Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
The International Day of Sign Languages (IDSL) is observed every year on September 23 along with International Week of the Deaf. It highlights the importance of sign language in the full realization of the human rights of people who are deaf. It is the first ever IDSL, which was officially adopted at the 72nd United Nations General Assembly in December 2017. The 2018 theme “With Sign Language, Everyone is Included!” recognizes the importance of preserving sign languages as part of linguistic and cultural diversity. It also emphasizes the principle of “nothing about us without us” in terms of working with deaf communities.

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The IIT Kharagpur has developed a community supported supply of purified drinking water project at Porapara in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. Dr Somnath Ghosal of the Rural Development Centre of IIT KGP has installed a fully-automated multi-filtered UV treated drinking water facility which can provide close to 1000 litres of purified drinking water to 60 families every day at Rs one per family. The land was freely provided by a villager & on it, IIT KGP build the infrastructure and funded the entire project. The entire operation of the unit, its upkeep and daily management, are being done by the villagers who have formed 3 committees to manage the operations. It is an “install and self-operate” arrangement in which the current and future financial needs are to be met by the villagers from the fund collected in the form of the daily payment for water. Dr. Ghosal has recently filed for a patent for the technology used in Porapara.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed a cooperation agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support the humanitarian response plan in Yemen, Myanmar and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), in addition to support ICRC’s budget, totaling 11 million. Under the agreement, the UAE will provide the ICRC with 6 million to support health centres, water and sanitation facilities in Yemen, 1 million to support the Organisation’s humanitarian efforts in Myanmar, 1 million to support humanitarian efforts in DRC, in addition to $3 million to support general programmes. The agreement also includes support to health centres, water and rehabilitation of sanitation structures and meeting basic needs of those affected, as well as assisting disabled persons through the provision of physical rehabilitation services. The UAE is a member of the donor support group of the ICRC.

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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.

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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).

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The Japanese space agency JAXA has made history by successfully landing two robotic rovers on the surface of an asteroid Ryugu. The rovers are collectively known as MINERVA-II1 (MIcro Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid, the second generation), which were separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on 21st September 2018 . The space agency reported that the small compact MINERVA-II1 is the world’s first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid. This is also the first time for autonomous movement and picture capture on an asteroid surface. Therefore, MINERVA-II1 is the world’s first man-made object to explore movement on an asteroid surface. Asteroids are believed to have rich information about the formation of the solar system billions of years ago. The third rover called MASCOT will be launched from Hayabusa2 in early October 2018. If successful, MASCOT will be the world’s first sample return mission to a C-type asteroid.

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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.

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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.

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The World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed every year on September 27 to raise awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The 2018 theme is “Tourism and the Digital Transformation”. The 2018 WTD is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the potential contribution of digital technologies to sustainable tourism development, while providing a platform for investment, partnerships and collaboration towards a more responsible and inclusive tourism sector.

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In Madhya Pradesh, India’s first corn festival is being held in Chhindwara from September 29 to bring together researchers, industrialists, farmers and other stakeholders from across the country to explore the unrealized potential of the city in becoming a hub for corn based industries. The 2-days festival is one of a kind international event. Chhindwara is the largest corn producing district in Madhya Pradesh with productivity of 5200Kg per hectare. In 2017-2018, the production is 12 lac ton corn from 2,60,000 hectare – highest in the state. Chhindwara is very well connected with Nagpur (130 km) and Wardha dry port (175 Km) via national and state highways. Hence, the city is best suited for developing Corn based industries. Corn (also known as Maize) has become a major industrial crop owing to its use in plethora of industries. The corn-based plastic is considered a bioplastic because it is made from plant materials.