Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

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 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:
Union Tourism and Culture Minister, Prahlad Singh Patel has recently flagged off the first Mobile Science Exhibition (MSE) at Leh Palace in Leh. For the first time, a national programme is being launched from Leh. The aim of the programme is to popularize Science and Technology (S&T) among students as well as the people. The MSE programme is specially designed in a bus so that it can reach the doorsteps of people. The bus will travel from school to school in rural areas and organize exhibitions throughout the year. Along with the exhibition, some other programmes like Sky Observation Programme through telescope, science film show, Science Demonstration Lectures etc will also be organized. The programme carries a number of interactive exhibits related to everyday science. Each specially designed bus contains 20 interactive exhibits. The Culture Ministry will launch 25 Mobile Science Exhibition buses across the 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 4th edition of  Indian Ocean Conference (ICO-2019) was held in Male from September 3-4.  It was organized by India Foundation, in association with the Government of Maldives and the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (Singapore). The theme of the IOC 2019 is ‘Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-Traditional Challenges’.

Notes:
In New Delhi, the national conference on ‘India-Africa Partnership in a Changing Global Order–Priorities, Prospects and Challenges’ was organized by Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA). The ICWA is devoted exclusively for the study of international relations and foreign affairs.  It is also a member of the United Nations Academic Impact, The Vice President of India is the ex-officio President of ICWA, while the Minister of External Affairs is its Vice-President. It headquarters is located in National capital.

Notes:
The 6-member RBI task force, headed by Canara Bank Chairman TN Manoharan, has recommended the setting up a Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) of market participants to finalize details for the secondary market for corporate loans, including the standardization of documents. It has also called for amending regulations of SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA to enable participation of non-banking entities such as mutual funds, insurance companies, and pension funds. It has also called for setting up a Central Loan Contract Registry (CLCR), as well as an online loan sales platform to conduct auctions and sale of such loans.

Notes:
Abdul Qadir Khan (63), Pakistan’s master leg-spinner, has passed away in Lahore on 7th September 2019. He played in 67 Tests and 104 ODIs had a total 368 wickets in his international career. Cricket pundits and writers believe that his biggest achievement was to keep the art of wrist spin alive during the eras of the 70s and 80s when fast bowlers dominated world cricket.