Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
India and France has recently signed an agreement to collaborate on ISRO’s first human spaceflight programme “Gaganyaan”. It was announcement by French space agency president Jean-Yves Le Gall at the 6th edition of the Bengaluru Space Expo. The first step under the MoU is to exchange specialists to work on (space) medicine. The ambit of the cooperation includes giving ISRO access to space hospital facilities in France and combining expertise of the two space agencies in fields of space medicine, astronaut health monitoring, life support, radiation protection, space debris protection and personal hygiene system. The two space agencies also plan to work on Mars, Venus and asteroids. The aim of the Gaganyaan mission is to send a 3-member crew to space for a period of 5 to 7 days by 2022. Its objectives are to inspire youth, increase science and technology levels in the country, improve industrial growth, develop technology for social benefits, etc.

Notes:
The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu will address the 2nd World Hindu Congress (WHC) 2018, which is scheduled to be held in Chicago, United States on September 7 to 9. Apart from addressing the congress, Mr. Naidu will also participate in a programme organized by 14 Telugu Associations of the US at Hindu Temple of Greater Chicago. He will also participate in bilateral discussions with several world leaders, who are attending this event, on the sidelines of this Congress. The WHC is a global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another, and impact the common good. It offers Hindus an opportunity to introspect towards improvement and tap into their collective resources to seek tangible solutions to the most pressing issues of this age. The global event also marks the commemoration of 125th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Historic Speech at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in 1893.

Notes:
In the first round of the ‘two-plus-two dialogue’ in New Delhi, India and the United States signed military communications pact “COMCASA” , which will give India access to advanced new defence systems like armed drones and will enable the Indian armed forces to exploit existing US-origin platforms much more efficiently. COMCASA is an India-specific version of the Communication and Information on Security Memorandum of Agreement (CISMOA). It comes into force immediately & is valid for a period 10 years. The term “COMCASA” stands for Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) and is one of the four foundational agreements that the U.S. signs with allies and close partners to facilitate interoperability between militaries and sale of high end technology. COMCASA allows India to procure transfer specialised equipment for encrypted communications for US origin military platforms like the C-17, C-130 and P-8Is.

Notes:
On September 6, the Odisha Assembly has passed a resolution for establishing Legislative Council ( Vidhan Parishad or second House of legislature). As per the resolution, the proposed Council will function similar to the Rajya Sabha in Parliament and will have 49 members. In every two years, one-third member of the Legislative Council will retire. Now, the resolution will be sent to the Centre for approval of Parliament to facilitate creation of the Legislative Council. And, then, President’s nod will be require for creation of a Legislative Council in Odisha. Under Article 169, a Legislative Council can be formed “if the Legislative Assembly of the State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of the Assembly and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the Assembly present and voting”. Parliament can then pass a law to this effect. Currently, 7 states have Legislative Councils – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, J&K, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Telangana and UP.

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 researchers at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Bhopal have developed cheaper and more flexible organic solar cells using a synthetic derivative of vitamin B12. An organic solar cell is made up of acceptor and donor materials. The donor absorbs light from solar radiation and the harvested energy is passed to the electrodes with the help of the acceptor. In the present study, the researchers synthesized the donor using an artificial aromatic chemical (corrole) which has a similar structure to the corrin ring in vitamin B12. The artificially synthesised corrole (Cor-BODIPY) absorbs light much like porphyrin in natural chlorophyll. Currently, corroles are used as sensors, catalysts and in biomedical imaging. This is the first study wherein a corrole has been utilised for a bulk heterojunction solar cell as a donor material.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force has successfully carried out the first-ever mid-air refuelling of the indigenously build fighter aircraft Tejas MK 1 with an IL-78 MKI tanker of the 78 Sqn. The feat was achieved when 1,900 kg of fuel was transferred from the mid-air refuelling Russian-built tanker IL78 to the Tejas LSP8 at an altitude of 20,000 feet. The tanker aircraft was launched from Agra, while the fighter was launched from Gwalior. The specially modified Tejas aircraft carried out a series of test profiles including a ‘Dry Contact’ with the tanker. The IAF IL78, piloted by Wing Commander Siddarth Singh, accomplished the task with designers from HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) closely monitoring system parameters from the ground station at Gwalior. With this first trial, the aircraft gets much closer to the important battle-ready tag, called the FOC or the final operational clearance. Beside this, India has also joined an elite group of countries having air-to-air refuelling capacity for military planes.

Notes:
Software major Infosys has recently signed a 3-year partnership with the Australian Open as its official digital innovation partner. The partnership is about creating new ways of experiencing the Australian Open. As per agreement, Infosys will leverage its expertise in emerging technologies like Big Data and Analytics, Artificial Intelligence as well as Virtual and Augmented Reality, to provide unique, innovative and engaging experiences for fans. However, the financial details of the deal were, not disclosed. Tennis Australia is the governing body of tennis in Australia, promoting and facilitating participation the sport at all levels, as well as conducting national and international tournaments and events.

Notes:
The first-ever joint military exercise of BIMSTEC, named MILEX-18, has started at Aundh Military Station in Pune from September 10 to enhance cooperation in dealing with the challenge of terrorism in the region. The aim of the week-long anti-terror exercise is to boost inter-operability among the forces and exchanging best practices to contain terror related activities. The exercise will include training in search-and-cordon operations and handling and neutralisation of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) among other things. The militaries of BIMSTEC member nations barring Nepal are participating in the exercise. The BIMSTEC is a regional grouping comprising Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. The grouping accounts for 22% of the global population & has a combined gross domestic product of USD 2.8 trillion.

Notes:
The 2018 Global Summit on Climate Action will be held at San Francisco in California, United States from September 12 to 14, 2018. The summit is a platform that brings together several decision makers and officials, as well as people, from around the world to discuss proposals for future action on climate change. It will serve as a starting point for broader and more effective global commitments, to reduce the impacts of climate change and achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement. It will also promote climate action in five key areas: Healthy Energy Systems, Inclusive Economic Growth, Sustainable Communities, Land and Ocean Stewardship and Transformative Climate Investments. The Summit will culminate in a call to action to nations to step up their ambition under the Paris Agreement, and cut emissions on a science-based trajectory that limits warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius.