Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
The World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is held every year on 19 August to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service, and to rally support for people affected by crises around the world. The 2019 WHD campaign – #WomenHumanitarians –honour the work of women in crises throughout the world. This year’s focus salutes the efforts of women humanitarian workers across the world who rally to people in need and are often the first to respond and the last to leave.

Notes:
The Odisha Wetland Authority has recently approved implementation of an integrated management plan for Chilika (India’s largest brackish water lagoon), and Ansupa (State’s largest freshwater lake). The plan for Chilika & Ansupa will cost Rs 180 crore. The 5-year management of lakes is intended at strengthening livelihood of thousands of fishermen relying on the two water-bodies. Chilika is spread over 1,100 sq km and lakhs of tourists visit the lake to watch endangered Irrawaddy dolphins and migratory birds during winter. While Ansupa is famous for its sweet water fish, especially for labeo bata locally known as pohala. It is spread over almost 2 sq km & is also the wintering ground for 32 species of migratory birds. Its calmness, scenic beauty and forest coverage behold the visitors.

Notes:
The task force, headed by CBDT member Akhilesh Ranjan, constituted by the Union government for drafting the new Direct Tax Code (DTC) has recently submitted its report to Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman. The task force was constituted to replace the 6-decades-old Income Tax Act 1961. It is believed that the task force has suggested changes in the slab for personal income tax & corporate tax. At present, the personal income tax structure has 3 categories — for people below the age of 60, for people above the age of 60 but less than 80, and the third for people of 80 years and above. Currently, companies with turnover up to Rs 400 crore attract tax at the rate of 25%. This covers 99.3% of all the companies registered. Now, the report is expected to be placed in Parliament as a part of Union Budget 2020-21.

Notes:
On 21st August 2019, the Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the world’s biggest teacher training programme – , NISHTHA – in New Delhi under which more than 42 lakh teachers will be trained across the country. The acronym ‘NISHTHA’ stands for ‘National Initiative for School Head’s and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement’. The purpose of the integrated programme is to build the capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of the school at the elementary level in all government schools, faculty members of states councils of Educational Research and Training and other educational departments. The integrated training will motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students, handle diverse situations and act as first-level counsellors.

Notes:
Nepal is planning to hold SAARC Foreign Ministers’ informal meet on the sidelines of the 74th UN General Assembly (UNGA) session in September 2019. The 18th SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu in 2014 and Pakistan was to host the next summit in 2016. But, the summit was cancelled after India boycotted the meeting, in the wake of the terror attack at a military base in Uri in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), which killed 19 soldiers. Other countries viz. Bangladesh, Bhutan and Afghanistan, also walked out following India’s decision to exit the summit to step up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan. India also declared that it will participate only if Pakistan took steps to tackle terrorism.

Notes:
By using sugar, sulphuric acid and salt, the researchers of IIT Hyderabad have developed a cheap and efficient nano-carbon catalyst to help in the production of biofuel precursors. The catalyst showed better efficiency and selectivity than the commercially available variants to produce the desired C15 oxygenated hydrocarbon — a precursor to diesel and jet fuel. This development is important as States like Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh /Telengana produce a large amount of corncob waste in the country. This can be converted into valuable fuel instead of being burnt. The nano-carbon catalyst developed by the institute can enable conversion into biofuel (fuel from biological sources rather than fossil fuels) and provide an additional earning opportunity for the corn farmer, besides being a sustainable energy source.

Notes:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has extended title sponsor rights to Paytm for the Indian cricket team’s international and domestic matches with a winning bid of Rs 3.80 crore per match for the 4-year cycle commencing October, 2019. Over the next 4 years, India is set to host at least 86 international men’s matches in bilateral series & BCCI is thrilled with the 57% hike in sponsorship amount. Besides men’s international cricket, BCCI offers extension of sponsorship rights to domestic cricket and women’s international games at no additional cost.

Notes:
The flagship scheme of Rajasthan government has topped the 16-state chart detailing implementation of the free medicine scheme i.e. run under the National Health Mission (NHM). The NHM assessed the performance of the states on the basis of effective implementation of Drugs and Vaccine Distribution Management System (DVDMS), stock of essential drugs, value of drugs about to expire along with other such parameters. According to an NHM letter, the DVDMSA (coverage in Rajasthan is 77.26% and proportion of online drug distribution counters – 96.03%. The expired quantity proportion viz. breakage, wastage and loss are just 7.43%.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, the Banjari village of Katni district has become an integral part of the digital map of the country. It is the first village in the state to be associated with the Prime Minister’s ambitious project – Digital India. In line with Digital India campaign, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEiTY) has envisaged the Digital Village Project. It has plans to build 1000 digital villages across the country. The digital village will not only help in providing connectivity in every village but it will also help in bridging the digital divide between rural and urban areas. This will also open new jobs and employment. Akodara village of Sabarkantha district of Gujarat is the first digital village in the country.

Notes:
The NITI Aayog in association with Ministry of JAL Shakti and Ministry of Rural Development has released Composite Water Management Index 2.0 (CWMI 2.0). CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for the reference year 2017-18 as against the base year 2016-17. The CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve the performance of States/ Union Territories in efficient management of water resources. The index would provide useful information for the States and also for the concerned Central Ministries/Departments enabling them to formulate and implement suitable strategies for better management of water resources.