Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has recently launched ‘Operation Thirst’ to crackdown the selling of unauthorized Packaged Drinking Water (PDW). According to RPF, the operation was launched in all major railway stations across the country to curb the menace of unauthorized PDW in the premises of railway stations. During the operation, which was carried out on 8th & 9th July, 1371 persons were arrested for selling of packaged drinking water of unauthorised brands under different sections i.e. 144 & 153 of Railway Act. A total fine amount of Rs 6,80,855 has been realized from these offenders.

Notes:
The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has recently released by UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As per the report, India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016 & recorded the fastest reductions in the MPI values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition. The global MPI tracks 101 countries on deprivations across 10 indicators in health, education, and standard of living. The report underscored that the traditional concept of poverty is outdated, demonstrating more clearly than ever that labelling countries – or even households – as rich and poor is an oversimplification. The report also highlighted a positive trend that those furthest behind are moving up the fastest. The multi-dimensionally poor means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.

Notes:
Italian socialist David Maria Sassoli has been elected as the new President of the European Parliament and will lead Parliament until January 2022. He will succeed Antonio Tajani. Sassoli is a member of the Alliance of Socialists and Democrats. The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He also represent the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The president’s signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.

Notes:
M J Radhakrishnan (60), the well-known Malayalam cinematographer , has passed away in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on July 12, 2019. Starting his career as a still photographer, Radhakrishnan later worked as an associate of renowned cinematographer-turned-director Shaji N Karun. His well-acclaimed works include: Deshadanam, Karunam and Naalu Pennungal. Radhakrishnan had won three International awards besides being a 7-time winner of the Kerala State Award for Best Cinematography. One of his works, Marana Simhasanam (English: Throne of Death; French: Le Trone de la mort), won Camra d’Or (Golden Camera Award) in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Notes:
Meghalaya has become the first state in India to approve a draft water policy to address water issues, conservation, and protection of water sources in the state. The draft policy was approved by the State Cabinet in a meeting chaired by state Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma. The purpose of the policy is to recognize water resources as a common pool resource, to provide safe and hygienic water for drinking, domestic and sanitation and livelihood development to all residents of the state. It seeks to protect and improve management of water resources while actively involving the community. It also aims at ensuring protection and conservation of catchment areas of all water sources to prevent degradation of the quantity and quality of water sources.

Notes:
The critically acclaimed Bengali movie, Nagarkirtan has won the Best Feature Film award at the 9th edition of SAARC film festival 2019 in Colombo. The movie, which was directed by Kaushik Ganguly, has also won the ‘Best Director’, ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Original Score’ awards. It’s a love story of a transwoman and a flautist. Two other Indian films have won awards at the fest. ‘Na Bole Wo Haram’, a 20-minute film by debutant director Nitish Patankar, bagged the ‘Best Short Film’ award, while ‘Walking With the Wind’ by Praveen Morchhale received the Special Jury award for direction and story.

Notes:
In August 2019, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan will visit Australia to attend the 10th edition of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) as its chief guest. Here, he is set to receive an honorary doctorate degree from Melbourne-based La Trobe University for his contributions and efforts towards underprivileged children, women’s empowerment through Meer Foundation and his achievements in the Indian entertainment industry. La Trobe University is the first Australian university to award Khan with an Honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa), and will present the honorary doctorate ‪on August 9 at its Melbourne campus in Bundoora.

Notes:
The L&T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (LTIF) has become the first Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) to get $100 million loan from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for on-lending to wind and solar power infrastructure projects in India. LTIF is a subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd and a leading non-bank financier of renewable energy in India. The loan mobilises private capital from sponsors, other financiers and LTIF’s own sources. India is committed to reducing its carbon intensity by 30-35% of the 2005 levels by 2030 under the Paris agreement.

Notes:
Under climate resilience program, the World Bank has recently approved $250 million aid to Kerala for its Resilient Kerala Programme (RKP) to brace against natural disasters. Hence, Kerala has become the first Indian state to get this fund to enhance the state’s resilience against the impacts of natural disasters and climate change. The Resilient Kerala Program (RKP) will focus on strengthening the state’s institutional and financial capacity to protect the assets and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable groups through an inclusive and participatory approach. The new program is part of the Government of India(GoI)’s support to Kerala’s ‘Rebuild Kerala Development Programme’ aimed at building a green and resilient Kerala.

Notes:
The researchers at the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) in Kozhikode have developed a technology to pack microbial strains beneficial to farmers in tiny capsules. It will eliminate the need for lugging around sacks of bio-fertilisers as farmers do currently. The bio-capsules made with the technology weigh just one gram. But the microbial population they contain is equivalent to what is present in a one-kg pack of powder-based biofertliser or a one-litre bottle. The beauty of the technology is that it can be used for packing any kind of farm-friendly microbes, including nitrogen-fixing bacteria, solubolise phosphates, micronutrients and fungi that help control pathogens. The achievement by the IISR scientists led by Dinesh Raghavan is remarkable because no such technology is commercially available world over. The IISR is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, under the Ministry of Agriculture.