Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has signed pact with IBM India for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in one district each in three states. The pilot study will be conducted for the Kharif crop season 2019 in three districts – Bhopal, Rajkot and Nanded – in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra, respectively. As part of the collaboration, IBM’s Watson Decision Platform will give solution in the field of agriculture through AI and weather technology at village level/ farm level to provide weather forecast and soil moisture information on pro bono basis to help farmers for taking decisions regarding water and crop management for better production and productivity.

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Afghanistan Wicket-keeper batsman, Ikram Alikhil has achieved a rare feat as he broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record of the highest score by a teenager in the World Cup. He scored 86 off 92 balls in Afghanistan’s final league fixture against West Indies in Leeds on 4th July 2019. The record was previously held by Tendulkar who scored 84 against in the 1992 World Cup at the age of 18 years and 318 days.

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Arinjeeta Dey, a village girl from West Bengal, has won a silver under-12 age group category in the 2019 World Youth Cup in Umag, Croatia. The tournament was organised by World Karate Federation affiliated to the International Olympic Association. A total of 35 countries participated in this competition.

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To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Kargil Vijay Diwas (KVD) on 26th of July 2019, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has released a Kargil Tribute Song at a function in New Delhi to honour, salute and pay homage to the Kargil martyrs and war veterans. The song has been composed by Mr Sammer Anjaan, renowned hindi lyricist and sung by Mr Shatadru Kabir. The music has been composed by Mr Raju Singh. The 20th anniversary celebrations are aimed at ‘Remembering their sacrifice’, ‘Rejoicing in their victory’ and ‘Renewing the pledge’ to go beyond the call of duty when called upon. Operation Vijay involved major operations to evict Pakistani intruders from Indian territory on the icy heights of Dras, Kargil, Batalik and Turtuk.

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India’s first elephant rehabilitation centre will be set up by the Kerala Government in Kottoor, an ecotourism village near the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. The centre is expected to have an elephant museum, mahout training centre, super-specialty hospital, a retirement home and crematorium for the animals. It will also house orphaned, injured and older elephants. The centre will also have a training centre for mahouts along with a residential facility for them. It is being planned on the lines of the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage in Sri Lanka.

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In Assam, a 3- month skill development training programme has been started in Bongaigaon district for the jail inmates. The purpose of the programme is to provide opportunities for the prison inmates to engage themselves in fruitful pursuits during the term of their sentence. Besides the main objective, the course is expected to increase the employability potential of the prisoners after their release. It is said that the prisoners are not in jail to suffer, but to change and reform and to lead a dignified life after release from the jail. Apart from the skill development training, a month long Yoga training session will also begin for the jail inmates in Bongaigaon district.

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The Kerala Startup Mission will host the Women Startup Summit (WSS-2019) in association with the Indian Women Network floated by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Integrated Startup Complex, Kochi on August 1. The aim of the summit is to encourage aspiring women professionals to take up their entrepreneurial journey and developing an inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem in the State. The meet will be open for all women professionals, aspiring entrepreneurs, corporate leaders and startup founders.

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Prasar Bharati has signed MoU with IIT Kanpur for research collaboration in newly emerging technologies and broadcasting-related areas in New Delhi. The move is likely to boost research activities in the broadcasting field. Direct to mobile broadcasting, Convergence of 5G, Artificial Intelligence Incubation Centre by Prasar Bharati and student internship for students of IIT Kanpur at Prasar Bharati are among the main areas in the research collaboration.

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The film ‘Gully Boy’, directed by Zoya Akhtar, has won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Award for Best Asian Film at the 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) in South Korea. ‘Gully Boy’, which features actors Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt, is based on the lives of street rappers. It is inspired by the lives of Mumbai street rappers Vivian Fernandes aka Divine and Naved Shaikh aka Naezy. It will also be screened at the 2019 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

Notes:
The French government has decided to impose a tax of up to 18 euros ($20) on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France to fund less-polluting transportation projects. The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of 1.5 euros imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe. The new measure is expected to bring in some €182 million a year which will be invested in greener transport infrastructures, notably rail. It will only be applied on outgoing flights and not those flying into the country. Earlier, in April 2018, a similar tax was introduced in Sweden that imposed an added charge of up to €40 on every ticket in a bid to lessen the impact of air travel on the climate.