Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
IIT Kharagpur has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop a National Artificial Intelligence Resource Portal (NAIRP) to promote learning and development in the artificial intelligence (AI). The aim of the portal is to make the search for AI learning resources simpler and more accessible to learners, practitioners and researchers in India. The initiative has got funding from the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MoHRD), as part of the National Digital Library of India (NDLI) project which is being spearheaded by the premier institute. NAIRP will index a wide variety of AI-specific learning materials and allow interested candidates access to different resources for converting concepts into working modules.

Notes:
In football, India won the 2019 SAFF under-15 title by defeating Nepal by 7-0 in the final at the Kalyani Stadium in West Bengal. This victory meant that India are now the most successful team in the tournament’s history — winning the title for a record 3rd time after previous wins in 2013 and 2017.

Notes:
The Government of Bangladesh has signed an agreement with Reliance Power of India to set up 750 Mega Watt gas-based power plant in Meghnahat near Dhaka. The construction of the plant will be completed by 2022 and its estimated cost is one billion dollars. Under the agreement, Bangladesh will purchase electricity from the project for a period of 22 years at a pre-decided tariff rate equivalent to 5.85 Takas per unit at a total cost of approximately 8 billion dollars. Apart from this, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has also been signed with Petro Bangla to set up 500 Million standard cubic feet per day LNG terminal at Kutubdia Island near Chittagong in Bangladesh.

Notes:
In Andhra Pradesh, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu has recently dedicated the India’s longest electrified rail tunnel i.e situated between Cherlopalli and Rapuru. He also inaugurated the 112-km long electrified railway line between Venkatachalam and Obulavaripalli. The length of the electrified rail tunnel is 6.6km. The tunnel has 44 trolley refuges and 14 cross-passages in a horseshoe design. It is built in the shape of a ‘horse shoe’ using the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM) at a cost of Rs 437 crore. The height of tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5m and the minimum height of contact wire is maintained at 5.2m. The track is constructed without using Ballast by providing Bi-block sleepers and Vaslo fittings. There are LED lights at an interval of every 10 metres inside the travel. The newly constructed tunnel will provide seamless rail connectivity between the Krishnapatnam Port and the hinterland areas.

Notes:
The Punjab Employment Generation Department (PEGD) has decided to play the role of a recruitment agency for the youth wanting to go abroad for studies and work. It will also set up a special cell to send the youth for studies abroad. The move came after regular complaints of fraud by travel agents. The special cell will have a tie-up with foreign public universities which offer education at reasonable rates. This will not only save students from frauds but also help them financially as the commission which foreign institutes pay to the agents would be returned to them. This facility is already available in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana.

Notes:
Union Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the 72nd Session of World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for South-East Asia (SEARO) in New Delhi. This is the 2nd time that India is hosting Regional Committee meeting. Dr Vardhan was unanimously elected as Chair of the 72nd Session of the WHO -SEARO. The event coincides with the ambitious ‘Fit India Movement’ launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi about remaining fit and doing physical activities like yoga, sports, cycling, etc. The Government of India (GoI) is also observing the entire month of September as “Poshan Maah” (Nutrition Month) to sensitize the public towards healthy eating, address the twin issues of malnutrition/under-nutrition and problem of obesity in some sections of the population, and intensifying the campaign towards a ‘Malnutrition-Free India’.

Notes:
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recently confirmed the presence of tigers in high-altitude regions of Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh in a study submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment. The Ministry will use a study on the status of tiger habitats in high altitude ecosystems to have a high altitude tiger master plan. The report provides the action strategy for a high altitude tiger master plan with gainful portfolio for local communities and ensuring centrality of tiger conservation in development, through an effective coordination mechanism, involving stakeholders and line departments operating within the landscape. The study is led by the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) with range country governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal. It is also supported by the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHPC) of the IUCN and KfW (German Development Bank). The GTF is the only intergovernmental and international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
The 19-year-old Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu has become the first teen to reach US Open semi-finals in a decade since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. To spot in the final, she defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens  by 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Andreescu could become the first teen to win a Grand Slam title since Maria Sharapova captured the 2006 US Open and she would be the youngest US Open champion since Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2004.

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The Gujarat Government has recently signed the Sister State MoU with elaware State of America in Gandhinagar.  This is the first sister state MoU signed by Gujarat with any state of America. According to official sources, cooperation in the field of services and investment opportunities in GIFT IFSC have also been discussed during the meeting. The sectors like Biotechnology University, bio sciences, financial services, animal husbandry and dairy, port services have been short listed for future cooperation.

Notes:
The World Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2019 has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). In it, India has moved up six places to rank 34th because of its rich natural and cultural resources and strong price competitiveness.  Spain topped the index, followed by France, Germany, Japan and the United States. The index covered 140 economies & measures the set of factors and policies that enable sustainable development of travel and tourism sector which contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country.