Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
Recently, a unique exercise of re-habitating deer population has been started in the Kodiakkarai Wild Life sanctuary in Tamil Nadu. This follows up-gradation works being undertaken at the cost of Rs 8 crores in the Sivagangai Gardens of Thanjavoor under the smart city scheme of the Central government. The graceful deers have been transported by using special trucks to Kodiyakkarai, in Vedaranyam district on the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

Notes:
The pictorial  book titled “Turbulence & Triumph: The Modi Years” has been jointly authored by Rahul Agarwal and Bharathi S Pradhan. It traces the journey of Narendra Modi from his days as a young boy from Vadnagar in Gujarat to New Delhi’s 7, Lok Kalyan Marg as the 14th prime minister of India. It is replete with anecdotes from family, friends, colleagues, associates, testimonials of leaders from India and the world across party lines.

Notes:
Mayank Vaid from Himachal Pradesh has become the 44th person in the world and first Indian to complete the ‘Enduroman – Arch to Arc’ — a triathlon from England to France which is considered to be one of the toughest endurance competitions in the world. He is also the first Asian person to complete this triathlon in solo capacity. Vaid also broke the record for the shortest time taken to complete the triathlon — involving running, swimming and cycling — in 50 hours and 24 minutes. 

Notes:
Sri Lanka has recently unveiled South Asia’s tallest tower in Colombo, which is constructed at a cost of over $100 million. However, 80% of cost was funded by China under the controversial Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The 350-metre-tall 17-storey Lotus Tower is consists of a television tower, a hotel, a telecommunications museum, restaurants, auditorium, an observation deck, a shopping mall and a conference centre. The tower, which is spread over an area of 30,600 sq. metres, is expected to function as Sri Lanka’s ‘digital TV tower’. It is built with fiber optic cables and is fully equipped with necessary telecommunication equipment.

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 5th edition of International Ramayana Festival (IRF-2019) was organized by Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi on September 17-19. In the festival, which is generally organised before Navaratra, artists showcase cultural interpretations of the epic. The artists from 17 countries participated in the fest & rendered their versions of Ramayan.

Notes:
The Telangana government has decided to declare 2020 as Year of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by organizing various activities related to the emerging technology. The state government has also signed pact with NITI Aayog, which released the ‘National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence’ to run pilot projects in the state.

Notes:
Karan Vandana (DBW 187) is a new hybrid wheat variety which is resistant to yellow rust and white blast and can give significantly higher yield than normal varieties. It is likely to be soon launched across the country. It is rich in protein & iron, and has high heat tolerance across the country. It has been developed by the Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

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.