Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2024

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Global Fintech Fest (GFF) 2024 held at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.
The event is organized jointly by the Payments Council of India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Fintech Convergence Council (FCC). The GFF is considered one of the world’s largest gatherings of fintech startups, investors, experts, bankers, and regulators from around the globe.

Notes:
INS Tabar conducted a Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with the Spanish Navy’s Ship Atalaya in the Mediterranean Sea.
The exercise signifies India’s naval outreach and marks a milestone in maritime cooperation between India and Spain. The MPX included advanced exercises like Station Keeping, Replenishment at Sea Approaches, Flying Exercise, Steam Past, and PHOTOEX. Both navies showed high professionalism and commitment, reinforcing strong bilateral naval ties and enhancing cooperation in the maritime domain.

Notes:
Poba Reserve Forest in Assam’s Dhemaji district will soon become a wildlife sanctuary. It is a rainforest in northeastern Assam, created in 1924, covering 10,221 hectares. It is located near the Himalayan foothills. The forest is bordered by the Siang, Dibang, and Lohit rivers, Brahmaputra, Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, and Jonai villages. Ethnic groups like Mising, Bodo, Sonowal Kachari, and Hajong inhabit the area. Rich in flora and fauna, including slow loris, capped langur, and wild boar. Home to 45 species of birds and reptiles, and diverse fish species. Important migratory route for elephants, connecting other wildlife areas.

Notes:
TV Somanathan has been appointed as the 33rd Cabinet Secretary of India. He succeeded Rajiv Gauba, the longest-serving Cabinet Secretary since August 2019. Rajiv Gauba, a 1982 batch IAS officer, got three one-year extensions until August 2024. The government amended retirement rules to extend Gauba’s term. Before Gauba, Pradeep Kumar Sinha held the longest term as Cabinet Secretary for over four years. Somanathan, a 1987 batch Tamil Nadu cadre IAS officer, was previously Finance Secretary and Expenditure Secretary. He has a PhD in Economics, is a Chartered Accountant, and has held significant roles in Tamil Nadu and the World Bank.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh Cabinet approved a new social media policy to regulate content on platforms like Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube. Social media influencers can earn up to ₹8 lakh per month by promoting government schemes. The policy aims to create job opportunities for residents within the state and those living elsewhere. Platforms are divided into four categories based on followers for payouts. Maximum monthly payouts range from ₹2 lakh to ₹8 lakh depending on the platform and content type. A digital agency named ‘V-Form’ will manage government advertisements. The policy includes guidelines for handling objectionable content, targeting anti-national, anti-social, fake news, or inflammatory posts.

Notes:
Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari and Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated the India Bio-Energy & Tech Expo 2024 in New Delhi on 2 September 2024. The Expo is held from 2 to 4 September 2024. Awards were given to companies for their contributions to the bioenergy industry and enhancing bioenergy production and supply in India. The Indian Federation of Green Energy, in partnership with MMACTIV Sci-Tech Communications Ltd, organized the Expo. The Expo provides a platform for discussions on the future of bioenergy technologies. It aims to support India’s green energy initiatives by involving government, industry leaders, and experts.

Notes:
IIT Delhi’s first international campus was inaugurated in Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. This new campus aims to enhance the UAE’s status as a global education and innovation hub. It is the second international IIT campus, following IIT Madras’s in Zanzibar. The inaugural cohort includes 52 students pursuing undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Energy Engineering. Students were admitted through JEE Advanced and CAET exams and come from various backgrounds, including Indian, Emirati, and international students. IIT Delhi Abu Dhabi also launched an MTech program in Energy Transition and Sustainability earlier this year.

Notes:
An elephant patrol team recently rescued a tusker stuck in a rail barricade in the Maddur range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve. Bandipur Tiger Reserve is located in Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts of Karnataka, at the tri-junction of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. Geographically, it is an “ecological confluence” of the Western and Eastern Ghats.
The reserve was once a hunting ground for the Mysore kingdom rulers. It was established as Venugopala Wildlife Park in 1931 by the Maharaja of Mysore and expanded as Bandipur Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger in 1973. The reserve is bordered by the Kabini River to the north and the Moyar River to the south. Bandipur experiences a tropical climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.

Notes:
The Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) recently held a national workshop on the Indian Ocean Biodiversity Information System (IndOBIS) in Kochi. IndOBIS is the Indian regional node of the global Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). Hosted by CMLRE, IndOBIS collects data on marine species in the Indian Ocean and contributes to OBIS. OBIS is a large global repository with millions of marine species records from various contributors worldwide. It provides detailed information on species distribution, habitats, and environmental data across the world’s oceans.
OBIS offers tools for searching, visualizing, and downloading biodiversity data.

Notes:
“Vishanu Yuddh Abhyas” is a mock drill conducted under the National One Health Mission (NOHM) to prepare for pandemic situations. NOHM focuses on the “One Health” approach, integrating disease control across human health, animal husbandry, and wildlife sectors. The exercise aimed to assess the readiness and response of the National Joint Outbreak Response Team (NJORT). A simulated scenario of a zoonotic disease outbreak was created to mimic a real-world situation. The drill involved multiple national and state agencies, including ICMR, AIIMS Jodhpur BSL-3 Lab, and state administrations.