Current Affairs Quiz- September, 2019

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has rolled – out programme ‘Build for Digital India’ along with Google for engineering students. The programme will offer a platform to engineering students to develop market-ready, technology-based solutions that address key social problems. As part of the program, engineering students across the country will be invited to present their ideas and solutions in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, education, smart cities and infrastructure, women safety, smart mobility and transportation, environment, accessibility and disability and digital literacy. Applicants will take part in online and offline learning opportunities on key technologies such as Machine Learning (ML), Cloud and Android that will be offered through Google’s Developer Student Club network and other Google Developer networks. Google will also offer mentorship sessions in product design, strategy and technology to the most promising products and prototypes. This initiative will not only motivate the college students across India to innovate but will also produce some good technology solutions for some major social challenges of India.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently inaugurated the Garvi Gujarat Bhavan in New Delhi. The new building is situated near the Congress headquarters at Akbar Road in the national capital & has been built at a cost of around Rs 131 crore by the Gujarat Government. It has 19 suite rooms, 59 regular rooms, a restaurant, a public dining hall, a business centre, a souvenir shop, a multi-purpose hall, conference hall, four lounges, a gymnasium, a yoga centre, a terrace garden and a library built on an area of 20,325 square meters. The Bhavan is equipped with traditional and modern artefacts and technologies and will serve as a home for Gujaratis in the national capital. It will represent the culture, craft and cuisine of Gujarat. This building is in addition to the old Gujarat Bhavan at Chanakyapuri, which will continue to function.

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:
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:
The 19-year-old Canadian teen Bianca Andreescu has become the first teen to reach US Open semi-finals in a decade since Caroline Wozniacki in 2009. To spot in the final, she defeated Belgium’s Elise Mertens  by 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Andreescu could become the first teen to win a Grand Slam title since Maria Sharapova captured the 2006 US Open and she would be the youngest US Open champion since Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova in 2004.

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 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 World Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) 2019 has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). In it, India has moved up six places to rank 34th because of its rich natural and cultural resources and strong price competitiveness.  Spain topped the index, followed by France, Germany, Japan and the United States. The index covered 140 economies & measures the set of factors and policies that enable sustainable development of travel and tourism sector which contributes to the development and competitiveness of a country. 

Notes:
Kiran Nagarkar (77), the acclaimed English-Marathi novelist and playwright, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on 5th September 2019. He was known for his works  such as ”Saat Sakkam Trechalis” (Seven Sixes Are Forty Three) (1974), ”Ravan and Eddie” (1994) and the epic English novel ”Cuckold” (1997). He  released his latest novel ”Jasoda” in November 2017.

Notes:
On 5th September, Afghanistani leg spinner Rashid Khan (20) has scripted history as he became the youngest-ever Test captain after leading his team against Bangladesh in the one-off Test. Previously, the record was held by former Zimbabwe wicketkeeper Tatenda Taibu. At the age of 19 years and 165 days, Rashid Khan  had also become the youngest player to captain an international side.