GK & Current Affairs Quiz: August 14-15, 2019

Notes:
In New Delhi, the Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat launched the India’s largest sanitation survey – Swachh Survekshan Grameen-2019. The aim of this 45-day long survey is to engage rural communities in improvement of the sanitation status of their districts and states through intensive campaign. The survey will take place in 18 thousand villages of 698 districts. Swachhata activities have also been planned at around 87 thousand public places where community meetings will be organized. People can also directly give their feedback through the mobile app. Under the 2nd edition of Swachh Survekshan Grameen, districts and states will be ranked on data collected from citizen feedback, direct observation and service-level progress.

Notes:
The famous Panchamritham, an offering of the Palani Dandayuthaswamy temple, has been granted the Geographical Identity (GI) tag. This is the first time a temple ‘prasadam’ from Tamil Nadu has been conferred with the GI tag. The unique panchamirtham of Palani temple is prepared using 5 natural substances — banana, jaggery, cow ghee, forest honey and cardamom. The panchamirtham is an ‘abhishega prasadam’ (food that is a religious offering), which is served in a semi-solid state. It is sweet in taste and one of the main offerings for Lord Dhandayuthapani Swamy, the presiding deity of Arulmigu Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple, situated on Palani Hills. The quality of the Panchamritham is being monitored by the Central Research Institute of Food Technology in Mysore. It is also noteworthy that Palani temple is one of the six Kartikeya temples in Tamil Nadu that have special associations with the life of Lord Subramanya or Karthikeya.

Notes:
The researchers from IIT Kharagpur have developed a low-cost diagnostic device which can perform various pathological tests by using blood taken from a finger prick. The device requires only a paper strip based kit integrated with a smartphone to enable analytics and readout functions and an LED light for imaging. The key aspect of the kit is operational simplicity and extremely low running cost. The kit is developed by a research team led by Prof Suman Chakraborty.

Notes:
Priyam Chatterjee has become the first Indian chef to be awarded the ‘Chevalier de l’Ordre du Mérite Agricoleto’ by the Government of France. The award recognises his contribution towards reinventing the gastronomic scene in India. Chatterjee is best known for revisiting the traditional dishes from his native state of West Bengal and giving it a French twist. He is currently the head chef at Jaan Restaurant Yacht in France.

Notes:
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) of Indian Railways has launched a special drive code named ‘Operation Number Plate’ to ensure safety of passengers. The purpose of the special drive is to identify vehicles parked in the premises of Indian Railways and at several ‘No Parking’ zones for beyond the stipulated time or longer duration.