Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2018

Notes:
On August 29, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the umbrella scheme “Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART)” of Ministry of Earth Sciences. The scheme with an overall cost of Rs. 1623 crore encompasses a total of 16 sub-projects addressing ocean development activities such as Services, Technology, Resources, Observations and Science. The services rendered under the O-SMART will provide economic benefits to a number of user communities in the coastal and ocean sectors, namely, fisheries, offshore industry, coastal states, Defence, Shipping, Ports etc. This scheme also provides necessary scientific and technological background required for implementation of various aspects of Blue Economy.

Notes:
On August 28, Manjit Singh clinched gold in the men’s 800 metres event at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, which was India’s first gold in the event since Charles Borromeo won in 1982 Asiad. Beside this, Indian sprinter Jinson Johnson from Kerala also won the silver at the same event. With this, India achieved a rare one-two in men’s 800m at the Asian Games. Manjit clocked 1:46.15 while Johnson clocked 1:46.35 to make it a memorable double for India. It was India’s only second one-two finish in 800m at the Games since Ranjit Singh and Kulwant Singh achieved the feat at the inaugural edition held in New Delhi in 1951.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has decided to launch `Gaganyaan — India’s first human spaceflight programme’ by 2022. The mission will aim to send a 3-member crew to space for a period of 5 to 7 days. The spacecraft will be placed in a low earth orbit of 300-400km and the total programme cost is expected to be less than Rs. 10,000 crores. The crew will be selected by the Indian Air Force and ISRO jointly after which they will undergo training for 2 to 3 years. It is expected that the mission may be executed six months before India completes its 75th Independence Day with the help of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle.The objectives of the Mission are to inspire youth, increase science and technology levels in the country, improve industrial growth, develop technology for social benefits, etc. The programme will make India the 4th nation in the world to launch a Human Spaceflight Mission. So far, only the USA, Russia and China have launched human spaceflight missions.

Notes:
The first-ever SAARC Agriculture Cooperative Business Forum has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on August 29, 2018. It is co-organized by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) with the support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The aim of the forum is to bring together representatives both from the government and non-governmental entities from the Member States of SAARC as well as from regional and international organizations. The theme of 3-day Forum is the ‘Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable-Development-Goals-1 and 2 in South Asia.

Notes:
Arpinder Singh from Punjab clinched India’s first men’s triple jump gold in 48 years, with a jump of 16.77m in the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games on August 29. With this, he became the 2nd Indian sportsperson to achieve this landmark. Before him, Mohinder Singh Gill won gold medal in triple jump event in 1970 Bangkok Asian games event.

Notes:
Ruchi Ghanashyam, the 1982 batch IFS officer, has been appointed India’s new High Commissioner to United Kingdom (UK). She succeeded Y K Sinha. Prior to this post, she was the Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Ghanashyam was the first Indian woman diplomat to be posted in Islamabad when the harassment of Indian diplomats was routine.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) will provide a $250 million loan facility to Rajasthan for improving the performance of its electricity distribution sector under the 24×7 Power for All program. For this, an agreement was signed among the Government of India, the Government of Rajasthan and the World Bank. The key areas that the programme will support include strengthening governance in the distribution sector by establishing annual performance MoUs between the DISCOMs and the State Government. To address the concerns of affordability and access to electricity for the poor, the program also supports the Union Government’s Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), under which more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the State.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has signed a $346 million million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Karnataka State Highways lmprovement lll Project (KSHIP-lll). Under KSHIP-III, about 419Kms of state highways will be upgraded to two- and four-lane roads and will involve reconstruction as well as widening and strengthening of bridges and culverts. It will enhance connectivity and access to economic centers across 12 districts in the state. The key element of the project is the use of hybrid annuity contracts to increase participation of private sector and improve quality & sustainibility of road assets with performance based maintenance period of 7 years post construction. The project will also carry out a road safety audit to identify and mitigate critical accident blackspots across the state highway network and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Karnataka Public Works, Ports, and lnland Water Transport Department (IWTD).

Notes:
India has signed MoU with International Energy Agency (IEA) on enhancing innovation for the Clean Energy Transition on August 30, 2018. The MoU was signed between secretary of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Dr. Renu Swarup and Executive Director of IEA, Dr. Fatih Birol. The MoU seeks to deepen co-operation in support of clean energy innovations to accelerate the Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) of clean energy technologies in India and will help support the generation of data for policymaking and improve knowledge of good policy practices for innovation in India and around the world. The MoU will ensure cooperation for sharing of energy policies on RD&D and sharing of best practices on data collection and analysis. IEA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization, which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond. It’s headquarters is located in Paris, France.

Notes:
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has announced new ranking system – named Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) – for higher educational institutions to promote culture of innovation and research in higher education at AICTE in New Delhi. The new ranking system will be formally launched on October 15, the birth anniversary of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. The first results will be declared on February 28, 2019, which is also Science Day. ARIIA – named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee- will focus on: budget expenses and revenues generated; facilitating access to advance centres; ideas of entrepreneurship; innovation ecosystems supported through teaching and learning; and innovative solutions to improve governance of the institution. It will rank educational institutions for innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used globally.