Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2021

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT-M) has been adjudged the best higher educational institution in 2021 followed by Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc) and IIT Bombay. The rankings were announced by education minister Dharmendra Pradhan as part of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), an initiative of the government to rank top Indian institutions. Several key parameters, including research output, teaching learning environment, outreach and inclusivity, resource, graduate outcome, and perception, among others, were considered for preparing the exhaustive list.

Notes:
Former IPS officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura, has been chosen as chairman of National Commission for Minorities. The awards he has won include President’s police medal, police medal for meritorious services, Shiromani Sikh Sahitkar award, Sikh scholar award, etc. He hails from Punjab.

Notes:
Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar inaugurated and presided over the Seminar on Population, Human Capital and Sustainable Development (healthy people – healthy future), in New Delhi on September 10, 2021. She also inaugurated a digital population clock at the Institute for Economic Growth nestled inside the University of Delhi. She also launched a book titled “Infant and Child Mortality in Assam – Demographic and Socio-Economic Interrelations” on the occasion. The book was written by Dr Dipanjali Haloi and Dr Suresh Sharma. During the event, a HMIS Brochure or Ready Reckoner was also launched.

Notes:
National Forest Martyrs Day is marked on September 11. The day as the name suggests is observed to pay tributes to those who laid down their lives in order to protect the jungles, forests and wildlife across India. The day officially came into existence in 2013 after the Ministry of Environment and Forest made the declaration. The date of September 11 was chosen as on this date in 1730, the infamous Khejarli massacre took place. During this tragic incident, people started cutting Khejarli trees on the orders of the then king Maharaja Abhay Singh of Rajasthan. These trees were considered sacred by the people that belonged to the Bishnoi community in Rajasthan’s Khejarli village.

 

Notes:
Ministry of Civil Aviation has granted conditional exemption from Drone Policy to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay. ICMR, the apex biomedical research body in India, has been allowed to use drones for conducting experimental Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) vaccine delivery in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Manipur, and Nagaland up to a height of 3,000 meters. In a separate order on the same date, the civil aviation ministry mentioned that IIT Bombay has been granted exemption from drone rules for research, development and testing of drones in its own premises.

Notes:
Daniil Medvedev of Russia lifted his first Grand Slam trophy after beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the US Open men’s singles final at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York. Djokovic missed two historic milestones, the calendar-year Grand Slam and a record 21st major title of his career.

Notes:
Infosys Ltd and Microsoft have entered into a multi-year strategic engagement with Ausgrid, the largest distributor of electricity on Australia’s east coast, to accelerate its cloud transformation journey and establish Ausgrid as a leading digital utility. Adoption of cloud is a key enabler for Ausgrid to increase the agility, security, and resilience of business operations. As part of this strategic engagement, Infosys and Microsoft are helping Ausgrid address these challenges by modernizing its application landscape and optimizing IT infrastructure.

Notes:
Eminent writer of Jammu and Kashmir, Aziz Hajini has recently passed away. He was a Kashmiri writer, poet, critic, and organizer. He had served as the first secretary of the Jammu and Kashmir Academy of Arts, Culture, and Languages. He was also awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in the year 2013 for his book Tej Pazar and in the year 2016 for Kitab Aan Khane.

Notes:
Haryana has been adjudged first in the country in installation of off-grid solar pumps under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahaabhiyaan (PMKUSUM) with installation of 14,418 pumps against 15,000 sanctioned pumps for the year 2020-21.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and the Indian Air Force have joined hands in their endeavor to build robust technologies both in the academic and research front in the domain of Aerospace Technology. The partnership is to establish long term relationship for academic and research-based interactions and interchange of technical knowledge to foster knowledge development and promote breakthrough innovations in the domain of Aerospace Technology. This significant partnership between the IITK and IAF will create new forefronts and strengthen the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Mission and pave the way towards a self-reliant India.