GK & Current Affairs Quiz: October 06, 2018

Notes:
On October 4, the first ever Indo-Vietnam Coast Guard joint exercise – Sahyog HOP TAC -2018’ held in the Bay of Bengal off Chennai between Indian and Vietnam Coast Guards (VGC). According to an official press release, Coast Guard ships Shaurya, Arnvesh and inreceptor boat C-431 along with a Dornier aircraft and Chetak helicopter participated in the joint exercise. The purpose of the exercise was to acquaint the coast guards of the two countries with each others’ capabilities and strengthening the working level relationship to rescue lives at sea. The highlight of the exercise was a scenario of hijacking an oil ship and subsequent rescue of its crew in the coordinated joint operation of both the countries. The exercise was conducted under the supervision of Inspector General Paramesh Sivamani Commander Coast Guard Eastern region, and was witnessed by Vietnam Coast Guard Commandant Major General Nguyen Van Son.

Notes:
The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Dr. Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict. Dr. Mukwege, a gynecologist in the Democratic Republic of Congo, is the helper who has devoted his life to defending victims of war-time sexual violence. Nadia Murad is a Yazidi Kurdish human rights activist and survivor of sexual slavery by Islamic State in Iraq. She is the witness who tells of the abuses perpetrated against her and others. She has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims. The prize will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.

Notes:
The IIT Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) has decided to establish an ‘Academy of Leadership’, which intends to develop innovative programmes combining the core curricula in science and engineering disciplines with philosophy and liberal arts. This academy will be based not only on scientific and technical training, but the teachings of ancient philosophies, reasoning, systems engineering and the past successes and failures of humanity. It will be called ‘Partha S Ghosh Academy of Leadership’, named after management consultant/strategist and philanthropist Partha S Ghosh. The institute has already received donation of $1 million from Ghosh, who is often addressed as a ‘creative problem solver’ and a ‘visionary leader’ by the government and industry leaders across multiple nations in Asia Pacific, Europe and America. Under this academy, programmes would be developed to nurture leadership qualities in individuals and organisations.

Notes:
Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu has recently released the policy on the biometric-based digital processing of passengers at airports called “Digi Yatra” to make hassle-free air travel for passengers. Digi Yatra is about Facial Recognition based passenger processing which is a common standard being adopted the world over. It will facilitate paperless travel and avoid identity check at multiple points. In the first phase in February 2019, Hyderabad and Bengaluru international airports will have the system on a pilot basis. In the second phase, in April 2019, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) will roll out the programme initially at Kolkata, Varanasi, Pune and Vijayawada airports later on, all airports will adopt the system. Under the Digi Yatra, passenger can get a Digi Yatra ID by sharing minimum details like Name, e-mail ID, Mobile number and details of one approved Identity proof where Aadhar ID is not mandatory. This DigiYatra ID will be shared by passengers while booking ticket. Airlines will share the passenger data and DigiYatraID with the departure airport

Notes:
The first-ever Regional Conference on ‘Women in Detention and Access to Justice’ has recently held in Shimla on October 4-5, 2018. The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) organized the conference in collaboration with the Prison Department, Himachal Pradesh. This conference is organised with a view to provide a platform for the prison personnel of all ranks at the national level to share their candid views on various operational as well as administrative issues not only with their counterparts, but also with other experts of national repute in this field and also to identify best practices and standards in the working of Correctional Administration to meet new challenges in the present day’s context to bring out prison reforms in objective terms.

Notes:
The ‘Operation Samudra Maitri’has been launched by the Government of India (GoI) to provide massive humanitarian assistance to the earthquake and tsunami victims in Indonesia. Two Indian Air Force aircrafts – C-130J and C-17 – departed recently with medical personnel and relief material. The C-130J aircraft is carrying a medical team along with tents and equipment to set up a field hospital. The C-17 aircraft is carrying medicines, generators, tents and water to provide immediate assistance. Three Indian Naval Ships – INS Tir, INS Sujatha and INS Shardul – have also been mobilised to carry out Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR). These ships are likely to reach the Central Sulawesi province of Indonesia on October 6. The death toll in Indonesia’s twin quake-tsunami disaster, which decimated parts of the central Indonesian island of Sulawesi, has already climbed to nearly 1,400. An estimated 2.4 million people were affected, 61,867 displaced and 66,000 homes destroyed.

Notes:
The scientists have recently identified regions in the wheat genome responsible for concentration of zinc in wheat grain. They have also identified candidate genes involved in zinc concentration in wheat. The findings can potentially help in developing wheat varieties with enhanced levels of the micro-nutrient. The researchers have found 39 new molecular markers and two genome segments that carry important genes for zinc uptake, translocation, and storage by analyzing zinc concentrations. A total of 330 wheat lines were analysed from different environments in India and Mexico. The genome-wide association approach, used in human disease research, was applied in this study to locate genome segments linked to zinc uptake. This study was jointly conducted by researchers from International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), Flinders University, Australia; Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana; Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research, Karnal; and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. It must be noted that about 30% of Indian population is estimated to have zinc deficiency. Children below 5 year of age and pregnant women are more vulnerable for nutrient deficiency.

Notes:
On October 5, the 4th edition of the India International Science Festival (IISF – 2018) has started at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The mega science expo will be formally inauguratedby the President Shri Ram NathKovind. It is being organized by Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences in association with Vijnana Bharati. The theme of this edition of Science Festival is “Science for Transformation”. IISF-2018 is expected to be represented by approximately 10000 delegates including 5000 students, 550 teachers, 200 students from North-East Region, 20 international delegates and approximately 200 startups.

Notes:
India has signed $150 million loan pact with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to establish its first-ever Global Skills Park (GSP) in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The aim of the GSP is to enhance the quality of Technical and Vocational Education And Training (TVET) System in the State and create a more skilled workforce. The new GSP campus will consist of core Advanced Training Institutes including the Center for Occupational Skills Acquisition and the Center for Advanced Agricultural Training as well as other support services focusing on entrepreneurship, training of trainers, and skill-related research. The campus will have training facilities focusing on skills for manufacturing, service, and advanced agricultural jobs, benefitting about 20,000 trainees and trainers. The Project will also help in modernizing 10 industrial training institutes across the state by renovating training infrastructure and upgrading skills courses to align with industry and market needs.

Notes:
The cave shrine of Mata Vaishnodevi in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has been declared the “cleanest religious place” in the country. Over 81.78 pilgrims visited the shrine in Trikuta hills in the district in 2017. Mata Vaishno Devi shrine has won the prestigious ‘cleanest religious place’ award at Safaigiri Summit and Awards 2018 ceremony organised by the India Today Group in Mumbai on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. The award has been given in recognition of the significant strides made by the shrine board for ensuring sanitation and cleanliness all along the tracks and in the entire shrine area. The Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board (SMVSB) has introduced water less urinals based on ‘flush-me-not’ technology to curtail water consumption significantly and reverse vending machines to promote scientific disposal and recycling of PET bottles. This is the 2nd successive year when the board has been awarded in the field of sanitation as in 2017 it had received the ‘Special Swachh Iconic Place’ award under the ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ campaign of the Government of India (GoI).