Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has commissioned indigenously built patrol vessel ‘Vijaya’ in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is capable of carrying limited pollution response equipment to contain oil spill in sea. The 98-metre Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPV) was designed and built by Larsen & Toubro India at Kattupalli shipyard and is fitted with advanced navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery. The ship is designed to carry one twin engine helicopter and four high speed boats, including two inflatable boats for boarding, search and rescue, law enforcement and maritime patrol operations. The vessel is fitted with a 30 mm gun and will be fitted with a 12.7 mm gun with a Fire Control System (FCS). It will be based at Paradip Port, Odisha and be deployed in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for surveillance and other duties.

Notes:
India’s first underwater robotic drone “EyeROV TUNA” was launched and handed over to Kochi-based DRDO lab “Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL)”. The drone can send real-time videos of ships and other underwater structures to help with their repair and maintenance. It will be used by NPOL for research and development activities which in turn would result in a commercial product for defence purposes. The robotic drone can be navigated up to a depth of 50 meters to take real-time HD video images to examine ship hulls or undersea cables or bridge moorings and can eliminate the need for costlier and riskier manual inspection by divers. The first commercial Remotedly Operated Vehicle (ROV)/underwater drone “EYEROVTUNA” was developed by EyeROV Technologies, a company incubating at the Kalamassery-based Maker Village which is said to be the largest hardware incubator in the country.

Notes:
The International Day of Democracy is observed every year on September 15 to highlight the values of freedom and respect for human rights as essential elements of democracy. It is an opportunity to look for ways to invigorate democracy and seek answers to the systemic challenges it faces. This includes tackling economic and political inequalities, making democracies more inclusive by bringing the young and marginalized into the political system, and making democracies more innovative and responsive to emerging challenges such as migration and climate change. The 2018 theme is “Democracy under Strain: Solutions for a Changing World”.

Notes:
Dr. Subramanya Jaishankar, the former foreign secretary of India, has joined the board of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF). Currently, he is the president of Global Corporate Affairs for the Tata Group. USISPF is a forum founded with the objective of promoting a strategic relationship between the US and India, and finding common ground on important issues facing businesses in both countries. The headquarters of USISPF is located at Washington.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of the Nepal-China joint military exercise “Mt Everest Friendship Exercise (or Sagarmatha Friendship-2018” has started at Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan Province, from September 17. The aim of the 10-day exercise is to share expertise in disaster management and to fight terrorism, among others. This will reduce Nepal’s dependence on India and allow China to get a firmer foothold in the sub-continental drama. This comes at a time when Nepal refuses to participate in the first-ever BIMSTEC military exercise “MILEX-18”, which has started in India from September 10.

Notes:
The West Bengal government has rolled out a scheme “Swayangsiddha” in different districts of the state to combat human trafficking. The aim of the scheme is to empower young boys and girls to make informed choices so that they are less vulnerable to trafficking and child marriage. Swayangsiddha, which means self-reliance, will be executed by the West Bengal Police. As the per the NCRB data West Bengal has highest recorded case of trafficking among the States.

Notes:
Anushka Sharma has been bestowed with the prestigious Smita Patil Memorial Award 2018 at the 34th edition of Priyadarshni Academy’s Global Awards in Mumbai, Maharashtra on September 19. The Priyadarshni Academy is a non-profit, socio-cultural and educational organization.

Notes:
India has decided to place four more reactors under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Accordingly, two Russian-designed Pressurised Light Water Reactors and two Pressurised Heavy Reactors being built with Indian technology will be covered. With this, a total of 26 Indian nuclear facilities will be under the international nuclear energy watchdog IAEA. This was stated by Sekhar Basu, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, at the 62nd General Conference of IAEA Vienna, Austria, on 19th September 2018.

Notes:
All-women crew of INSV Tarini has bagged the prestigious Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award for beating the odds in water with their enduring skills and sailing across the world for 8 long months. The award ceremony will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan on September 25. The award is the highest national recognition for outstanding achievements in the field of adventure on land, sea and air. The women Navy officers had spent as many as 194 days at sea as part of a mission under the Navika Sagar Parikrama project that began in September 2017. The crew was also bestowed with Nav Sena Medal on the occasion of 72nd Independence Day. The team had arrived in Panaji, Goa on May 21 after successfully circumnavigating the globe for 8 months. They also set a record by becoming the first-ever all-women crew to complete circumnavigation. The INSV Tarini team, led by Lt. Commander Vartika Joshi, is comprised Lt. P. Swathi, Lt. Pratibha Jamwal, Lt. Vijaya Devi, Sub Lt. Payal Gupta and Lt. B Aishwarya.

Notes:
Dolagobinda Pradhan (93), the veteran freedom fighter and former Odisha Minister, has passed away in Bhubaneswar on September 17, 2018. Born on 7th June 1929 in Dihasahi of Cuttack, he was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals, he had left school in 1942 and joined the Quit India movement. In it, he got imprisoned by the then British government for 3 years and two months. Pradhan, who was elected to the state Assembly twice from Cuttack Sadar constituency in 1980 and 1990, was a minister from 1989 to 1990.