Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
In Delhi, a cultural event ‘Namaste Pacific’ was recently jointly organised by the High Commissions of Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji to showcase in India the culture of the Pacific countries. Aaradhna, a multi-award-winning R&B and soul artist from New Zealand, performed with her band. Aaradhna is part Indian and part Samoan and has to her credit four individual albums. Traditional masks and artefacts from Papua New Guinea and Pacific Green furniture and other products from Fiji were also displayed. There was also showcase of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Pollinate Energy based in Australia, Nepal and India, and solar lanterns from Barefoot College in Rajasthan.

Notes:
The agrarian festival ‘Nuakhai’ has recently celebrated with great pomp and gaiety by the people of western Odisha districts. This major agrarian festival of this region is being celebrated in every nook and corner collectively with much fanfare and religious fervour. The Nuakhai Juhar is a major ritual of the festival. It is an exchange of greetings with friend relative and well-wishers. The elders are wished Nuakhai Juhar and they give blessings for long life, happiness and prosperity. Being an agrarian festival, the eldest in each household in rural pockets worshipped their paddy fields praying for a bumper crop and favourable weather. Women folk leave bed early to perform the Nukhai rituals with decorating the house with colourful rangoli.

Notes:
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has recently confirmed the presence of tigers in high-altitude regions of Sikkim, Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh in a study submitted to the Union Ministry of Environment. The Ministry will use a study on the status of tiger habitats in high altitude ecosystems to have a high altitude tiger master plan. The report provides the action strategy for a high altitude tiger master plan with gainful portfolio for local communities and ensuring centrality of tiger conservation in development, through an effective coordination mechanism, involving stakeholders and line departments operating within the landscape. The study is led by the Global Tiger Forum (GTF) with range country governments of Bhutan, India and Nepal. It is also supported by the Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHPC) of the IUCN and KfW (German Development Bank). The GTF is the only intergovernmental and international body established with members from willing countries to embark on a global campaign to protect the Tiger. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
Ashok Leyland has become the first Indian Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to meet the Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms across its full range of heavy-duty trucks with gross vehicle weight of 16.2 tonnes and above. The company has recently received certificates from Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) confirming compliance with BS-VI emission standard. ARAI is an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, which offers comprehensive certification and homologation services for all kinds of vehicles. As per Supreme Court ruling, no BS-IV vehicle will be sold across the country with effect from April 1, 2020. Instead, the BS-VI emission norm will come into force across the country. Ashok Leyland is a flagship company of the Hinduja Group and is the India’s 2nd largest commercial vehicle manufacturer.

Notes:
Nobel Laureate from Bangladesh Professor Muhammad Yunus has been conferred the ‘Lamp of Peace of Saint Francis ‘ award by the Vatican for his contribution towards establishing peace and harmony. The ceremony was recently took place at the historical Papal Basilica of Assisi in Italy. The award is recognition for distinguished work by an individual for promoting peace and dialogue among people. The Lamp of Peace award was first given to the Polish trade union leader Lech Walesa in 1981. Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev and Angela Merkel are a few other prominent persons who received this award earlier.

Notes:
The digital transformation and IT services major, Wipro Limited has bagged a strategic contract valued at $300 million from the ICICI Bank to provide digital technology led services. Under the contract, Wipro will offer a comprehensive suite of services to ICICI Bank for the next 7 years. Earlier, Mumbai-based IT services firm Vara lnfotech was providing these services to the ICICI Bank. As part of this strategic deal, Wipro will absorb about 3,800 employees of Vara lnfotech along with its existing contracts, facilities and assets, on a going concern basis, through a business transfer agreement for an all cash consideration of  Rs 321 crore. This transaction is expected to be completed during the quarter ending September 30, 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

Notes:
The Global Liveability Index 2019 has been released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions. Each factor in a city is rated as acceptable, tolerable, uncomfortable, undesirable or intolerable. The 2019 index is topped by Vienna (Austria), followed by Melbourne and Sydney. In India, New Delhi and Mumbai ranked 118th and 119th out of 140 cities. While war-ravaged Damascus (Syria) ranked the world’s  least liveable city, followed by Lagos (Nigeria) and Dhaka (Bangladesh).

Notes:
The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) for direct transfer of benefits electronically into bank accounts of all stakeholders. As per pact, SBI will provide e-payment services directly to bank accounts of all ESIC beneficiaries and payees without any manual intervention as an integrated and automated process. The bank would provide e-payment integration with the enterprise resource planning processes of ESIC through its cash management product e-payment technology platform. The e-payment integration would effect statutory benefit payments to ESIC beneficiaries as well as other payees on real time basis, reducing time lags and delays and at the same time, help eliminate mistakes and errors caused by repetitive and manual data entries. 

Notes:
The 6-member RBI task force, headed by Canara Bank Chairman TN Manoharan, has recommended the setting up a Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) of market participants to finalize details for the secondary market for corporate loans, including the standardization of documents. It has also called for amending regulations of SEBI, IRDA and PFRDA to enable participation of non-banking entities such as mutual funds, insurance companies, and pension funds. It has also called for setting up a Central Loan Contract Registry (CLCR), as well as an online loan sales platform to conduct auctions and sale of such loans.

Notes:
India has been declared free from Avian Influenza (H5N1) by the OIE-World Organisation for Animal Health. The status will last only till another outbreak is reported. H5N1 is a highly contagious viral disease that particularly affects domestic poultry such as chickens, turkeys and ducks. The virus can also infect humans causing death in some cases.