Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The Markandeshwar temple is situated on the bank of River Wainganga in district Gadchiroli of Maharashtra. It is in news because the Archaeological Survey of India initiated the large scale restoration work of this temple since November 2017. . Known as the “Khajuraho of Vidarbha”, the temples belong to the Nagara group of temples of North India. On stylistic grounds, their date ranges in between 9-12th centuries CE. The temples belong to saiva, vaishnava and sakta faith. Most of the temples have a simple plan, with ardhamandapa, mandapa, antarala and garbhagriha forming the component of the entire set up. The most striking feature of this temple is the largescale destruction caused on the main shrine (garbhagriha) and the very first recordings made by Alexander Cunningham states that – about 200 years ago the shikhara of the main shrine and mahamandapa was struck by a lightning which led to the partial collapse of the shikhara (the finial, north and south facade).

Notes:
Palau, an archipelago of over 500 islands in Oceania, has become the 76th signatory country to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Framework Agreement. The ISA is a group of 121 solar resource-rich countries with headquarters in Gurugram, India. The organisation was jointly launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015. It is a major global initiative for contributing to the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement through rapid and massive deployment of solar energy. Palau will host the 2020 edition of the ‘Our Oceans conference’, which will focus on issues such as climate change, sustainable fisheries and marine pollution.

Notes:
The book titled “Kargil: Untold stories from the War” has been authored by Rachna Bisht Rawat. The book is based on author’s interviews with war survivors and martyrs’ families. It will take the readers to the treacherous Himalayan mountains where some of the Indian Army’s bloodiest battles were fought. The war, which lasted for nearly three months, initiated in the May of 1999 in an effort to displace Pakistani soldiers from the peaks they had occupied on the Indian side of the Line of Control (LoC). India won the war, but lost over 500 soldiers. The book is a tribute to their courage and to that of their families, who have faced their loss with such dignity.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific ideas/information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure. The purpose of the Agreement is to contribute towards the development of research and education of both the Institutions through academic collaboration. The joint research projects, training programmes, conferences, seminars etc. under this Agreement will be open to all qualified scientists and technologists, and will be supported on the basis of scientific merit and excellence. Scientific research and technology development in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bio-printing will have potential for generation of new Intellectual Property, processes, prototypes or products.

Notes:
On 18th July 2019, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 10th Jagran Film festival (JFF) at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi. The JFF is an initiative by the Jagran Prakashan Group (JPG) towards creating a culture of cinema appreciation and an honest and sincere attempt create a platform that connects great content with audiences across the country. Last year, with over 18 towns, 400 screenings, 18 cinema appreciation workshops, the festival directly touched over an audience of over 55 thousand people and the media coverage of Jagran puts the reach of JFF well beyond 50 million people across India.

Notes:
The Andhra Bank has partnered with Floatbot to offer an Artificial Intelligence-powered virtual assistant for online banking users. The AI chatbot named “ABHi” – made by Floatbot – is integrated with Core Banking Servers (CBS) of Andhra Bank and will automate customer support for 5 crore Andhra Bank account holders. This AI chatbot solution can resolve customer queries and provide banking services in English, Hindi and Hinglish. With ABHi, customers will be able to get the information instantaneously 24×7, anytime they want. Customers can connect and know details from ABHi through website www.andhrabank.in over Mobile/Desktop browser, Facebook Messenger and over voice using Google Assistant. Customer can ask details on digital banking, loans, banking services, govt. schemes, insurance, senior citizen, RuPay Offers, Aadhaar services, payment mode, deposit/EMI Calculator, lodge a customer complaint, know nearest Branch / ATM on Google map, recharge prepaid mobile etc., on chat anytime and on move.

Notes:
India’s track and field legend PT Usha has been nominated for the International Association of Athletics Federation’s (IAAF) ‘Veteran Pin’ for her outstanding service to the sport. She is often called the “queen of track and field”. The IAAF CEO Jon Ridgeon has also extended an invitation to PT Usha to attend the award ceremony during the opening of the 52nd IAAF Congress in Qatar in September 2019. She won five gold medals — 100 metres(m), 200m, 400m, 400 m hurdles and the 4×400 m relay — besides a bronze in the Asian Games which were held at Jakarta in 1985 . Usha’s most memorable performance came in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she became the first Indian to reach the finals of the 400m hurdles, but lost the bronze by one-hundredth of a second.

Notes:
The Eleventh biennial edition of DefExpo India – 2020 is scheduled to be held for the first time in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow from 5th February 2020. The 4-day event will offer an excellent opportunity for the Indian defence industry to showcase its capabilities and promote its export potential. The main theme of the DefExpo India- 2020 will be — India – the Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub and the focus will be on Digital Transformation of Defence. The exhibition will also highlight the emergence of Uttar Pradesh as an attractive destination for investment in the defence sector and act as a platform for alliances and joint ventures in the defence industry. The DefExpo will provide an opportunity to the major foreign Original Equipment Manufacturers to collaborate with the Indian defence industry and help promote Make in India initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Notes:
India has successfully launched its 2nd lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 onboard its powerful rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 from Sriharikota to explore the uncharted south pole of the Moon by landing a rover. The Rs 978 crore mission will mark a giant leap in India’s space research and make it only the 4th country to have landed a rover on Moon. For the first time in India’s space history, an interplanetary expedition is being led by two women – Muthaya Vanitha (the project director) & Ritu Karidhal (the mission director). According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole is an interesting surface area which remains in shadow than North pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lander ‘Vikram’, named after father of Indian space research programme Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, carrying the rover ‘Pragyan’, will be landed in a high plain between two craters at a latitude of about 70 degrees South of the moon. Then the 27-kg ‘Pragyan’ meaning ‘wisdom’ in Sanskrit and a six-wheeled robotic vehicle, will set out on its job of collecting information on lunar surface. A safe site free of hazards for landing would be decided based on pictures sent back by the camera onboard the lander and after touchdown the rover will carry out experiments for 14 Earth days, equals one Lunar Day.

Notes:
In Kerala, the 4-day International shark meet 2019 is being held in Kochi from July 24 to set up a platform for researchers from across the globe working on shark and ray trade to share their experience in the field. It is a first-of-its-kind event in India, which is being jointly organized by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) and the FAO under the collaborative research project of the two entities on sharks and rays non-fin commodities. The purpose of the meet is to bring together scientific community in the spectrum to describe various methodologies being transpired and adopted in research works on sharks and rays, to define their strengths and weaknesses and develop practical but not rigid set of guidance. Representatives from the FAO and experts from various countries such as UK, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, Italy, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Somalia, Myanmar and Namibia will attend the meet to discuss the priorities in monitoring shark and ray fisheries, trade and market chain assessment..