Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
Bajrang Punia won gold in the 65 Kilogram category at Tbilisi Grand Prix Wrestling tournament. In the 65kg final of the men’s free style competition, Punia prevailed 2-0 over Iran’s Peiman Bibyani in the capital city of Georgia. It is 4th gold of the season for the Asian Games champion Bajrang after standing atop the podium at Dan Kolov, Asian Championship and Ali Aliev tournament.

Notes:
In Badminton, Sourabh Verma from Madhya Pradesh clinched the Men’s Singles title in the 2019 Hyderabad Open championship at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium. He defeated Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 21-13, 14-21, 21-16 in the thrilling summit clash that lasted 52 minutes. Earlier, in May 2019, Sourabh had won the Slovenian International title. He had also won two Super 100 titles at the Dutch Open and Russian Open last year.

Notes:
The Indian Army has launched “Mission Reach Out” in Jammu to ensure availability of basic necessities & essential services in the region post the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Regarding to this issue, a high level “Mission Reach Out” conference was held in the Nagrota Military Station to review the prevalent situation in the region. It was chaired by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh. The numerous initiatives undertaken by the Army under ‘Mission Reach Out’ are as follows: mobile medical care units with essential medicines and lady medical officers (wherever necessary), providing water in locations where the supply was disrupted, provision of essentials (including rations), assistance in transportation of patients to hospitals, facilitating people to speak to their near and dear ones through Army exchange and creating a safe environment for ATMs, banks and hospitals to function.

Notes:
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Indian Railways has launched a special drive code named ‘Operation Number Plate’ to ensure safety of passengers. The purpose of the special drive is to identify vehicles parked in the premises of Indian Railways and at several ‘No Parking’ zones for beyond the stipulated time or longer duration.

Notes:
The World Elephant Day (WED) is observed every year on 12th of August to raise awareness of the worsening plight of Asian and African elephants. The day also observed to bring the world together to help protect & honour these gentle giants and to spread awareness about the critical threats they are facing. Elephant is also the National Heritage Animal of India. However, the state of this majestic animal is becoming pitiable due to man’s conflict with the wild. African elephants are listed as “Vulnerable” and Asian elephants as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their numbers are dwindling as poachers target them for their ivory. Habitat loss is another reason for their dwindling numbers.

Notes:
The High Level Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), headed by Corporate Affairs Secretary Injeti Srinivas, has recently submitted its report to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The main recommendations include making CSR expenditure tax deductible, allowing the carry-forward of unspent balance for a period of 3-5 years, and aligning Schedule 7 of the Companies Act (which outlines the kinds of activities that qualify as CSR) with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Committee has also recommended that companies having CSR-prescribed amount below Rs 50 lakh may be exempted from constituting a CSR Committee. It also suggested that violation of CSR compliance may be made a civil offence and shifted to the penalty regime.

Notes:
Wrestler Deepak Punia has won gold in men’s 86-kg freestyle bout at the World Junior Wrestling Championships after beating Russia’s Alik Shebzukhov in the final at Tallinn, Estonia. With this, Punia has become the first Indian to win gold at the junior World Championship after 18 years. Earlier, Ramesh Gulia (69 kg) and Palwinder Singh Cheema (130 kg) had won international gold medals at the junior circuit in 2001.

Notes:
Madan Mani Dixit (96), a pioneering writer and Journalist, has passed away in Kathmandu on 15th August 2019. He was fondly known as ‘maadsaap’ by his contemporaries and friends. Some of his famous works include Meri Nilima, Bhumisukt, Rig Veda dnd the short story, Kasle jityo kasle haryo?. He was awarded the prestigious Madan Puraskar of Nepal for his literary masterpiece “Madhavi”. Dixit is also acknowledged as the first photojournalist of Nepal.

Notes:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has recently finalized the India’s first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) that recommends that at least 159 tests should be made available for patients in even basic government health facilities. The list aims to bridge the current regulatory system’s gap that do not cover all the medical devices and In-Vitro Diagnostic device (IVD). The current system is equipped to manage only the few notified devices. With this, India has become the first country to compile such a list that would provide guidance to the government for deciding the kind of diagnostic tests that different healthcare facilities in villages and remote areas require. The list is meant for facilities from village till the district level. The list also encompasses tests relevant for new programmes such as Health and Wellness Centres (HWCs) under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. In India, diagnostics (medical devices and in-vitro diagnostics) follow a regulatory framework based on the drug regulations under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules 1945. Diagnostics are regulated under the regulatory provisions of the Medical Device Rules, 2017.

Notes:
Dr. Jagannath Mishra (82), the 3-times former chief minister of Bihar, has passed away in Delhi on August 19, 2019. He was known for sharp political acumen and bold decision-making, which he demonstrated during the peak of his career. Mishra was the last Congress chief minister of Bihar between December 1989 and March 1990. He also served as a Union minister in the P V Narasimha Rao cabinet. He was one of the most powerful leaders of the state in pre-Mandal politics who brought the infamous ‘Press Bill’ to curtail the freedom of the press. Currently, he was a member of Bhartiya Jan Congress (Rashtriya).