Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
In Bengaluru, Senior journalist and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Ravish Kumar has recently received the first Gauri Lankesh National Award for Journalism by freedom fighter H.S. Doreswamy. He was chosen for the award for sharp news analysis and uncompromising secular stance by the Gauri Lankesh Memorial Trust (GLMT). Apart from this, three books –  ‘Neera Nade’ by Prof. Vinaya Okkunda, ‘Dehali Nota’ by senior journalist D. Umapathy, and Ravish Kumar’s ‘Free Voices’ translated as ‘Maatige Enu Kadime’ by Harshakumar Kugwe.

Notes:
Mathematician Adam Harper of University of Warwick (England) has been awarded the 2019 SASTRA Ramanujan prize for several outstanding contributions to analytic and probabilistic number theory. The prize carries a citation and an award of $10,000 and is conferred annually on mathematicians from across the world who are less than 32 years of age, working in an area influenced by the genius Srinivasa Ramanujan. Every year, this prize is awarded by SASTRA University on its campus near Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu, on Ramanujan’s birth anniversary (December 22).

Notes:
The Union Government has instituted the highest civilian award in the field of contribution to the unity and integrity of India, in the name of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The award seeks to recognize notable and inspiring contributions to promote the cause of national unity and integrity and to reinforce the value of a strong and united India. The award will be announced on the occasion of the National Unity Day (NUD) on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel on 31st of October. The award would consist of a medal and a citation. No monetary grant or cash award would be attached to this Award. Not more than 3 awards would be given in a year. It would not be conferred posthumously except in very rare and highly deserving cases.

Notes:
At Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated the 6th edition of ”India Water Week (IWW-2019)”, which is organised by Ministry of Jal Shakti with the theme of ”Water cooperation-coping with 21st-century challenge’ . Japan and European Union have been associated as partner countries for this mega event. Under this campaign, the entire Government of India (GoI) machinery of over 1000 senior Central Government officers have joined the States to promote focused interventions for water collection and conservation, including restoration and renovation of traditional water bodies.

Notes:
The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, Greta Thunberg has been honoured as one of four winners of the 2019 Rights Livelihood awards for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts. The award is known as Sweden’s alternative Nobel Prize. Ms. Thunberg shares the award with Brazilian indigenous leader Davi Kopenawa of the Yanomami people, Chinese women’s rights lawyer Guo Jianmei and Western Sahara human rights defender Aminatou Haidar. The four laureates will received a cash award of 1 million Swedish crowns ($103,000) each.

Notes:
Payment technology company Visa has appointed world badminton champion Pusarla Venkata Sindhu (PV Sindhu) as its brand ambassador for two years. Besides promoting the brand through advertising campaigns, Sindhu has also become an athlete member of Team Visa for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Visa has been supporting the Olympic Games as a worldwide sponsor since 1986. It has signed a contract as the exclusive payment technology partner through 2032. It is currently the only payment brand available at Olympic venues.  

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The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is observed every year on 26th of September to provide an occasion for world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as high priority.  

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The National Film Archive of India (NFAI) has recently discovered 30 reels of unedited footage on Mahatma Gandhi that amounts to almost 6 hours of duration. These 35mm celluloid footages, unedited and stock shots with title cards in between, belonged to several prominent film studios of the time like Paramount, Pathe, Warner, Universal, British Movietone and Wadia Movietone. The major highlight of the discovery is a rare half-an-hour footage that has visuals of a special train carrying Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes, after his assasination on 30th January 1948, from Madras to Rameshwaram. In 1964, the NFAI was established as a media unit of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) with headquarters at Pune, Maharashtra.

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.

Notes:
England wicketkeeper Sarah Taylor, who is regarded as one of the world’s best wicketkeepers, has recently retired from international cricket because of her ongoing battle with anxiety. Sarah made her England debut in 2006 and scored 6,553 international runs. She was also a magnetic keeper behind the stumps, creating waves with her innovative methods that led her to 232 dismissals, the most in women’s cricket. Taylor had previously gone on an indefinite break from cricket after the 2016 World T20 in India before returning for the 2017 World Cup.