Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

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:
The Madhya Pradesh government has launched a month-long Swachhata hi Seva Abhiyan from 25th September to till October 25 against the single-use plastic. The campaign will encourage alternatives by eliminating single-use plastic and non-standard polythene in markets, malls and shops etc. The aim of the campaign is to administer oath to at least 50 lakh citizens against the use of single-use plastic. Through this campaign, the government has targeted to reach 2 crore urban population so that they can be made aware to single used the plastic-free city as well as to celebrate plastic-free Deepawali. People will also be made aware to use cloth bags in the campaign. The competition will be organized in the market places at the district level to free the markets from single used plastic. 

Notes:
Vasai-based Catholic priest Father Francis D’Britto, who is writer and environmentalist, has been elected president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (ABMSS) 2020. He is the first Christian to be elected president of the ABMSS.  Fr. D’Britto is known for serving people beyond the four walls of the Catholic Church & attributed his success to the people who have stood by him for several decades.

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:
Italian journalist Paolo Borrometi, who was assaulted over his coverage of mafia activity in Sicily and now living under police protection, has won the prestigious 2019 Peter Mackler Award for Courageous and Ethical Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism.   

Notes:
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:
The World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed every year on 27th of September to create awareness on the role of tourism among the international community and to demonstrate how it affects social, cultural, political and economic values worldwide. The 2019 theme is “Tourism and Jobs: A Better Future for All”.

Notes:
The 4th edition of Indo-Kazakhstan joint military exercise “KAZIND – 2019” will be conducted at Pithoragarh from 2nd to 15th October 2019. The aim of the exercise is to conduct company level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain.

Notes:
NASA has successfully launched the RamanSat 2 miniature satellite designed by 17-year-old Indian student Aabhaas Sikka. The satellite was developed by Sikka during his internship with SPACE India with help from SPACE Group Founder and CMD Sachin Bahmba along with the company’s research team. It is carrying equipment to measure the radiation from Sun and space.