Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

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:
India and the United States are set to hold their first trilateral-service military exercise  codenamed ‘Tiger Triumph’ at Visakhapatnam and Kakinada in November 2019. The exercise is being organized under the aegis of the headquarters of the Integrated Defence Staff (IDS).

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:
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:
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:
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:
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 National Tourism Awards 2017-18 were recently presented by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on the occasion of World Tourism Day (WTD-2019). In it, Andhra Pradesh has bagged 3 national tourism awards in different categories viz. ‘Best State for comprehensive development of tourism’, ‘Excellence in publishing in English’ and the ‘Best tourist-friendly Railway Station (Visakhapatnam). Goa and Madhya Pradesh were the joint winners in the Adventure Tourism category and Uttarakhand won the award for the Best Film Promotion-Friendly State. Telangana won the award for the Best State for the innovative use of IT.