Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2023

Notes:
17-year-old D Gukesh took over as the country’s top-ranked player from Viswanathan Anand in FIDE’s monthly rankings list.
It has been 37 years since anyone other than Anand holding the top position. The five-time World champion is currently ranked ninth, a spot below Gukesh on the world list, is semi-retired from active chess.

Notes:
Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M Scindia inaugurated Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar.
Utkela airport is owned by the Government of Odisha. It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 Crores.

Notes:
Mastercard, technology company in the payments industry, has launched ALT ID solution for guest checkout transactions.
ALT ID is a custom-made capability to create an alternate identifier for the real card numbers provided by cardholders during guest checkout transactions on e-commerce platforms.

Notes:
Meghalaya government has adopted AI-enabled robotic technology to safeguard Umiam Lake, a prominent tourist attraction. Umiam Lake, also known as Barapani Lake, is located 15 km north of Meghalaya’s capital, Shillong, surrounded by lush East Khasi hills. Formed in 1965 for hydroelectric power generation, it resulted from the Umiam Umtru Hydroelectric Power Project. The lake primarily draws water from the confluence of Umkhrah and Umshvrpi streams, forming the Wah Ro-ro stream. With a catchment area spanning 220 square km, including Shillong, it offers water sports and adventure activities, making it a favored destination in Meghalaya.

Notes:
India and the United States of America have reached an agreement to settle their longstanding World Trade Organisation (WTO) poultry dispute. This resolution was announced in a joint statement following a meeting between Indian Prime Minister and US President.
As part of the settlement, India will reduce tariffs on various American products, including frozen turkey, frozen duck, fresh, frozen, dried, and processed blueberries and cranberries.

Notes:
The USA has abruptly terminated funding for its DEEP VZN program, which is a research initiative designed to discover and study thousands of exotic pathogens worldwide. The program aimed to collect over half a million samples from across the globe and analyze around 12,000 viruses found within these samples.
This decision comes as the U.S. government reevaluated the relative risks and impacts of the research program.

Notes:
A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reveals a significant increase in global cancer cases among adults under 50, with early-onset cancer cases rising by 79.1% between 1990 and 2019.
The study attributes this trend to changes in diet, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Breast cancer saw the highest increase in new cases and deaths.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh State Institute of Education (SIE) has come up with a first-of-its-kind dialects dictionary containing 76,000 words in regional dialects/languages of the State like Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Braj and Bundelkhandi.
This initiative aims to conserve regional dialects of the State and also aims to remove linguistic barriers across various parts of the state.

Notes:
The prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards for 2022 were recently announced after a one-year delay. These awards, which recognize outstanding scientists under 45 years of age, were presented to 12 exceptional researchers in various fields of science.
The awards were announced during the launch of the ‘One Week One Lab’ program by CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research.

Notes:
The North Tech Symposium has commenced at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jammu, featuring new indigenous Defence Technology, made-in-India defence equipment, and weapons.
Indian Army displayed its latest Light Specialist Vehicles (LSVs) at the symposium, which can be equipped with anti-tank guided missile launchers, medium machine guns, and grenade launchers.