Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s annual data, Mauritius accounted for the largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India in the financial year FY18 followed by Singapore. The data shows that the total India’s FDI stood at $37.36 billion in the FY18, which is a marginal rise over the $36.31 billion recorded in the previous fiscal FY17. The provisional data for the financial year ended March revealed that FDI into the manufacturing sector witnessed a substantial decline to $7.06 billion, as against $11.97 billion in the year-ago period. However, FDI into communication services rose to $8.8 billion in 2017-18 as compared to $5.8 billion. The inflows into retail and wholesale trade also shot up to $4.47 billion as against $2.77 billion, while financial services sector too witnessed a rise in inflows to $4.07 billion from $3.73 billion in the previous year.

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:
The US researchers have developed a wearable device that could generate energy from the swing of an arm while walking or jogging. The device, about the size of a wristwatch, produces enough power to run a personal health monitoring system. The prototype watch is apparently made from a crystal material, which can produce an electric current when compressed or can change shape when an electric charge is applied. This is called the “piezoelectric effect” and is used in ultrasound and sonar devices, as well as energy harvesting. The researchers used a well-known piezoelectric material ‘PZT’ and coated it on both sides of a flexible metal foil to a thickness four or five times greater than in previous devices. The compressive stresses that are created in the film as it is grown on the flexible metal foils also mean that the PZT films can sustain high strains without cracking, making for more robust devices. The researchers behind the device come from Pennsylvania State University’s Materials Research Institute and the University of Utah. The research was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.

Notes:
India will host its first-ever official FIBA 3×3 World Tour Masters 2018 in Hyderabad, which is scheduled to be held from September 22. It is one of the most prestigious basketball tournaments in the world. The Hyderabad Masters will see participation from the leading international 3×3 teams and top two Indian 3BL teams – Delhi 3BL & Bangalore 3BL. The qualification for the Indian teams was decided on the basis of the results of the inaugural season of 3×3 Pro Basketball League (3BL) which was held from June 9 to August 26 across six cities in India. Hyderabad Masters is the 7th stage of the FIBA 3×3 World Tour and is the first time an international 3×3 basketball tournament is being played in India. The participating teams will compete for a chance to qualify for the FIBA 3×3 World Tour Bloomage Beijing Final on October 27-28.

Notes:
Aurora Prize Laureate Kyaw Hla Aung, a noted lawyer and activist from Myanmar, has recently announced to donate his $1 million award money towards humanitarian relief work among Rohingya refugees. He was given the 2018 award for his fight against injustice and advocating on behalf of the Rohingya people. The money will be distributed among three international organisations — Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) and MERCY Malaysia — who are providing medical aid and assistance to Rohingya refugees across South East Asia. This initiative will benefit around 3,75,000 Rohingya refugees.

Notes:
The Indo-Kazakhstan joint Army exercise ‘KAZIND 2018’ will be conducted between the Indian and Kazakhstan Army from 10 to 23 Sep 2018 in Otar region, Kazakhstan. This is the 3rd joint military exercise between the two countries which have a history of extensive cooperation in the defense arena. The aim of the 14-days exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army to Army relations and exchange skills and experiences between Kazakhstan Army and the Indian Army. The exercise will also serve as a platform for exchange of drills and procedures. The conduct of the joint exercise will set the stage for greater defence cooperation and consequently will manifest in stronger ties between the two great nations.

Notes:
Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh from India has been unanimously re-elected as Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia for another 5-year term beginning February 2019. The elections were held at the ongoing 71st regional committee meeting of WHO South-East Asia in New Delhi. In her ongoing first term as Regional Director, four countries in the Region have eliminated measles and six have controlled rubella. The South-East Asia Region, which is certified polio free in 2014, continues to maintain this status. The maternal mortality rates in the Region have reduced by 69%. Among neglected tropical diseases, India eliminated yaws, Nepal eliminated trachoma, while Maldives, Sri Lanka and Thailand have eliminated lymphatic filariasis. Two countries – Maldives and Sri Lanka – have eliminated malaria. All countries are implementing national action plans to combat anti-microbial resistance. Dr Singh is the first woman to have been elected to the position of Regional Director for WHO South-East Asia Region after an illustrious career in the Indian civil service, World Bank and WHO.

Notes:
At the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Indian athlete Govindan Lakshamanan won bronze but was later stripped as he was disqualified for lane infringement. Though, Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore has recently rewarded Lakshamanan with Rs 10 lakh and acknowledged the long distance runner’s performance in the 10,000m race in which he was dramatically disqualified after finishing third. He had stepped off the track momentarily, as he was hit by the spike of another athlete. The Indian team protested against the disqualification at two levels but it was turned down.

Notes:
The 3-day Defence & Homeland Security Expo and Conference – 2018 has started in New Delhi to enable nation become self-reliant in Home Land Security (HLS) & defence sector. It is being organized for the first time to make leading policy makers and luminaries from diverse defence segments take part with special focus on MSMEs in defense production and procurement. It was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on September 6, which was organized by PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in association with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). The expo is cutting across various industries vis-a-vis surveillance, cyber security, bulletproof jackets, robots, drones, hi-tech equipment including livelihood items, research and development and police modernization.

Notes:
Burt Reynolds (82), the veteran Hollywood actor, has passed away in Florida, United States on September 6, 2018. Reynolds received an Oscar nomination when he portrayed porn director Jack Horner in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights (1997) and was the No. 1 box-office attraction for a five-year stretch starting in the late 1970s. He was known for his work in 1970-80s films, ‘Deliverance’, ‘The Longest Yard’ and ‘Smokey and the Bandit’.