Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

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:
The agrarian festival ‘Nuakhai’ has recently celebrated with great pomp and gaiety by the people of western Odisha districts. This major agrarian festival of this region is being celebrated in every nook and corner collectively with much fanfare and religious fervour. The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival. It is an exchange of greetings with friend relative and well-wishers. The elders are wished Nuakhai Juhar and they give blessings for long life, happiness and prosperity. Being an agrarian festival, the eldest in each household in rural pockets worshipped their paddy fields praying for a bumper crop and favourable weather. Women folk leave bed early to perform the Nukhai rituals with decorating the house with colourful rangoli.

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 Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched the first-ever ‘Terracotta Grinder’ at Sewapuri in Varanasi. This machine can be used to grind wasted and broken pottery items for re-use in pottery-making. The Terracotta grinder was designed by the KVIC Chairman and fabricated by a Rajkot-based engineering unit. It will make grinding of wasted pottery items faster than the traditional mortar and pestle. It will lessen the cost of production and will also help in solving the problem of shortage of clays. The machine will also be a boon for potters as Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Nitin Gadkari has proposed to introduce Kulhads and other terracotta products at 400 prominent railway stations. The proposal is under active consideration of the Railways.

Notes:
The 4th South-Asian Speaker’s Summit was recently held in Male, Maldives. The summit was meant to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) but Pakistan tried to raise the issue of abrogation of Article 370 provisions on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) despite not being part of the agenda. The Indian delegation in the summit was represented by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Harivansh Narayan Singh. Though, India maintained that J&K is an internal matter. The summit adopted the Male Declaration & ignored Pakistan’s concern on Kashmir.

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:
Nobel Laureate from Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus has been conferred the ‘Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis ‘ award by the Vatican for his contribution towards establishing peace and harmony. The ceremony was recently took place at the historical Papal Basilica of Assisi in Italy. The award is recognition for distinguished work by an individual for promoting peace and dialogue among people. The Lamp of Peace award was first given to the Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa in 1981. Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev and Angela Merkel are a few other prominent persons who received this award earlier.

Notes:
Kiran Nagarkar (77), the acclaimed English-Marathi novelist and playwright, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 5th September 2019. He was known for his works  such as ”Saat Sakkam Trechalis” (Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) (1974), ”Ravan and Eddie” (1994) and the epic English novel ”Cuckold” (1997). He  released his latest novel ”Jasoda” in November 2017.

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:
According to the latest report by World Gold Council (WGC), United States leads the country list with total gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes followed by Germany (3,366.8 tonnes), InternationalMonetary Fund (IMF) (2,451.8 tonnes),Italy (2,451.8 tonnes) and France (2,436.1 tonnes). India is at the 10th spot with 618.2 tonnes. Interestingly, in terms of individualcountries, India actually ranks 9th since the IMF occupies the third positionafter the U.S. and Germany.