Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2018

Notes:
Akash Malik from Haryana has become the India’s first silver-medallist in archery at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. He lost a one-sided final to Trenton Cowles of the USA by 0-6 in the men’s recurve final. With this, India concluded the youth Olympics with 13 medals, namely, 3 gold, 9 silver, and one bronze. In it, Jeremy Lalrinnunga won India’s first ever Youth Olympics Gold medal.While Tababi Devi won the first ever youth Olympics medal for India in Judo and later also won a silver in the mixed team event under mixed-NOC. Further, Manu Bhaker became the first Indian girl to win a Youth Olympics Gold medal. Both Boys’ and Girls’ Hockey 5s teams won silver medals in their debut.

Notes:
Canada has officially become the 2nd Country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana nationwide after Uruguay. The Cannabis Act (or Bill C-45) came into force on 17th October 2018. The new regulations aim to protect public health and safety by allowing adults access to legal cannabis and is a social experiment that the rest of the world will be carefully watching. Marijuana is a psychoactive drug from the Cannabis plant intended for medical or recreational use. With this, Canada has also became the the first G7 nation to legalize the drug’s recreational use. It must be noted that the use of medical marijuana has been legal in Canada since 2001. The Group of Seven (G7) is a group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Notes:
The first-ever Indo-Japan joint military exercise “Dharma Guardian- 2018” will be conducted at Counter Insurgency Warfare School, Vairengte from 01 November to 14 November. During the 14 day long exercise, due emphasis will be laid on increasing interoperability between forces from both countries. Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well developed tactical drills for neutralisation of likely threats that may be encountered in urban warfare scenario. Experts from both sides will also hold detailed discussions to share their expertise on varied operational aspects. The exercise will contribute immensely in developing mutual understanding and respect for each other’s militaries and also facilitate tracking the worldwide phenomenon of terrorism.

Notes:
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Nokia Solutions and Networks India Pvt Ltd to leverage Industry 4.0 for manufacturing excellence at Nokia’s Chennai factory. The project also marks India’s first ‘real-world’ application of Industry 4.0 at the Nokia Conscious Factory in Chennai. The Industry 4.0 relies on low-latency, high reliability networks and capabilities in robotics and AI to drive new levels of automation and data exchange in manufacturing industries. This results in improved operational efficiency and reduces costs. In Industry 4.0, machines become smart, share data and includes Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing and others.

Notes:
The book titled “Indian Sports: Conversations and Reflections” has been authored by Vijayan Bala, the veteran commentator and cricket statistican. The book is a compilation of interviews of eminent sports-persons he has conducted since 1971. Bala, who has also been a member of BCCI’s Statistical Committee apart from being an English teacher, has interviewed Olympians like Balbir Singh Senior, Abhinav Bindra, Sushil Kumar, Sakshi Malik, Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore to name a few. Among the cricketers of yesteryears, he has interviewed MAK Pataudi, GR Viswanath, Eknath Solkar while Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand are some of the current day players interviewed by him.

Notes:
On October 17, the 8th edition of the European Congress on SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) has started at Kotawice, Poland with theme “Business-Self-Government Together for Economy”. The SMEs from around 50 countries are participating in the 3-day event. From India, Ms. Alka Arora (Joint Secretary in Ministry of MSME) is leading the delegation of 32 Indian SMEs. In order to fructify the opportunities for Indian SMEs, the Congress will be anopportunity to make direct business relations between European and Indian SMEs. The visiting Indian delegation is also expected to showcase Indian products and services at the Expo in the Indian Pavilion.

Notes:
The first-ever joint maritime exercise will be conducted between ASEAN and China in the South China Sea near the city of Zhanjiang in an effort to reduce tensions in the disputed region. This exercise will provide very good opportunities from the navies of ASEAN and China to work together using the CUES (Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea). Four ASEAN members — Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam — have conflicting claims in the South China Sea with Beijing. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire area, including waters near the shores of smaller countries. Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand are Asean’s other members. The concerns have escalated dramatically in recent years as China started building artificial islands on reefs in disputed waters, and it has also constructed military facilities and airstrips.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of Bihu festival, which is also known as Kati Bihu or Kongali Bihu, was celebrated to bring peace and prosperity in Assam. On the occasion of Kati Bihu, women, both in urban and rural areas, try to ward off evil and pray for a rich harvest by lighting earthen lamps. The festival derives its name from the Assamese month of Kati. This is a much sombre festival when compared to the other two Bihu festivals of the state – the Rongali and Bohagi Bihu. The festival is held at this time of the year since the granaries of the farmers usually remain empty and therefore it is known as Kongali (poor) Bihu. As a part of the festival, farmers also tie a special kind of lamp, known as Akash Bati, to poles and the poles are placed in the paddy fields.

Notes:
The Mumbai cricket team clinched the 2018 Vijay Hazare Trophy after a gap of 11 years with a 4-wicket victory over Delhi at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. It’s their 3rd title. Mumbai last won the trophy way back in 2006-07 when they defeated Rajasthan.

Notes:
Japanese-born Marine biologist Osamu Shimomura (90), who won the 2008 Nobel Prize in chemistry, has passed away in Nagasaki, Japan on 19th October 2018. Shimomura and two American scientists shared the 2008 Nobel prize for the discovery and development of a jellyfish protein (or Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP)) that later contributed to cancer studies. He was born in northern Kyoto in 1928 and studied in Nagasaki, where he survived the Aug. 9, 1945, U.S. atomic bombing at age 16. In 1960, he moved to Princeton University, where he isolated the protein in samples of thousands of jellyfish taken from the U.S. West Coast. The protein known as GFP lets off a glow when it is illuminated with ultraviolet light and has become a key tool in studying biological processes in cells.