Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
India will host the Women’s Boxing World Championships after more than a decade, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 15-24, 2018. The teams will have to be in the national capital by November 13, with the competition starting two days later. The marquee tournament was last held in India in 2006 and remains the best for the country in terms of performance. India had topped the medal tally with four gold, three silver and one bronze medal.

Notes:
Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the 2018 presidential election of Maldives. He will take office on 17th November 2018, after having defeated President Abdulla Yameen in the election. The Maldives is a key battleground in the rivalry between China and India. Solih’s win presents an opportunity for India to rebuild the traditionally strong ties between the two countries in order to counter China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean region. The Maldives is made up of 26 coral atolls and 1,192 islands. More than 400,000 people live there but its future hangs in the balance due to climate change. Tourism is a vital part of its economy.

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The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has recently constituted a Committee on Prison Reforms chaired by former apex court judge, Justice Amitava Roy, to examine the various problems plaguing prisons in the country. The committee has been asked to recommend steps for the psycho-social well-being of minor children of women prisoners, including their education and health. It would also probe the reasons for violence in prisons and correctional homes and recommend measures to prevent unnatural deaths and assess the availability of medical facilities in prisons and correctional homes and make recommendations. It would assess the availability and inadequacy of staff in prisons and correctional homes, suggest training and educational modules for the staff and assess the feasibility of establishing open prisons. The court asked the committee to complete the collection of data and information and make submit it in a year.

Notes:
India has been ranked 158th among 195 countries in 2016 for investment in health care and education, according to the first-ever scientific study by University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). The study, which is published in the international medical journal The Lancet, ranked countries for their levels of human capital. It highlighted that when a country’s human capital score increases, its economy grows. The Lancet stated that India’s ranking of 158th in 2016 represents an improvement from its 1990 ranking of 162nd. It showed that India is falling behind in terms of health and education of its workforce, which could potentially have long-term negative effects on the Indian economy. The study is based on analysis of data from sources, including government agencies, schools & health care systems. The study claims that these rankings give us an idea about the number of years a worker can be expected to work at peak productivity levels between the ages of 20 and 64 years.

Notes:
In Nepal, the famous Indra Jatra festival 2018 is being celebrated in Kathmandu with gaiety and religious fervor. The 8-day long annual festival is observed to worship Indra, the lord of rain and good harvest. It also marks end of monsoon and beginning of harvest season and festivity. The chariot procession and mask dances are the main attraction of Indra Jatra. On fourth day of festival the chariot procession of living Goddess Kumari, Lord Ganesha and Lord Bhairav began from historic Basantapur Durbar Square on Monday. Nepal’s living Goddess Trishna Shakya made her first public appearance after she was appointed in September 2016. President Bidya Devi Bhandari and thousands of people attended the Jatra celebrations.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded with the UN’s highest environmental honour ‘Champions of the Earth 2018’ for his leadership of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and pledge to eliminate single use plastic in India by 2022. The other winners of the 2018 award include indigenous activist Joan Carling, Food company Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which develops plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy products, and China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme. Beside this, Cochin International Airport has also been honoured with the 2018 award for Entrepreneurial Vision for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy. The awards will be presented during the Champions of the Earth Gala in New York City, on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Notes:
On September 26, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid for filing of IT returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), but struck down some of its provisions including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions. A 5-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that Aadhaar would not be mandatory to link with bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections. The CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory and it is not compulsory for school admissions. The bench struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act. The bench also struck down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act permitting private entities to avail Aadhaar data and ruled that Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than six months. It directed the government not to give Aadhaar to illegal immigrants.

Notes:
The 2nd Global RE-INVEST India-ISA Partnership 2018 will be held in New Delhi from October 3rd to 5th. Over 150 speakers including 55 international speakers from 15 countries and will take part in it. In it, 15 Indian states will also participate. The 2nd Global RE-INVEST will also host the First Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA). As per the Paris Accord on Climate Change (PACC), India made a pledge that by 2030, 40% of the installed power generation capacity should be based on fossil fuel based sources. It is determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022. India today is the world’s largest clean energy market, with exponentially increasing demand and supply and proactive policy support, including 100% foreign investment in renewable energy development. The different sessions of the Re-Invest will be held at India-Expo Mart at Greater Noida.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018 which aims to provide universal broadband connectivity at 50 megabit per second (MBPS) to every citizen. It will also provide one Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022. This estimated speed is much faster than the present speed being provided to Gram Panchayats and will enable fast Internet surfing and download of data. It aims to attract $100 billion investment and create 4 million jobs in the sector by 2022 in the digital communication sector. This will also ensure connectivity to all uncovered areas. The policy advocates establishment of National Digital Grid by creating a National Fibre Authority.

Notes:
For the first time, the Kerala government has decided to create the post of ‘firewomen’ in the Kerala State Fire and Rescue Services in a bid to break gender stereotypes. The purpose of this novel initiative is to ensure gender equality & to enhance the participation of women in various sectors.