Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
In India, the 5th edition of National Handloom Day (NHD) has celebrated on 7th August 2019 to honour the handloom weavers in the country and also highlight India’s handloom industry. The day seeks to focus on the contribution of handloom to the socio economic development of India and also to increase the income of weavers. This year, Bhubaneswar has been chosen as the venue for the main event due to its rich tradition of Handlooms. The prime objective of holding the NHD in Bhubaneswar is to empower women and girls. The day was chosen as the National Handloom Day (NHD to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement which was launched on 7th August 1905 in Calcutta Town Hall to protest against the partition of Bengal by the British Government. The movement had aimed at reviving domestic products and production processes.

Notes:
Indian Grandmaster Surya Shekhar Ganguly from Kolkata has won the 2019 Belt and Road China Hunan International chess tournament. Ganguly left behind a strong field to win the 9-round Open tournament played in a Swiss League format. He registered 5 wins and 4 draws to emerge the sole leader with 7 points. He not only collected 27.5 Elo points but pocketed $50,000 (Rs 35.6 lakh) as well.

Notes:
For Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched a draft titled ‘Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF)”, which is a part of a World Bank-funded project. The draft plan will dictate how prospective infrastructure projects situated along the coast ought to be assessed before they can apply for clearance. The document lays out guidelines out for coastal States to adopt when they approve and regulate projects in coastal zones. The document was prepared by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management, a Ministry-affiliated body. So far three coastal States, namely Gujarat, Odisha and West Bengal, have prepared ICZM Plans with support from the World Bank. Such plans would be prepared for the selected coastal stretches in other States/UT.

Notes:
The Kerala government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) to support its efforts in promoting Space Technology vertical in the State. The agreement will facilitate VSSC to support the Kerela’s project to set up India’s first state-of-the-art Space Systems Park at Knowledge City in Thiruvanathapuram to attract global start-ups in the space sector and make it a major manufacturing hub for space-related technology, research and development. Through the MOU, VSSC will support Kerala Space Park in the technical and leadership responsibility and promote the SMEs, startups and other partner entities in developing products and services for the Space Industry. The MOU also states VSSC’s interest in providing opportunities for companies operating out of the Space Park to participate in its procurement process.

Notes:
The Manipur government has appointed a 9-year-old girl Valentina Elangbam as the State’s green ambassador after a video of her crying over felled trees goes viral. Hence, the state government issued an order in recognition of her immense love and affection for trees and for generating mass awareness on conservation of the environment for a period of one year from the date of issuing the order. Valentina is a Class V student of Amutombi Divine Life English School in Kakching town. She had planted the saplings of two Gulmohar (royal poinciana) trees by the side of a river when she was in Class I. However, in a rude shock to her, the trees were recently cut down as part of a road expansion project. Then, a video of the crying child over the trees was shared on Facebook by her uncle.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has recently `Mukhyamantri Madad Yojna’ for providing assistance to tribal families on child birth and death of a family member. Upon the birth of a boy or a girl, the family will get 50 kg of rice or wheat. In the event of death in the family, 100 kg of rice or wheat and utensils for cooking food would be given. Beside this, 40 new Eklavya schools would be set up in tribal areas to provide quality education. For preserving tribal history, a museum with estimated cost of Rs 500 crore will be set up at Jabalpur in the memory of Raja Shankarshah and Raja Raghunath Shah.

Notes:
The Indian Army has launched “Mission Reach Out” in Jammu to ensure availability of basic necessities & essential services in the region post the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 and reorganization of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). Regarding to this issue, a high level “Mission Reach Out” conference was held in the Nagrota Military Station to review the prevalent situation in the region. It was chaired by White Knight Corps Commander Lt Gen Paramjit Singh. The numerous initiatives undertaken by the Army under ‘Mission Reach Out’ are as follows: mobile medical care units with essential medicines and lady medical officers (wherever necessary), providing water in locations where the supply was disrupted, provision of essentials (including rations), assistance in transportation of patients to hospitals, facilitating people to speak to their near and dear ones through Army exchange and creating a safe environment for ATMs, banks and hospitals to function.

Notes:
Veteran journalist and consulting editor at India Today TV, Rajdeep Sardesai has been conferred with the prestigious 2019 Prem Bhatia Award for Outstanding Political Reporting on 11th August at the India International Centre in New Delhi. He won the award for his commentary on 2019 General Elections. The award is given in memory of veteran journalist Prem Bhatia who died in 1995. It carries a prize of Rs 2 lakh.

Notes:
Reliance Jio has partnered with Microsoft to accelerate digital transformation in India. Under the deal, Microsoft will bring in the Azure Cloud on Jio Network targetting the enterprise and business users seeking a technological shift. Jio is the subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL). The aim of both the companies is to enhance the adoption of leading technologies like data analytics, AI, cognitive services, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and edge computing among Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to make them ready to compete and grow.

Notes:
Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute of Germany have recently discovered a new black hole named Holmberg 15A that is clocking in at 40 billion times the mass of the Sun. The black hole is supergiant elliptical galaxy i.e. around 700 million light-years away from Earth and resides right at the centre of the Abell 85 galaxy cluster. It is to be noted that the Holmberg 15A is one of the biggest black holes that’s ever been spotted by keeping track on the movement of stars around it. Black holes are a region of space-time exhibiting gravitational acceleration so strong that nothing—no particles or even electromagnetic radiation such as light—can escape from it.