU is defined as the distance between the Earth and the Sun. It is discovered by Scott S Sheppard from Carnegie Institution for Science, David Tholen from University of Hawaii, and Chad Trujillo from Northern Arizona University in the US. On 17th Deember 2018, Farour’s discovery was announced by the International Astronomical Union (IAU)’s Minor Planet Center. The second-most-distant observed solar system object is Eris at about 96 AU & Pluto is currently at about 34 AU.

Notes:
Nageswara Rao, a 1986 batch officer of the Odisha cadre, has been appointed the additional Director of Central Bureau Investigation (CBI). Prior to this post, Rao was holding post of interim CBI Director after the government stepped in between Director CBI Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana fight on 24th October 2018. The Centre had sent both top two officers of the CBI – Verma and Asthana – on “compulsory leave” as the spat between them reached the Delhi High Court.