Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2024

Notes:
Dr. Virendra Kumar, Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, inaugurated the 17th Divya Kala Mela in Raipur on 17 August 2024. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai also attended and agreed to allocate 5 acres of land for a Divyangjan park in Raipur. The Mela, organized by the Ministry’s Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, runs from 16-23 August 2024. Over 100 Divyang artisans from 20 states/UTs will showcase their products. The event also includes job fairs and loan melas to support the economic empowerment of Divyangjan.

Notes:
Sudan is experiencing a cholera outbreak, killing nearly 22 people and sickening over 354 in recent weeks. The country is already facing a 16-month conflict and severe floods, worsening the situation. Cholera is a highly contagious infection causing diarrhea, severe dehydration, and potential death within hours if untreated. The disease spreads through contaminated food or water, according to the WHO.

Notes:
The UN General Assembly recently launched the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) to help small island states and developing countries access low-interest financing. The MVI is a new international benchmark for measuring vulnerability and resilience in sustainable development at the national level. It complements traditional metrics like GDP by addressing the specific needs of countries with unique vulnerabilities that don’t qualify for low-interest financing based solely on GDP per capita. The UN is working with small island developing states (SIDS) to develop and implement the MVI.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Paushtik Aahar Yojana’ to provide nutritious food to government schoolchildren. The scheme offers boiled eggs or fruits once a week to students from nursery to class eight. Fresh fruits will be locally sourced based on children’s preferences. It complements the existing mid-day meal scheme, covering 15,181 schools and 5,34,293 students. The state allocated Rs.12.75 crore for the scheme in 2024-25. The CM also launched a scheme to provide free tablets to primary school teachers to enhance digitalization in education.

Notes:
A landslide recently damaged six houses and an NHPC building at the Teesta-V hydropower station in Sikkim’s Gangtok district. Teesta-V is a 510 MW run-of-river hydropower project on the Teesta River, with a concrete gravity dam. The project began in 1999 and became operational in 2008, developed by NHPC. The Teesta River flows through Sikkim, West Bengal, and Bangladesh, and is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River. It forms a boundary between Sikkim and West Bengal, and its course includes a deep gorge through the Siwalik Hills.

Notes:
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh released a Rs 100 commemorative coin for Kalaignar M Karunanidhi’s birth centenary in Chennai on August 18, 2024. Karunanidhi, a key figure in the Dravidian movement and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for nearly two decades, passed away on August 7, 2018. Known as Kalaignar (“the artist”), he led the DMK party, which remains influential under his son, Stalin. Commemorative coins celebrate events or notable individuals and often feature special designs. These coins are usually minted in limited quantities and held by the Reserve Bank of India as collectibles.

Notes:
The Union Minister launched a pilot project to transform 60 Fair Price Shops (FPS) into Jan Poshan Kendras. FPSs distribute essential commodities to ration card holders under the Targeted Public Distribution System. Jan Poshan Kendras will offer nutrition-rich food items and provide extra income for FPS dealers. They will store 50% nutrition products and the rest will be other household items. The pilot project will be implemented in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
An international group has proposed a lunar time standard to address time discrepancies on the Moon due to its unique gravity. Atomic clocks, crucial for precision in GPS, telecom, and research, are the most accurate timekeeping devices. These clocks measure time using the stable resonant frequencies of atoms like cesium-133. One second is defined by the vibration of a cesium atom 9,192,631,770 times. Atomic clocks work by introducing a microwave signal to cesium atoms, detecting emitted radiation, and adjusting timekeeping for continuous precision.

Notes:
On August 25, 2024, the Prime Minister visited Maharashtra and Rajasthan. In Jalgaon, Maharashtra, he participated in the Lakhpati Didi Sammelan. He distributed certificates and honored 11 lakh new Lakhpati Didis. Since the Lakhpati Didi Yojana began in 2023, one crore women had become Lakhpati Didis. Women who became Lakhpati during the third term of his government were recognized. He released a ₹2,500 crore revolving fund, benefiting 48 lakh members of 4.3 lakh SHGs. He disbursed ₹5,000 crore in bank loans to benefit 25.8 lakh members of 2.35 lakh SHGs. The Lakhpati Didi scheme aimed to create three crore Lakhpati Didis through Women’s SHGs.

Notes:
The Department of Post under the Union Ministry of Communication launched the Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana to promote stamp collecting among students. The scheme aims to encourage philately as a hobby from a young age. Postmaster General Krishna Kumar Yadav announced it at a stamp exhibition in Ahmedabad. Philately involves collecting and studying postage stamps and related items. The scheme is open to students in classes VI to IX from recognised schools. It aims to develop interest and research in stamps among children across India.