Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
Maldives national football team has lifted the 12th edition of men’s South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Cup at the Bangabandhu Stadium in Dhaka on September 15, 2018. In the final, they defeated defending champions India 2-1. The win for Maldives comes 10 years after their first SAFF Cup title in 2008. 7-time champions India had started as favourites in the summit clash. The Indian team, comprising mostly under-23 players, was the only unbeaten side in the tournament.

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India’s first ‘smart fence’ pilot project was launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along the Indo-Pak border at the BSF Headquarters in Ploura, Jammu on September 18, 2018. The purpose of the project is to make security system more strong and effective.The smart fencing uses a number of devices for surveillance, communication and data storage. The pilot project entails deploying laser-activated fences and technology-enabled barriers to plug vulnerable gaps along frontiers. The system provides for round-the-clock surveillance on the border and in different weather conditions be it dust storm, fog or rain. The initiative is part of the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) proposed to be deployed at these two borders by the Government of India (GoI) as part of its decision to completely seal the two borders to stop infiltration and illegal migration.

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On 2018 World Ozone Day (WOD), the Union Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan released a draft India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) and a booklet on ‘Montreal Protocol – India’s Success Story’. With this, India has become the world’s first country to develop such a document (ICAP), which addresses cooling requirement across sectors and lists out actions which can help reduce the cooling demand. This will help in reducing both direct and indirect emissions. The thrust of the ICAP is to look for synergies in actions for securing both environmental and socio-economic benefits. The overarching goal of ICAP is to provide sustainable cooling and thermal comfort for all while securing environmental and socio-economic benefits for the society. The Montreal Protocol is the only environmental treaty, which enjoys universal ratification of 197 UN numbers countries, to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).

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ISRO has recently launched its first Space Technology Incubation Centre at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Agartala via remote from Bengaluru. It was jointly launched by ISRO Chairman Dr. KV Sivan and Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb. The incubation centre was launched at the first edition of ‘Spacetronics’ organised by the India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA). Through such incubation centres, ISRO is looking to incubate start-ups that would build applications; offer services and products that it can use internally and help them scale up so that these firms can exploit opportunities globally. Within the next 6 months, ISRO plans to set up five more space technology incubation centres at Jalandhar in Punjab, Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Nagpur in Maharashtra, Indore in Madhya Pradesh and Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. Each centre will be set up at a cost of Rs 2 crore, and will help the start-ups develop prototypes of components required for space technology, in partnership with the industry. ISRO will also provide the necessary mentorship and guidance to individuals and businesses at the incubation centres.

Notes:
On September 19, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Revised Cost Estimate (RCE) of Dam rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) at the revised cost of Rs 3466 crore with the financial assistance of the World Bank to improve safety and operational performance of 198 Dams. The project aims at comprehensive rehabilitation of 198 existing dam projects located in 7 states of India viz. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. It also aims to ensure safety of downstream population and property that are affected in the case of a dam failure or operational failure. Out of Rs.3,466 crore, Rs.2,628 crore will be funded by the World Bank and Rs.747 crore will be funded by DRIP States / Implementing Agencies (IAs) and balance Rs.91 crore to be funded by Central Water Commission (CWC). The CCEA also gave its ex-post facto approval for two-year time extension from 1st July, 2018 to 30th June, 2020.

Notes:
The joint air tactical exercise “Aviaindra-18” has started between Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Air Force of the Russian Federation at Lipetsk, Russia from September 17 to 28. The second session of Aviaindra 18 would be conducted in Jodhpur, India from December 10 Dec to 22. The aim of the exercise is focused towards anti-terrorist operations in a bi-lateral scenario. The exercise would further enhance the co-operation and understanding each other’s Concept of Operations. In addition to flying exercise, there would be formal interactions, discussions, exchange of ideas and friendly sports matches to enhance bonhomie between the two Air Forces. Exercise Aviaindra is an Air Force level exercise between India and the Russian Federation. First Aviaindra was conducted in 2014 and has been planned as a bi-annual exercise.

Notes:
Indian Cricket Captain Virat Kohli and world champion Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu will honoured with the prestigious 2018 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by President Ram Nath Kovind on 25th September 2018. Chanu was chosen for the prestigious award following her gold medal in 48-kilogram category at the World Championships in 2017. She also bagged the yellow metal in 2018 Commonwealth Games but did not compete at the Asian Games due to injury. Kohli, the world’s top-ranked batsman in both Tests and ODIs as per the ICC rankings, has been in stupendous form in the past three years. Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is among 20 sportspersons picked for the Arjuna Awards. The President will also present the Dronacharya and Dhyan Chand Awards on the same day.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed to the Andhra Pradesh government its plans to establish a drone manufacturing facility in Anantapur district, a cyber security centre in Amaravati, and turn Rajahmundry and Vijayawada airports into asset positioning bases. IAF also plans to set up a major helicopter training facility at Donakonda in Prakasam district. IAF currently has a base at Arakkonam near Chennai, while the Navy has INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.

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India’s first-ever online and centralised National Database on Sexual Offenders (NDSO) has been launched by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on September 20, 2018. With this, India will become the 9th country in the world to maintain such a database. The database will have a record of the name, photographs, address, fingerprint and other details of convicted sexual offenders. It has information about 4.5 lakh sexual offenders. It is an initiative under the National Mission for Safety of Women. The database will be maintained by the National Crime Records Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The database will be made available to law enforcement agencies for various purposes including investigation and employee verification.

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Saudi Arabia will be the third “strategic partner” of the $50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It was announced after Prime Minister Imran Khan returned from his first foreign trip to the cash-rich kingdom. The CPEC is the flagship project of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which aimed at enhancing Beijing’s influence around the world through China-funded infrastructure projects. The CPEC aims to construct and upgrade the transportation network, energy projects, a deep-water port at Gwadar and special economic zones to eventually support Pakistan’s industrial development as a manufacturing hub by 2030.