Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
The book titled “The Cousins Thackeray: Uddhav, Raj and the Shadow of their Senas” is written by journalist-author Dhaval Kulkarni.  The book is a deep-dive narrative into the history of the Thackeray family, life and times of their grandfather, social reformer-author Prabodhankar Thackeray, and the childhood and political careers of Uddhav and Raj Thackeray. It also examines questions about identity politics, and the social, cultural and economic matrix that catalyzed the formation of the Shiv Sena and the MNS from it. 

Notes:
Renowned Indian photographer Raghu Rai has been chosen as the first recipient of the first edition of the prestigious French Award of the Acadmie des beaux-arts Photography Award – William Klein . The prize of 1,20,000 euros will be presented to Rai in the Palais de l’Institut de France on 30th October 2019. As a consecration award, this prize is intended to reward a photographer for his/her entire career and commitment to photography. The award is in honour of the celebrated American-born French photographer and filmmaker William Klein, who was best known for his unusual photography techniques. Raghu is the photojournalist who captured with his lens the stark after-effects of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984) and brought to viewers the hard-hitting visuals during the Bangladesh War (1971).

Notes:
In New Delhi, the Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has launched the common digital platform for the issuance of electronic Certificates of Origin (CoO). This platform will be a single access point for all exporters, for all FTAs/PTAs and for all agencies concerned. The Certificate of Origin (CoO) will be issued electronically if agreed to by the partner countries. The authorities of partner countries will be able to verify the authenticity of certificates from the website. The new platform reduces transaction costs and time for exporters.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga have jointly unveiled a golden statue of Lord Buddha at Gandan Tegchenling Monastery in Ulaanbaatar through video-conferencing in New Delhi. The monastery is a prominent centre of Mongolian Buddhists and a treasure house of valuable Buddhist heritage. Built in the mid 19th century, Gandan is the only monastery where Buddhist services continued to function even during the Communist period.

Notes:
Nasscom’s Data Security Council of India (DSCI) has recently collaborated with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Google India to launch a nationwide awareness campaign ‘Digital Payment Abhiyan’. The campaign will educate end-users on the benefits of making digital payments and urge them to adopt security and safety best practices. The pan-India campaign has crafted in seven languages — Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali and Marathi — and will engage with users and make them aware of the dos and don’ts for different payment channels including UPI, wallets, cards as well as net-banking and mobile banking,

Notes:
Madhukar Kamath, chairman emeritus of advertising firm DDB Mudra Group, has been unanimously elected chairman of the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) for 2019-20. Beside this, he is the president of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and also the  chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI).

Notes:
In Chandigarh, Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah launched three citizen centric services – Emergency Response Support System (ERSS – Dial 112), ‘E-Beat Book’ System and the ‘E-Saathi App’ – of the Chandigarh Police.  ERSS has been designed to play a pivotal role in mitigation or preventing escalation of crime, especially against women and children. Citizens can send their emergency information through call, sms, email and through the 112 India mobile app. The ‘E-Beat Book’ is a web and mobile based application which will ease the collection, updation and analysis of the information related to crime and criminals in a real time. The ‘E-Saathi’ App would help the general public to remain in touch with the police and also give suggestions to facilitate participative community policing (‘Your Police at Your Doorstep’ initiative). 

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently constituted a committee on Social Stock Exchanges (SSE) under the chairmanship of Ishaat Hussain, Director of SBI Foundation. The committee shall examine and make recommendations with respect to possible structures and mechanisms, within the securities market domain, to facilitate the raising of funds by social enterprises and voluntary organizations.

Notes:
Veteran cricketer Madhavrao Laxmanrao Apte (86) has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 23rd September 2019. He made his Test debut against Pakistan at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai in November 1952 and played his last test against West Indies at Kingston in April 1953. Apte was the Indian opener for 7 Test matches in the early 1950s  in which he scored 542 runs that included an unbeaten 163 against the likes of Frank King, Gerry Gomez, Frank Worrell, Alf Valentine and Sonny Ramadin in the Queens Park Oval Test of 1953. 

Notes:
Film star Govinda has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Madhya Pradesh to promote the state’s traditions and tourist places. It is state government’s intention that the message about the state’s traditions and tourist destinations should reach the masses. The Kamal Nath government has also plans to set up a film city in the state and plans to promote Madhya Pradesh as a destination for film making.