Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
The Bogibeel Bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra River in Assam, which is expected to complete at the end of 2018. Sited about 17 km downstream of Dibrugarh town, the 4.94km bridge will facilitate road and rail connectivity between the north and south banks of the Brahmaputra in the eastern part of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge is 32m above the water level of the Brahmaputra and is fashioned on a bridge that links Sweden and Denmark. It has three lane roads on top and double line rail below. Upon completion, Bogibeel will be the longest rail-cum-road bridge in India and 2nd longest bridge over the Brahmaputra after Dhola-Sadiya Bridge which is a road bridge of length 9.15 km.

Notes:
In the US Open Tennis, Novak Djokovic of Serbia won the Men’s singles final by defeating Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in straight sets. It was Djokovic’s 14th Grand Slam title and the third US Open title. With this win, he has equalled Pete Sampras’s mark of 14 Grand Slams. He is now just three Slams behind Rafael Nadal and six back from the record 20 held by Roger Federer.

Notes:
The Regional Conference on Good Governance with Focus on Aspirational Districts has started in Bhopal on September 10. This Conference is an effort to create a common platform to share experiences in the formulation and implementation of Best Practices in Citizen Centric Governance and improved Public Service Delivery through e-Governance, transparent, accountable and citizen-friendly effective administration. It is organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DAR&PG) in association with Government of Madhya Pradesh. The delegates from 12 States and 2 UTs are participating in the Conference. There will be 5 Technical sessions in the 2-day conference.

Notes:
Naomi Osaka has become the first Japanese player to win a Grand Slam singles title. She lifted the women’s singles title of US Open 2018 by defeating Serena Williams of US in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. The match saw some dramatic scenes at the Grand Slam final after an angry Serena Williams accused the umpire of being a “thief”. Williams was given a game penalty for her outburst, which also followed racquet smashing and another code violation as Osaka kept her focus to become the first Japanese to win a Grand Slam.

Notes:
Triple jumper Arpinder Singh has created history by becoming the first Indian to win a medal in the IAAF Continental Cup as he clinched a bronze with a modest effort of 16.59m at Ostrava in Czech Republic on September 9, 2018. Arpinder was representing the Asia-Pacific team in the meet, which held once every 4 years. No Indian has ever won a medal in the Continental Cup, which was known as the IAAF World Cup before 2010. In the same event, reigning Olympic and world champion Christian Taylor of the United States took the gold with a jump of 17.59m. The IAAF Continental Cup is being competed in 37 events in men and women sections taken together with two top athletes from the four regions of Europe, Americas, Africa and Asia-Pacific taking part in each of them. Earlier, Arpinder clinched gold in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games.

Notes:
Prof. Vijay Shankar Vyas (87), the Padma Bhushan awardee and noted agricultural economist, has passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan on September 12, 2018. He had held several prestigious, professional and leadership positions in national and international organisations. The economist was the director of the IIM Ahmedabad and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of Jaipur. He was also a senior advisor in the World Bank’s agriculture and rural development department. Beside this, Prof. Vyas also remained the vice president of the Rajasthan planning board.

Notes:
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has recently re-commissioned an upgraded version of nuclear research reactor ‘Apsara-U’ with a higher capacity, which was shut down permanently in 2009 for revamp. The indigenously made reactor ‘Apsara-U’ uses plate type dispersion fuel elements made of Low Enriched Uranium (LEU). By virtue of higher neutron flux, this reactor will increase indigenous production or radio-isotopes for medical application by about 50% and would also be extensively used for research in nuclear physics, material science and radiation shielding. This development has re-emphasized the capability of Indian scientists and Engineers to build, complex facilities for health care, science education and research. Apsara was the Asia’s first research reactor that was made operational in Trombay campus of BARC on 4th August 1956. The design of the pool-type reactor using enriched uranium fuel was conceptualised in 1955 by Dr Homi Bhabha himself. The name ‘Apsara’ was coined by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has collaborated with Intel and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) to set up a Model International Center for Transformative Artificial Intelligence (ICTAI). The collaboration aims to bring together fundamental and applied research, innovation and technology development to solve important problems.The ICTAI will work towards developing and deploying artificial intelligence based research projects in critical domains such as health care, agriculture, smart cities and mobility. The initiative is part of NITI Aayog’s National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence discussion paper that focuses on establishing ICTAI through private sector collaboration.

Notes:
The 13th edition of Indo-Mongolian joint military exercise “Nomadic Elephant 2018” has commenced at Mongolian Armed Forces (MAF) Five Hills Training Area in Ullanbaatar on September 10. During the 12 days long exercise, 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 experience on varied topics for mutual benefits. Exercise Nomadic Elephant is an annual, bilateral exercise since 2006 which is designed to strengthen the partnership between Indian Army and Mongolian Armed Forces. The exercise will see them improve their tactical and technical skills in joint counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations in rural and urban scenario under United Nations mandate.

Notes:
On September 11, India, Iran and Afghanistan held their first tripartite meeting in Kabul during which implementation of the Chabahar port project and a host of other issues discussed. The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale while the Iranian team was headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Afghan Deputy Foreign Minister Hekmat Khalil Karzai chaired the meeting. The meeting focused on consolidating economic cooperation, including Chabahar, as well as enhancing cooperation on counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics, and continuing support to the peace and reconciliation process that is led and owned by Afghanistan. As per officials, the three sides agreed to hold the next round of consultation in 2019 at an appropriate time in India.The Chabahar port is being considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries besides ramping up trade among the three countries in the wake of Pakistan denying transit access to New Delhi.