Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
The researchers at the IIT Kharagpur have developed a low-cost dirt detector that alerts authorities when a place needs cleaning. The Smart Hygiene Monitor (SHM) records levels of ammonia, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter through sensors and sends online alerts to stakeholders when a certain threshold is crossed. It can be installed at any place where cleanliness needs to be monitored at regular intervals. At present, public facilities such as toilets, eateries, hospitals, parks, airports and railway stations are generally cleaned at fixed intervals, irrespective of how dirty they are.

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Jeanne Moreau (89), the legendary French film actress, has passed away at Paris in France on July 31, 2017. She was best known for her role in Francois Truffaut’s New Wave classic “Jules et Jim”.

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The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has recently constituted a committee of experts under the chairmanship of a former Judge of Supreme Court Justice B N Srikrishna to study and identify key data protection issues and recommend methods for addressing them. The purpose to form the committee is to recognize the importance of data protection and keeping personal data of citizens secure and protected. The committee will also suggest a draft Data Protection Bill. 

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In Tamil Nadu, the Aadi Perukku festival is celebrated with traditional gaiety to pay tribute to water’s life-sustaining properties. The festival, also known as ‘Aadi 18’, is celebrated on the 18th of Aadi month in Tamil calendar year to express gratitude to water bodies especially Cauvery river. The 18th day of Aadi is usually August 2, is observed as ‘Aadi pirappu’, a day of offerings and prayers to these rivers. The day is an occasion for rejoicing particularly for those living on the banks of the all the main rivers, its branches and tributaries.

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The Indian Army has developed a mobile application ‘Humraaz’ through which serving soldiers can track details like postings and promotions. Through the ‘Humraaz’ app, soldiers can also view their monthly salary slips and the Form 16 and also download them. For security reasons, the installation of the application has been linked to verification of Aadhaar details. The Aadhaar details will be verified with the Army database over National Information Centre (NIC) cloud and he will get a one-time-password on his registered mobile number. Thus, to enable usage of this mobile application, the latest mobile number of individuals should be linked to his Aadhaar number. The mobile app has been developed in-house by the Army and will be launched in the second week of August for prompt communication of information to junior commissioner officers and other personnels.

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The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is observed every year from August 1st to 7th to focus attention on the important aspect of promotion and support of breastfeeding. The 2017 theme is “Sustaining Breastfeeding Together”. To intensify the efforts for promotion of breastfeeding in India, the Union Health Ministry has initiated a nationwide programme called “MAA-Mother’s Absolute Affection’’ to bring undiluted focus on promotion of breastfeeding and provision of services towards supporting breastfeeding, along with ongoing efforts of routine health systems. In addition, “National Guidelines on Lactation Management Centres in Public Health Facilities” have been recently released to facilitate establishment of lactation management centres for ensuring that the sick and pre-term babies are fed with safe human breast milk.

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India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility has inaugurated near Hyderabad on August 4, 2017. It has been established a line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative and Government’s policy to encourage private sector participation in defense product. It is a joint venture between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. The Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS) plant will make anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Spike and the production is expected to start soon within weeks.

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Noted economist Dr. Rajiv Kumar will be the new Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, which is a think-tank that replaced the Planning Commission. He will succeed Arvind Panagariya, who will leave the government think tank on August 31, 2017 and return to Columbia University. Currently, Rajiv Kumar is a senior fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, a non-governmental think tank on public policy based out of New Delhi. He had also been part of a Government appointed high-level search Panel that went into the appointment of regulators in the Indian financial sector. Meanwhile, the Centre has also appointed Vinod Paul, a Paediatrician at AIIMS, as a member of NITI Aayog.

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Prabhat Kumar, the IFS officer of 1991 batch, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Kazakhstan. Presently, he is Ambassador of India to Colombia. He is expected to take up the assignment shortly. 

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The Microsoft India has tied up with the state of Telangana to use its artificial intelligence-based MINE platform to screen children for eye problems and prevent avoidable blindness. The Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) is an artificial intelligence platform to reduce avoidable blindness. With this tied up, Telangana has become the first Indian state to deploy artificial intelligence for eyecare screening.