Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2018

Notes:
Tran Dai Quang (61), the current President of Vietnam, has passed away in Hanoi on September 21, 2018. Quang was appointed to the role in April 2016. He is a former police general who presided over a crackdown on free speech in that one-party state. Originally from a small farming community 115 km south of Hanoi, Quang rose through party ranks to become a police general and member of Vietnam’s powerful decision-making Politburo. Vietnam has no paramount ruler and is officially led by the President, Prime Minister and Communist Party chief. The country has a power structure in which responsibilities at the top are split among a party chief; a president, who serves as head of state; and a prime minister, who runs the government.

Notes:
India will host the Women’s Boxing World Championships after more than a decade, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 15-24, 2018. The teams will have to be in the national capital by November 13, with the competition starting two days later. The marquee tournament was last held in India in 2006 and remains the best for the country in terms of performance. India had topped the medal tally with four gold, three silver and one bronze medal.

Notes:
Andhra Pradesh has topped the charts among States in terms of “2018 Ease of Living Index” rankings launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Odisha and Madhya Pradesh bagged second and third best performing awards. The Ease of Living Index is a transformative initiative of the Ministry under AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation). The index seeks to assist cities in undertaking a 360-degree assessment of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This initiative will encourage all cities to move towards an ‘outcome-based’ approach to urban planning and management and promote healthy competition among cities.

Notes:
Recently, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has commissioned a 16 km stretch of elevated metro & hence completed one full stretch of the three corridor Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) project. Now, the total stretch of Hyderabad metro will be 46 km. With this, it has become the 2nd largest operational metro rail network in India after the Delhi Metro. The HMR project is also the world’s largest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project. The Government spent close to Rs. 3,000 crore for land acquisition, road widening and shift of utilities, while L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad (L&TMRH) invested more than Rs. 12,000 crore. The construction is underway in two other routes: Corridor Two – Jubilee Bus Station to Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (Imlibun)/Falaknuma – 15 km and Corridor Three – Nagole to HiTec City/Raidurg – 28 km. Altogether 72 km of elevated metro line is being built in three dense traffic corridors of the capital.

Notes:
The IIT Kharagpur has developed a community supported supply of purified drinking water project at Porapara in West Midnapore district of West Bengal. Dr Somnath Ghosal of the Rural Development Centre of IIT KGP has installed a fully-automated multi-filtered UV treated drinking water facility which can provide close to 1000 litres of purified drinking water to 60 families every day at Rs one per family. The land was freely provided by a villager & on it, IIT KGP build the infrastructure and funded the entire project. The entire operation of the unit, its upkeep and daily management, are being done by the villagers who have formed 3 committees to manage the operations. It is an “install and self-operate” arrangement in which the current and future financial needs are to be met by the villagers from the fund collected in the form of the daily payment for water. Dr. Ghosal has recently filed for a patent for the technology used in Porapara.

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:
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:
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:
Project UNNATI is an initiative by the Ministry of Shipping. It aims to enhance the operational and financial performance of the 12 major ports with selected Indian private ports and best-in-class international ports. Under Project UNNATI 116 initiatives have been identified for various major ports.

Notes:
Recently, Five-time world champion boxer MC Mary Kom has been named as the brand ambassador of Tribes India – an initiative of Ministry of Tribal Affairs to promote tribal artefacts. Apart from this, the Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the “Punch Tantra” collection to promote tribal artefacts. Punch Tantra is an exclusive collection, which comprises a range of ethic and traditional tribal handicrafts and handloom products.