Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
In Uttar Pradesh, the iconic Mughalsarai junction has been formally renamed after RSS ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyay (DDU), who was found dead in mysterious circumstances near the station in February 1968. The DDU station is more than 150 years old and one of the busiest railway stations in India. The station contains the largest railway marshaling yard in Asia. It was inaugurated by BJP national president Amit shah. Beside this, he also flagged off a passenger train with an all-women crew and a goods train at the DDU station. As per Railway officials, it will be the first time in India that an all-woman crew will run a train. Mughalsarai is also the birthplace of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. It is a part of the Chandauli Parliamentary seat which is presently held by UP BJP president Mahendra Nath Pandey.

Notes:
Dr. Ajay Data from Jaipur, the Founder and CEO of Data XGen Plus, has become the first Indian to be appointed a council member of ICANN panel Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO). He has got a 2-year term and will take up the position during ICANN ‘s 63rd Annual General Meeting in Spain in October 2018. He will represent India at a global level and will also be the custodian of Asia, Australia and Pacific Islands as a member of ccNSO. The ccNSO is ICANN’s policy-development body for global issues regarding country code top-level domains (ccTLD) within the ICANN structure. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-profit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation

Notes:
Avi Goel (14), the Indian-American high school student, has won the International Geography Bee World Championship 2018 in junior varsity division in Berlin, Germany. Avi is a tenth grader at Silver Creek High School in Evergreen, San Jose, California. He won a gold medal in 7 out of the 10 medal events, and a silver medal in two of the events, topping the overall medals table. He also bagged the top spot in all the three events counting towards the world championship title: the International Geography Exam, the International Geography Showdown, and the International Geography Bee. The competition took place from 11th to 18th of last month, bringing together over 100 of the world’s top geography students to vie for the world championship title in the subject. The competition was held by International Academic Competitions, a worldwide organization that runs academic competitions across the world, including the newly formed International Geography Bee.

Notes:
Mathrubhumi, the leading media group of Kerala, has launched its new venture ‘Mathrubhumi Media School’ in Kochi on August 8, 2018. The purpose of the school is to promote excellence in the field of media, and to infuse broad knowledge, integrity and social commitment. It offers several comprehensive courses for an aspiring journalist, with a distinguished faculty dedicated to training the next generation of focused journalists in the state -of- the – art facilities the Group has within its media network and at other media establishments. The year-long programme includes hands-on media exposure, projects and assignments specially focused on experiential learning through field experience, collaboration with leading media houses for training and 2 months internship for students. Mathrubhumi, which is a Malayalam newspaper, was founded in 1922 by K P Kesava Menon, an active volunteer in the Indian freedom struggle against the British.

Notes:
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed every year on August 9 in recognition of the first meeting of the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations in Geneva in 1982. On this day, people from around the world are encouraged to spread the UN’s message on the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous peoples. The 2018 theme “Indigenous peoples’ migration and movement” focus on the current situation of indigenous territories, the root causes of migration, trans-border movement and displacement, with a specific focus on indigenous peoples living in urban areas and across international borders.

Notes:
Javelin thrower star Neeraj Chopra from Haryana will be India’s flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia. He will lead India’s contingent in the multi-sport event. So far, Chopra won gold in 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (CWG), 2017 Asian Athletic championships, 2016 South Asian Games and the 2016 World Junior Championships. He also holds the for U-20 world record with a throw of 86.48m. He is currently coached by Uwe Hohn, a retired German track and field athlete.

Notes:
Mahiedine Mekhissi, a French middle-distance runner of Algerian descent, has clinched gold at the men’s 3000m steeplechase at the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany on August 9. He joined an elite band of athletes after he claimed his 5th European title on a scintillating night of track and field in Berlin on August 9, 2018. Mekhissi, a 3-time Olympic and two-time world medalist, was imperious as he eased to a fourth victory in the 3000m steeplechase in 8min 31.66sec, having already won the discipline three times (2010, 2012, 2016) and the 1500m once (2014). With this, he joined the trio of German Harald Schmid and British pair Roger Black and Mo Farah as the sole athletes to have won 5 outdoor Golds on the continental stage.

Notes:
Justice Gita Mittal has been sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. She was administered the oath of office by Governor N.N. Vohra. She is the first woman Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court.

Notes:
India’s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations has been inducted in Delhi Police. The 36 elite women commandos, hailing from north-eastern states, have undergone rigorous training of around 15 months from specialists all across India and abroad to handle urban situations as well as jungle operations. Their expertise includes unarmed combat, ambush and counter-ambush and urban operations like building interventions, vehicle intervention and VVIP security. They will be deployed at Red Fort and India Gate during the 2018 Independence Day celebrations. The SWAT team is the brainchild of Amulya Patnaik, the Delhi Police Commissioner.

Notes:
Viraj Madappa (20) from Kolkata has become the youngest Indian golfer to claim the Asian Tour title after lifting the 2018 TAKE Solutions Masters trophy in Bengaluru on August 12. Beside this, Madappa has also become the first rookie and youngest player to win on Tour this season. He takes home a winner’s prize purse of US$63,000 and earned a one-year winner exemption on the region’s premier Tour. The earlier record was held by Gaganjeet Bhullar, who won the Indonesia Invitational, when he was 21 years and three months, while Shubhankar Sharma won Joburg Open when he was 21 years and five months old.