Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
According to Mercom India Research, the total installed capacity of solar power generation of India has crossed 25 giga watts (GV). This includes both large-scale and rooftop solar. The utility-scale solar PV projects in India accounts for over 22.5 GW of installed capacity & the rooftop solar projects account for over 2.4 GW as of date. Karnataka is the top solar state of India followed by Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Rajasthan. Mercom India Research forecasts solar installations of approximately 8.3 GW in CY 2018. Out of this, over 5 GW of solar projects have been installed in the first half of the year. Installation rates are forecasted to decline in the second half due to lack of a strong project pipeline. The solar installations in 2019 are also expected to be flat as longer commissioning timeline will push approximately 1.3 GW of large-scale projects from 2019 to 2020.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Nepal is set to become the world’s first country to double its tiger population. On the occasion of 2018 National Conservation Day (NCD), Nepal announced that there are now an estimated 235 wild tigers in the country, nearly doubling the baseline of around 121 tigers in 2009. According to a press release issued by WWF-Nepal, if these trends continue, Nepal could become the first country to double its national tiger population since the launch of ambitious TX2 goal at the St Petersburg Tiger Summit in 2010 to double the world’s wild tiger population by 2022. Nepal conducted its national tiger survey between November 2017 and April 2018 in the trans-boundary Terai Arc Landscape (TAL), a vast area of diverse ecosystems shared with India. The earlier tiger survey in 2013 had estimated the tiger population at 198.

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:
The New Development Bank (NDB) of the BRICS countries has approved a $525-million loan to Madhya Pradesh for infrastructure projects. The loan will be used by the Indian government for on-lending to the Madhya Pradesh government for rehabilitating major district roads with a total length of about 2,000 km to improve the connectivity of the rural interior with the national and state highway networks. The project will improve the road conditions and enhance the transport capacity, which will lead to a less travel time, reduced vehicle-operating cost, reduced emissions and improved road safety. The NDB will also provide a $ 175-million loan to the Madhya Pradesh Bridges Project, under which 350 bridges will be built or upgraded. The NDB was set up by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) nations to promote green and infrastructure projects in the member countries.

Notes:
Recently, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has commissioned a 16 km stretch of elevated metro & hence completed one full stretch of the three corridor Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project. Now, the total stretch of Hyderabad metro will be 46 km. With this, it has become the 2nd largest operational metro rail network in India after the Delhi Metro. The HMR project is also the world’s largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project. The Government spent close to Rs. 3,000 crore for land acquisition, road widening and shift of utilities, while L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) invested more than Rs. 12,000 crore. The construction is underway in two other routes: Corridor Two – Jubilee Bus Station to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (Imlibun)/Falaknuma – 15 km and Corridor Three – Nagole to HiTec City/Raidurg – 28 km. Altogether 72 km of elevated metro line is being built in three dense traffic corridors of the capital.

Notes:
Luka Modric, who led Croatia to their first-ever FIFA World Cup final, was named The Best FIFA Men’s Player at the Best FIFA Football Awards in London. Modric won the Champions League for the third time in a row with his club “Real Madrid” in May 2018 before leading Croatia to the 2018 World Cup final, where they lost 4-2 to France. He is the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi to win the FIFA award since Kaka in 2007. Beside Modric, Brazil and Orlando Pride forward Marta was named the FIFA women’s player of the year for the 6th time but the first time since 2010. France’s Didier Deschamps — whose side beat Modric’s Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final — was named best men’s coach. Mohamed Salah won the Puskas award for the best goal for his effort against Everton in the Premier League at Anfield in December 2017.

Notes:
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.

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:
For the first time in India’s strategic atomic energy sector, the transfer of power at the highest level took place in a foreign country. Kamlesh Nilakanth Vyas, the newly-appointed Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) took charge from incumbent Sekhar Basu in Vienna, Austria on September 20, 2018. Vyas is also the Secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE). Both the top DAE officials were attending the 62nd General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meeting, which was held from September 17-21 at the Agency headquarters in the Austrian capital. As per the notification, Vyas’ term will continue till he attains the age of 64 or up to May 3, 2021. He is the 12th Chairman of the Department created by Homi J Bhabha, the first Chairman, in 1954.