Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has recently inaugurated thematic underground British-era Bunker turned Museum inside the Raj Bhavan at Malabar Hill in Mumbai. The 15,000 sq.ft museum has Virtual Reality Booths (VRBs) in which visitors can “time travel” to the 19th century when the bunker was created to fire cannons at approaching enemy ships. The history of Raj Bhavan has also been depicted in another section. In 2016, the British-era bunker was discovered by Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao. It is made up of 13 rooms such as Shell Store, Gun Shell, Cartridge Store and Central Artillery Store. The underground passage has a proper drainage system and inlets for fresh air and light. The bunker dates back to the pre-World War I era and is believed to have been an asset of the battery stationed near the coast to defend Bombay Castle from naval attacks.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, former Chief Minister of the state Babulal Gaur (89) has passed away in Bhopal on 21st August 2019. Born on 2nd June 1930 at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was credited with expanding party’s foothold in Madhya Pradesh. He retired from electoral politics in 2018 citing old age. He served as the Chief Minister of MP from August 2004 to November 2005 and represented Govindpura Vidhan Sabha seat 10 times.

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:
The Union Tourism Ministry has decided to offer e-Tourist Visa fee based on tourist footfall to attract foreign travellers from over 160 countries to India. The ministry has proposed to introduce e-visa fee for short duration of 30 days during peak tourism season – from July to March — at a charge of $25. However, the e-visa fee during the lean period — from April to June — is to be kept at $10. The Ministry also introduced a new 5 year e-tourist visa the fee of which will be $ 80 and the fees of one year e-visa would be $ 40. Though, there will be no visa fee for tourists from 14 Pacific Island nations belonging to Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) — Fiji, Cook Islands, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu — and Myanamar, Argentina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Mauritius, Seychelles, South Africa and Uruguay. Both the Ministry of Home Affairs (HA) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have given approval to the flexible e-tourist visa regime.

Notes:
The first-ever International Day for Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief is observed on 22nd of August 2019 to honour the victims and survivors of heinous acts who often remain forgotten. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about religious intolerance, and violence and discrimination against anyone based on their religion or belief.

Notes:
The Asia-Pacific Group (APG) of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is a global watchdog for terror financing and money laundering. It has recently put Pakistan in the Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List (Blacklist) for its failure to meet its standards. The APG has also found that Pakistan was non-compliant on 32 of the 40 compliance parameters of terror financing and money laundering. On 11 effectiveness parameters of terror financing and money laundering, Pakistan was adjudged as low on 10. According to officials, Pakistan could not convince the 41-member plenary to upgrade it on any parameter. Now, Pakistan has to focus on avoiding the blacklist in October 2019, when the 15-month timeline ends on the FATF’s 27-point action plan.

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:
NITI Aayog has recently released report on the Composite Water Management Index 2.0 (CWMI 2.0) for reference year 2017-18 . Gujarat has been ranked first in the CWMI 2.0, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh has been adjudged No. 1 in 2017-18 followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura and Assam. The Union Territories have first time submitted their data and Puducherry has been declared as the top ranker. In terms of incremental change in index (over 2016-17 level), Haryana holds No. 1 position in general States and Uttarakhand ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States. On an average, 80% of the states assessed on the Index over the last 3 years have improved their water management scores, with an average improvement of +5.2 points.

Notes:
On 25th August 2019, Komalika Bari from Jharkhand has become recurve cadet world champion at the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid, Spain. In the final, she defeated higher-ranked Sonoda Waka of Japan 7-3 and earn India’s 2nd gold on the final day of the Championships. Earlier, India also won a gold in the compound junior mixed pair event and a bronze in the compound junior men’s team event. Thus, India concluded their campaign with two gold and one bronze medal in their last event. Now, the 17-year-old Komalika is now India’s second recurve cadet world champion (under-18) after Deepika Kumari who won the title in 2009. This was also India’s fourth individual world championship title after Deepika (cadet and junior) and Palton Hansda (compound junior in 2006). This is the last tournament for the Indian archers to play under the national flag as the World Archery’s suspension of the country will come into effect after this event.

Notes:
The researchers at IIT-Guwahati have developed a novel technique for production of meat which is completely natural. The lab-grown meat is nutritious and will be a step towards cruelty-free food. The taste of the final meat product will remain similar as raw meat but with improvised nutritional values as per customer needs. The product can be printed in varying shapes and sizes using a 3D bioprinter with the edible components and preserved for future use. According to researchers, the meat industry has been facing immense pressure in keeping up with the food requirements due to rapid increase in population. Citing predictions from the UN population prospects, Dr Biman B Mandal stated that the current meat industry will not be able to meet the global needs by 2050. Around 4,000 litres of water are required to produce one kg chicken meat and more than 8,000 litres of water are required to produce one kg of mutton. Hence, the lab grown meat made will have immense value in the Indian as well as the foreign market as it is nutritious and can be tuned for the high in demand needs of fast-food joints.