Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
Justice Tahira Safdar has been sworn-in as the first woman Chief Justice of Balochistan High Court at a ceremony held at the Governor House in Balochistan. She will remain in this post until 4 October 2019. With this, she became the first female chief justice of any court in the history of Pakistan. Earlier, Safdar created history in 1982 when she became the first female civil judge in Balochistan. Currently, Justice Tahira is a member of the 3-judge special court conducting the trial of former president Pervez Musharraf for committing treason by proclaiming a state of emergency on 3rd November 2007.

Notes:
Sunil Mehta, the MD &chief executive of Punjab National Bank (PNB), has been elected as the new chairman of the Indian Banks Association (IBA) for 2018-19. Apart from him, Dinabandhu Mohapatra, MD & CEO of Bank of India (BoI), has been elected as IBA’s Deputy Chairman. The IBA is a representative body of management of banking in India and has its headquarters in Mumbai.

Notes:
Two Indians, Dr. Bharat Vatwani and Sonam Wangchuk received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2018 on August 31. The award, which is regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize, was established in 1957. The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, in its citation, stated that Wangchuk was recognised for his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community-driven reform of learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life opportunities of Ladakhi youth. Vatwani was recognised for his tremendous courage and healing compassion in embracing India’s mentally-afflicted destitute. Beside them, Youk Chhang from Cambodia, Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz from East Timor, Howard Dee from the Philippines and Vo Thi Hoang Yen from Vietnam are the other winners of the 2018 award.

Notes:
Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee (18) became the first female athlete to be named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at Asian Games after she scooped an unprecedented six gold medals in the Jakarta pool. She also won two silvers. With this, Ikee also became the first female athlete in any sport to win six gold medals at a single Asian Games. Only North Korean shooter So Gin-man, who won 7 golds and a silver at 1982 New Delhi Games, has won more titles at one Asian Games. Beside this, Ikee also became the 4th Japanese athlete to win the MVP award since its inception at the 1998 Bangkok Games.

Notes:
The major Indian ocean-wide tsunami mock exercise (drill) “IOWave18” has started from September 4, which is being organized by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The purpose of the 2-day exercise is to increase tsunami preparedness, evaluate response capabilities in each state and improve coordination throughout the region. It will also enhance tsunami preparedness at the community level. The IOWave18 exercise will simulate Indian Ocean countries being put in a tsunami warning situation and require the National Tsunami Warning Centre (NTWC), i.e., INCOIS in case of India, and the National and Local Disaster Management Offices (NDMO/LDMO) to implement their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). India along with 23 other nations is participating in the tsunami mock exercise that would involve evacuation of thousands of people from coastal areas in over half a dozen states.

Notes:
Anjum Moudgil and Apurvi Chandela became the first set of Indian shooters to secure quota places for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Moudgil finished 2nd on the podium and won a silver in the women’s 10m air rifle event of the ISSF’s World Championship 2018 in Changwon, South Korea on September 3. Chandela finished 4th in the same event. This is the premier tournament of the ISSF and assumes added significance as it is the first Olympic quota event for the Tokyo Games, offering as many as 60 berths across 15 events. Though the two shooters have secured quotas, as per the stated policy, the National Rifle Association of India(NRAI) will take the final call on selection. This will be based on the aggregate scores of shooters leading up to the Olympic Games.

Notes:
Nepal is hosting the International Women Entrepreneurs Summit (IWES) 2018 in Kathmandu with theme “Equality begins with Economic Empowerment” from September 3. The main purpose of the 3-day summit is to bring together achievers, women business leaders, professionals, international service providers, resource organizations, experts, government representatives and other stakeholders with a focus on innovative economic transformation through discussions and collaborations. The delegates from the SAARC, ASEAN, EU, Africa, Arab countries and China participating in the summit. The event is organised by the South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF).

Notes:
Indian Shooter Om Prakash Mitharwal clinched his first gold in the 50m pistol event at the 2018 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships in Changwon, South Korea on September 4. Mitharwal, who won bronze in the 10m air pistol and the 50m pistol events of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, shot a score of 564 to finish on top at ISSF Championships.

Notes:
On September 4, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu launched Coffee Connect – India coffee field force app & Coffee KrishiTharanga – an IVR-based digital mobile extension service for coffee sector which would help farmers increase production and improve quality. The Coffee Connect will gather all information relating to various coffee plantations in the country, such as geographical location, plant material, age, production and machinery available. The solution will help improve the efficiencies of field functionaries, particularly extension workers, in subsidy disbursement and real-time report generation. On the other hand, Coffee KrishiTharanga will provide customized information and services to coffee growers to increase productivity, profitability and environmental sustainability. Beside this, the Ministry also launched pilot projects on data analytics, artificial intelligence, and blockchain to address some of the perennial coffee production and farming issues such as rainfall, pests and diseases.

Notes:
Turkey is hosting the 87th Izmir International tradeshow 2018 in Izmir from September 7th to 11th, in which India is the Partner Country. In this tradeshow, India will also launch a mega business pavilion ‘Source India’ to increase India’s exports to Turkey and other neighbouring countries. Owing to India’s participation as Focus Country status, India’s National Anthem will be played and the National Flag displayed on the screens put up in the show. Special signage will be erected to lead buyers and visitors to the ‘Source India’ pavilion. Source India, with 75 Indian participating companies, is a multi-product pavilion though some of the key potential areas for increasing trade with Turkey are ceramics, cereals and machinery or mechanical appliances.