Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
The Union Science and Technology (S&T) and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has recently launched ‘UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment of Inherited Disorders)’ initiative to tackle inherited genetic diseases of newborn babies. The aim of the new initiative is to create awareness about genetic disorders amongst clinicians and establish molecular diagnostics in hospitals so that the benefits of developments in medical genetics could reach patients. 

Notes:
The Shondol dance of Ladakh has created history again by breaking into the Guinness book of world records as the largest Ladakhi dance when 408 women artists in traditional dresses performed gracefully the folk dance on the occasion of the 2019 Buddhist carnival ‘Naropa Festival’. The fest was held near the 11th-century world-famous Hemis Monastery in Ladakh & was organised by the Live to Love India, Drukpa Charitable Trust and Young Drukpa Association. Earlier, this famous dance was used to be performed by artists for King of Ladakh on special occasion.

Notes:
The National e-Assessment Centre (NeAC) has been set up by the  Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in the national capital as part of the government’s ambitious plan to launch faceless and nameless assessment for Income Tax  (IT) payers from October 2019. K M Prasad, the 1984-batch Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer, has been appointed as the Principal Chief Commissioner of Income-tax (PCCIT) of the new Centre.

Notes:
In Guwahati, the Assam Government has rolled out a housing loan subsidy scheme – Aponar Apon Ghar – where in financial relief will be provided towards purchase or construction of the first house for the family. The subsidy up to Rs 2.50 lakh will be provided for loan amounts from  Rs 5 to Rs 40 Lakh. This move will boost the demand and led to the expansion of real estate in the state.

Notes:
Indian wrestler Rahul Aware has won a bronze in men’s 61Kg free-style category at the 2019 World Championship in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan. However, this was not an Olympic category and thus the bronze did not help Aware qualify for the Tokyo Games. It was India’s fifth medal at this edition of the World Championships with a total haul of 1 silver and 4 bronzes. In the ongoing event, Deepak Punia  in men’s 86kg category was forced to pull out of the final due to an injury and settled for silver.

Notes:
Bhagat Ram Vats (97), a former PTI senior correspondent who covered India’s first Lok Sabha polls, has passed away on 18th September 2019. He started his career with The Statesman, New Delhi, and later joined the Press Trust of India (PTI). He travelled extensively with first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for 14 years & covered his activities in India and abroad, especially his election tours in 1952, 1957 and 1962. Vats authored a book — ‘Foreign Intrigue Against India’ — on different aspects of the country’s Partition and its neighbours.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the first-ever India-Caricom summit in New York with a focus on fighting climate change and increasing India’s participation with the grouping. Mr Modi announced a 14 million US dollar grant for community development projects in the Caricom and another 150 million line of credit for solar, renewable energy and climate change related projects. The Caricom grouping has 15 members-states and 5 associate members. Mr. Modi also invited them to join the International Solar Alliance (IAS) and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure.

Notes:
The mascot ‘Tikki Mausi’ has been launched by the Odisha government in collaboration with UNICEF to spread awareness about child and woman’s nutrition. The mascot has been named as ‘Tikki Mausi’ in reference to the second mother of a child. The mascot resembles a typical friendly neighbourhood aunty that has words of advice for everyone starting from mothers to children and adolescents.  

Notes:
Venu Madhav (51), the well-known Telugu comedian and actor, has passed away in Secunderabad on  25th September 2019. He started as a mimicry artiste and forayed into movies. His filmography had over 170 movies in Telugu. Other than Telugu films, he even acted a few Tamil films. The 2016 film “Dr Paramanandaiah’s Students Gang”  remains his last release.  

Notes:
Japan has successfully launched an unmanned spacecraft “Kounotori8” towards the International Space Station (ISS) from the Tanegashima Space Center at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in southwestern Japan. The acronym ‘Kounotori8’ stands for “white stork” in Japanese & intends to deliver about 5.3 tonnes of supplies to astronauts at the ISS.