Current Affairs Questions & Answers: March 19-20, 2017

Notes:
Chuck Berry (90), the rock and roll legend, has recently passed away in Missouri, United States. He was the well-known guitarist and songwriter and recognized as one of the fathers of rock ‘n’ roll. He refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll distinctive. He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 1984 and was among the first inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Notes:
The first fully India-made 12-coach train “Medha” has flagged off between Dadar to Borivali at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The rake can run at a speed of 110 kmph and has a capacity of 6,050 passengers and the number of seats is 1,168. Medha rake costs Rs. 43.23 crore and has been manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai, which has installed LED lighting to reduce energy consumption. This will save energy by approximately 30-35% as compared to the existing rakes. This rake has in-built systems to minimise breakdowns during the travel.

Notes:
Yogi Adityanath has been sworn-in as the 21st Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP). Prior to this appointment, he has been a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Gorakhpur Constituency, Uttar Pradesh for five consecutive terms since 1998. Adityanath is also the head priest of the Gorakhnath Mutt, a Hindu temple in Gorakhpur.  Apart from this, BJP’s state unit chief Keshav Prasad Maurya and party’s national vice president Dinesh Sharma also took charge as deputy chief ministers of UP.

Notes:
The 5th International Convention on “Changing Dynamics of Commodities Market” has started in New Delhi to help the farmers’ participation in the trading of food grains.The conference is organised by the Commodity Participants Association of India (CPAI).

Notes:
Amitabh Bachchan has recently launched the world’s first mobile app on ‘ABC of Breast Health’ at an event organized by the Ushalakshmi Breast Cancer Foundation in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The app will be available in both IOS and Android versions and is free to download. The purpose of the app is to empower the nation about every aspect of breast cancer and benign non-cancer breast health issues in 12 languages viz. English, Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Bengali, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Oriya and Assamese.

Notes:
The International Diamond Conference has started at Hotel Grand Hyatt, Mumbai from Match 19, 2017 to bring together miners, diamond companies, experts, retailers, bankers and analysts from across the globe on a platform to discuss the supply and demand issues faced by the Global Diamond Industry. The theme of the conference is “Mines to Market 2017” and is organized by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India (GJEPC). The conference is sponsored by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India (GoI). The conference will witness Ministers from mining countries, delegates from Mining Companies, heads of Retail and Luxury brands, Int. Diamond heads of various banks and other prominent personalities of the Diamond industry.

Notes:
Shahid Afridi, the former Pakistan captain, has become the new brand ambassador for the 5th edition of the ODI Blind Cricket World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in January 2018. The World Cup will be played in One Day International (ODI) format and will be hosted by Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Pakistan.

Notes:
The 2-day meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) has started in Islamabad, Pakistan on March 20, 2017. The 10-member Indian delegation led by Indus Water Commissioner P K Saxena is attending the meeting. The delegation comprises of Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) officials and technical experts. The Pakistan side will be headed by Indus Water Commissioner Mirza Asif Saeed. The meeting is taking place nearly 6 months after India decided to suspend talks on the pact in the wake of the Uri terror attack by Pakistan based outfits. The PIC is a bilateral commission of officials from India-Pakistan, created to implement and manage goals of Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Under the IWT treaty, it is required that India and Pakistan meet every financial year. As per the provisions in the treaty, India can use only 20% of the total water carried by the Indus River.

Notes:
Soumya Swaminathan, the director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has been named to United Nations’ ad hoc Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance to provide expertise on and coordinate the global fight against antimicrobial resistance. Swaminathan is also Secretary, Department of Health Research in India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. She is a multi award-winning paediatrician, clinical scientist and is known for her research on tuberculosis. The purpose of the newly formed UN group will be to provide practical guidance for approaches needed to ensure sustained effective global action to address antimicrobial resistance, including options to improve coordination, taking into account the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance. The UN group will be co-chaired by Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan.

Notes:
Irfan Kolothum Thodi from India has won the bronze in the 20 kilometre men’s event in the Asian Race Walk Championships at Nomi in Japan. He is the national record holder in men’s 20km race walk. Beside him, South Korea’s Kim Hyun-Sub won gold while Georgiy Sheiko of Kazakhstan bagged the silver in the event. In the women’s 20 kilometre event, India’s Priyanka failed to climb the podium as she finished fourth.