Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
Young shooter Yashaswini Singh Deswal from Delhi has recently won gold in the women’s 10m Air Pistol event at the ISSF World Cup at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. With the win, she has also secured an Olympic quota for India. This is India’s 9th quota in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Games. World no.1 Olena Kostevych of Ukraine claimed the silver, while Serbia’s Jasmina Milavonovic bagged the bronze in the ongoing event.

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:
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:
Minister of State for Culture and Tourism Prahalad Singh Patel has inaugurated the first-ever architectural LED illumination at the historic Qutb Minar in New Delhi. With the illumination, the architectural beauty of the 12th century monument will display its historic magesty after sunset. The new illumination comprises lighting that accentuates the silhouette of the monument with the interplay of light and shade. The duration of illumination will be from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM daily with a monthly cost of Rs16,615/- which comes out merely to Rs 1,99,388/- for a year. The aim to illuminate the historic monuments is to showcase monuments during late evenings & to enhance the visitor experience. The Qutb Minar is a UNESCO World Heritage Site & is one of most visited historical site in the national capital.

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. 

Notes:
Srihari Nataraj from Bengaluru  has won the best male swimmer award at the 73rd Glenmark National senior aquatic championships at the Prakash Tarun Pushkar pool. He created a national record in the men’s 100m backstroke. Meanwhile, Shivani Kataria from Haryana was adjudged as the best woman swimmer. Karnataka won the overall championship and men’s team title. And, Maharashtra took the women’s team trophy.

Notes:
The member-countries of the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Region have resolved to eliminate highly infectious childhood killer diseases measles and rubella by 2023. The resolution was adopted at the 72nd session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia in New Delhi. Till date, 5 countries have eliminated measles – Bhutan, DPR Korea, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. Six countries have controlled rubella – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. Measles is dangerous for the poor, as it attacks malnourished children and those with reduced immunity. It can cause serious complications, including blindness, encephalitis, severe diarrhoea, ear infection and pneumonia, while rubella/ Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) causes irreversible birth defects.

Notes:
Germany has decided to phase out the controversial weedkiller glyphosate by the end of 2023 to protect insect populations that play a pivotal role in ecosystems and pollination of food crops. The chemical is also suspected to cause cancer in humans. The ban is a major blow to German agrochemical manufacturer Bayer CropScience. Glyphosate is popular in India too where farmers use the chemical as an alternative to expensive manual weeding. Earlier, Austria became the first EU member to ban glyphosate use in July 2019.

Notes:
On 9th September 2019, a 3-day long International conference ANGAN for Energy Efficiency in Building Sector is being organized by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)  in New Delhi. Indo-German Technical Co-operation is also partnering in the event. Experts and policy makers from 16 countries are participating in this event to discuss various alternative options and technologies in the field of design and construction of energy efficient commercial as well as residential buildings. The event will provide a platform to deliberate on interdependence between organizations, systems sustainability and feedback loops for better resource efficiency.

Notes:
The UNESCO has tied up with the Rajasthan government  to promote community-based responsible tourism based on the rich Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) of the state. The project will be implemented in the districts of Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner and seeks to spur the socio-economic growth of selected artist communities. It will focus on intangible cultural heritage traditions such as pottery, weaving and other crafts, as well as music traditions, in order to create community-led and community-benefitting tourism opportunities.