Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
In Delhi, a cultural event ‘Namaste Pacific’ was recently jointly organised by the High Commissions of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji to showcase in India the culture of the Pacific countries. Aaradhna, a multi-award-winning R&B and soul artist from New Zealand, performed with her band. Aaradhna is part Indian and part Samoan and has to her credit four individual albums. Traditional masks and artefacts from Papua New Guinea and Pacific Green furniture and other products from Fiji were also displayed. There was also showcase of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Pollinate Energy based in Australia, Nepal and India, and solar lanterns from Barefoot College in Rajasthan.

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:
Varun Dhawan’s upcoming movie ‘Coolie No. 1’ has become the first Bollywood film to go plastic-free. The environmental friendly initiative was taken by director of movie David Dhawan and its producers Vashu Bhagnani, Jackky Bhagnani and Deepshikha Deshmukh. The movie is all set to release on May 1, 2020. Their decision comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day speech, urged people to shun single-use plastic and encouraged usage of jute and cloth bags to protect the environment.

Notes:
Asian Games gold medallist shotputter Tejinderpal Singh Toor clinched a silver with a best throw of 20.09m in his last attempt during an athletic meet at Decin, Czech Republic. Tajinder was awarded with the 2019 Arjuna Award. Though, he couldn’t meet the World Championship standard but his efforts were good enough to earn him a silver at the event.

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:
India has recently announced a contribution of $22 million to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and malaria (GFTAM) for the 6th replenishment cycle (2020-22). This is an increase of 10% over the amount contributed by the country in the 5th cycle. India was the first implementing country to host a replenishment milestone of the Global Fund and now has become the first among G20, BRICS and implementer countries to announce the pledge for the 6th Replenishment. India has had a sustained partnership with the Global Fund since 2002 both as a recipient and as a donor. The Global Fund is a partnership designed to accelerate the end of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. The GFTAM is an international financing and partnership organization that aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources to end the epidemics of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations. Its headquarters is located in Geneva, Switzerland.

Notes:
The 15th edition of the joint military exercise “Yudh Abhyas 2019” is being conducted between India and United States at Joint Base Lewis Mc Chord in Washington, USA from 05-18 September. It is one of the largest joint running military training and defence corporation endeavors between India and USA. The exercise will provide an opportunity to the armed forces of both countries to train in an integrated manner at Battalion level with joint planning at Brigade level. Both armies will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well developed operations for neutralization of threats of varied nature.

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.