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:
Veteran actor and multi-faceted artiste S.K. Padmadevi (95),  who was part of the first Kannada talkie film that went on sets, has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka on 19th September 2019. She remained active in theatre till late 1960s and acted in several plays by H.L.N. Simha and Ballari Raghavacharya.  She later joined  All India Radio (AIR) and worked on audio plays for over two decades. Ms. Padmadevi was awarded the R. Nagendra Rao award for lifetime achievement by Karnataka Chalanchitra Academy in 2016.

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:
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:
During the 52nd IAAF Congress at Doha, Indian track and field legend PT Usha has been honoured with a IAAF Veteran Pin by the International Association of Athletic Federations (IAAF) in recognition of her contribution to the growth of the sport. She is often called the “queen of track and field”. At the 1982 New Delhi Asian Games, Usha won silver in 100m and 200m events. At the Asian Championships in Kuwait City in 1983, she won gold in 400m. In the 1985 Jakarta Asian Championships, Usha won six medals – five gold and a bronze.

Notes:
The 17-year old Payal Jangid from Rajasthan has become the first Indian to win the Goalkeepers Global Goals Changemaker Award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in New York. She  was recognised for her campaign to end child labour and child marriage. Jangid, who fought against her own marriage at a young age, work towards the abolition of child marriage in her village “Hinsla”, which is a child-friendly village (Bal Mitra Gram), and other neighbouring villages. Her campaign includes organizing rallies, putting up posters, paining walls and going door-to-door to speak to families on the same.

Notes:
The 5th edition of India International Science Festival (IISF- 2019)   will be held at Kolkata with theme “RISEN India – Research, Innovation, and Science Empowering the Nation” from 5th to 8th November. The event expects to host a gathering of approximately 12,000 participants from India and abroad.

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:
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.  

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.