GK & Current Affairs Quiz: September 28, 2018

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been awarded with the UN’s highest environmental honour ‘Champions of the Earth 2018’ for his leadership of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and pledge to eliminate single use plastic in India by 2022. The other winners of the 2018 award include indigenous activist Joan Carling, Food company Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, which develops plant-based substitutes for meat and dairy products, and China’s Zhejiang’s Green Rural Revival Programme. Beside this, Cochin International Airport has also been honoured with the 2018 award for Entrepreneurial Vision for its leadership in the use of sustainable energy. The awards will be presented during the Champions of the Earth Gala in New York City, on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly (UNGA).

Notes:
The Japanese space agency JAXA has made history by successfully landing two robotic rovers on the surface of an asteroid Ryugu. The rovers are collectively known as MINERVA-II1 (MIcro Nano Experimental Robot Vehicle for Asteroid, the second generation), which were separated from the Hayabusa2 spacecraft on 21st September 2018 . The space agency reported that the small compact MINERVA-II1 is the world’s first mobile exploration robot to land on the surface of an asteroid. This is also the first time for autonomous movement and picture capture on an asteroid surface. Therefore, MINERVA-II1 is the world’s first man-made object to explore movement on an asteroid surface. Asteroids are believed to have rich information about the formation of the solar system billions of years ago. The third rover called MASCOT will be launched from Hayabusa2 in early October 2018. If successful, MASCOT will be the world’s first sample return mission to a C-type asteroid.

Notes:
On September 26, Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated Smart City Expo India-2018 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The purpose of 3-days expo is to have discussions among different experts and groups to utilize benefits of new technology, town planning, capacity management, challenges before socio-economic development and development of networking in the Smart City sector. Near about 6000 delegates from MNC’s of different countries, researchers, CEO’s of different Smart cities, Mayors and corporates are participating in the expo.

Notes:
India has made alliance with United States in public and private sectors to combat the menace of Tuberculosis (TB). The formation of ‘USAID-India End TB Alliance’ was formally announced by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Mark Green in presence of Union Health Minister J P Nadda in New York on September 26, 2018. The experts in the alliance will offer innovative approaches to combat tuberculosis in India. Alliance members include industry and civil society leaders, academics, scientists, innovators, investors, and members of the diaspora.

Notes:
On September 26, the Supreme Court of India (SCI) declared the Centre’s flagship Aadhaar scheme as constitutionally valid for filing of IT returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN), but struck down some of its provisions including its linking with bank accounts, mobile phones and school admissions. A 5-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra held that Aadhaar would not be mandatory to link with bank accounts and telecom service providers cannot seek its linking for mobile connections. The CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory and it is not compulsory for school admissions. The bench struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act. The bench also struck down Section 57 of Aadhaar Act permitting private entities to avail Aadhaar data and ruled that Aadhaar authentication data cannot be stored for more than six months. It directed the government not to give Aadhaar to illegal immigrants.

Notes:
The 2nd Global RE-INVEST India-ISA Partnership 2018 will be held in New Delhi from October 3rd to 5th. Over 150 speakers including 55 international speakers from 15 countries and will take part in it. In it, 15 Indian states will also participate. The 2nd Global RE-INVEST will also host the First Assembly of International Solar Alliance (ISA). As per the Paris Accord on Climate Change (PACC), India made a pledge that by 2030, 40% of the installed power generation capacity should be based on fossil fuel based sources. It is determined that 175 GW of renewable energy capacity will be installed by 2022. India today is the world’s largest clean energy market, with exponentially increasing demand and supply and proactive policy support, including 100% foreign investment in renewable energy development. The different sessions of the Re-Invest will be held at India-Expo Mart at Greater Noida.

Notes:
For the first time, the Defence Ministry has appointed a transaction adviser and a legal adviser for procurement projects under the Strategic Partnership (SP) model. SBI Caps [Capital Markets] has been appointed as the transaction adviser. The first task for the advisers will be to work on the Expression of Interest for the Naval Utility Helicopters. Under the SP model, Indian private companies will get to tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers and build major defence platforms in India under technology transfer.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the National Digital Communication Policy (NDCP) 2018 which aims to provide universal broadband connectivity at 50 megabit per second (MBPS) to every citizen. It will also provide one Gbps connectivity to all Gram Panchayats by 2020 and 10 Gbps by 2022. This estimated speed is much faster than the present speed being provided to Gram Panchayats and will enable fast Internet surfing and download of data. It aims to attract $100 billion investment and create 4 million jobs in the sector by 2022 in the digital communication sector. This will also ensure connectivity to all uncovered areas. The policy advocates establishment of National Digital Grid by creating a National Fibre Authority.

Notes:
The World Tourism Day (WTD) is observed every year on September 27 to raise awareness among the international community of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic value. The 2018 theme is “Tourism and the Digital Transformation”. The 2018 WTD is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the potential contribution of digital technologies to sustainable tourism development, while providing a platform for investment, partnerships and collaboration towards a more responsible and inclusive tourism sector.

Notes:
India has become the first and only SAARC country to have a quit-line number on tobacco products. The Union Health Ministry has already made 85% pictorial health warning mandatory on both sides of packets containing cigarettes, bidis, and chewing tobacco. The quit-line number will be printed on all tobacco products manufactured after September 1, 2018. For smoking and smokeless forms of tobacco products, the words ‘Tobacco causes cancer’ and ‘Tobacco causes painful death’ shall appear in white font on a red background and the words ‘Quit today call — 1800-11-2356’ shall appear in white font on a black background. India is the 4th country in Asia after Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore to have this government helpline for those looking at quitting tobacco. At least 46 countries have quit-line numbers as part of health warning labels on tobacco product packaging.