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:
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:
Nadubhagam Chundan, the snake boat of Pallathuruthy Boat Club, lifted the 67th edition of the coveted Nehru Trophy at the Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha. In a nerve-biting race, Champakulam chundan rowed by the United Boat Club, Kainakary finished second. Karichal chundan (Police Boat Club) and Devas chundan (NCDC Boat Club, Kumarakom) finished in 3rd and 4th places. The Nehru Trophy boat race was instituted to commemorate the visit of the India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the area and his boat ride in the lake. The Nehru Trophy is the first race of the inaugural edition of the Champions Boat League (CBL). CBL, hosted by Kerala Tourism, is the India’s first-ever boat-race on the lines of IPL. There will be 12 races in the CBL beginning with the Nehru Trophy and concluding with President’s Trophy Boat Race in Kollam on November 23.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated the Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi. The new building is situated near the Congress headquarters at Akbar Road in the national capital & has been built at a cost of around Rs 131 crore by the Gujarat Government. It has 19 suite rooms, 59 regular rooms, a restaurant, a public dining hall, a business centre, a souvenir shop, a multi-purpose hall, conference hall, four lounges, a gymnasium, a yoga centre, a terrace garden and a library built on an area of 20,325 square meters. The Bhavan is equipped with traditional and modern artefacts and technologies and will serve as a home for Gujaratis in the national capital. It will represent the culture, craft and cuisine of Gujarat. This building is in addition to the old Gujarat Bhavan at Chanakyapuri, which will continue to function.

Notes:
The World Resources Institute (WRI) has recently released a report titled “Reducing Food Loss and Waste” with the support of the Rockefeller Foundation. The report has quantified global food wastage — nearly one-third of the food i.e. produced each year goes uneaten, costing the global economy over $940 billion. The uneaten food is responsible for emitting about 8% of planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Some of these actions include developing national strategies for food loss and waste reduction, creating national public-private partnerships, launch supply chain initiatives, reducing small-holder losses and shifting consumer social norms. The WRI is a global research non-profit organization that was established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth. Its headquarters is located at Washington, United States.

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 14th Conference of Parties (COP14) to United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is at Greater Noida on 2nd September 2019. The core agenda of the 12-day Conference is to reverse land degradation and its outcomes while accelerating positive achievements for people and for ecosystems. The main objective of the convention is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought or desertification. The delegates from 196 countries are participating in COP14. The Parties to the Convention will agree on the actions they will take over the next 2 years and beyond to get the world on a sustainable development path.

Notes:
The World Coconut Day (WCD) is observed every year on 2nd of September to increase coconut farming with focus on productivity and product diversification. The day is also celebrated to commemorate the formation day of Asian Pacific Coconut Community (APCC). In India, the day is celebrated every year under the aegis of Coconut Development Board (CDB) in various coconut growing states across the country. The 2019 theme is ‘Coconut for Family Wellness’. The APCC is an inter-governmental organisation of 18- member countries mandated to promote, coordinate, and harmonise coconut developmental activities of the Asian Pacific region.

Notes:
Ashok Leyland has become the first Indian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to meet the Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms across its full range of heavy-duty trucks with gross vehicle weight of 16.2 tonnes and above. The company has recently received certificates from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) confirming compliance with BS-VI emission standard. ARAI is an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, which offers comprehensive certification and homologation services for all kinds of vehicles. As per Supreme Court ruling, no BS-IV vehicle will be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020. Instead, the BS-VI emission norm will come into force across the country. Ashok Leyland is a flagship company of the Hinduja Group and is the India’s 2nd largest commercial vehicle manufacturer.

Notes:
The Indian Army team has successfully summited Mount Leo Pargyil (6773m) on 20thAug 2019 after an extremely challenging climb in harsh weather. They hoisted the National Flag atop Mt Leo Pargyil. The expedition was flagged in by Lieutenant General PM Bali on 31 Aug 2019 at Jhakri near Rampur Bushar. Mt Leo Pargyil is the 3rd highest peak of Himachal Pradesh and is considered to be among the most challenging and technically difficult peak to scale. It lies in the Zanskar range.