Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
The National Engineer’s Day (NED) is celebrated every year on 15th of September in India to mark the birth anniversary of acclaimed civil engineer Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. He was known as the father of Modern Mysore for his outstanding contribution to society.  He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1955 for his contributions to the nation. The 52nd Engineer’s Day 2019 was recently celebrated with theme ‘Engineering for change’.

Notes:
Vinesh Phogat has become the first Indian wrestler to qualify for 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the 53-kg category after beating American Sarah Hildebrandt in the World Championships in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan on 18th September 2019. She scored an impressive 8-2 win over the world championship silver medalist to secure her place at the Tokyo Games.

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:
Moti Bagh, a documentary film based on the struggle of an 83-year-old farmer ‘Vidyadutt’ in a remote Himalayan village, has been nominated for the 2019 Oscars. The film is directed by Nirmal Chander & is about a farm in the hills of Uttarakhand runs by farmer who grows award-winning radishes and writes poetry. The film highlights migration of locals from several villages in the Garhwal and Kumaon regions of the state.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh government has launched Mukhya  Mantri Seva Sankalp Helpline 1100 for speedy and time-bound redressal of public grievances. The helpline will function 6 days a week (Monday-Saturday) from 7 am to 10 pm. 

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for development of human centric systems specific to the Human Space Mission (HSM) under the Gaganyaan project. Some of the critical technologies to be provided by the DRDO to ISRO include space food, space crew health monitoring and emergency survival kit, radiation measurement and protection, and parachutes for safe recovery of crew module. The aim of the ISRO is to demonstrate human spaceflight capability before the 75th anniversary of India’s independence in 2022.

Notes:
The book titled “Being Gandhi” has been authored by award-winning author Paro Anand. This new book will mark the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi by looking beyond the leader and his politics and into his way of life.  It explores “not Gandhi the man or his life as a leader, but really the Gandhian way that must remain relevant to us”.

Notes:
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD)  has decided to launch a new public-private partnership scheme – National Educational Alliance for Technology (NEAT) – using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make learning more personalized and customized as per the learner’s requirements. The scheme is expected to begin operations by early November 2019 & aims to harness technology for better learning outcomes in higher education. The start-ups which join the government platform must offer 25% free coupons for students from disadvantaged communities.

Notes:
The Indian Army conducted a massive rare exercise named ‘Chang Thang Prahar’ at a high altitude area in Eastern Laddakh  bordering China for testing and improving its war-fighting capabilities. The integrated exercise involved the use of infantry, mechanized forces, T-72 tanks, with force multipliers such as artillery guns and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). 

Notes:
Iran has lifted the 2019 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship title by defeating Australia in straight sets at Azadi Sports Complex  in Tehran.