GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 5, 2017

Notes:
India’s first-ever private sector small arms manufacturing plant has set up at Malanpur in Madhya Pradesh in a joint venture with Israel. The purpose of the plant is to supply world class weapons to the armed forces in sync with the India’s defence indigenisation programme. The plant is a joint venture between Indian defence conglomerate ‘Punj Lloy’ and Israel Weapon Systems (IWS), which will produce four products — X95 carbine and assault rifle, Galil sniper rifle, Tavor assault rifle and Negev Light Machine Gun (LMG). The weapons will be assembled based on 100% transfer of technology.

Notes:
Prabhat Kamal Bezboruah, a leading tea association industrialist, has been appointed the new chairman of the Tea Board of India. He will be in office till November 1, 2018. At present, Bezboruah is the chairman of the Tea Research Association and owner of Bokahola Tea Company Private Limited, which manages around 12 gardens in Assam with an annual production of about 55 lakh kg. Beside this, M.S. Boje Gowda has been appointed the new chairman of the Coffee Board of India. Gowda is a renowned coffee grower and will be in the post till December 14, 2018.

Notes:
Facebook has officially launched its “Express Wi-Fi” internet services in India, which are already available at 700 hotspots across Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya. Facebook has partnered with 500 local entrepreneurs who will sell these services through vouchers that are priced ranging Rs 10-20 for a day or Rs 200-300 for a month.The service is designed to complement mobile data offerings by providing a low-cost, high bandwidth alternative for getting online and access apps, download and stream content. Apart from this, additional 20,000 hotspots will be launched by Facebook in partnership with Bharti Airtel. The Express Wi-Fi initiative is also live in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Indonesia.

Notes:
Banganapalle mangoes, one of the most popular and finest varieties of mango from Andhra Pradesh, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) Registration Certificate by the GI Registry, Chennai. With this, the Andhra Pradesh government has become the registered proprietor of the GI tag for mangoes. Banganapalle mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in the State. It is also known as Beneshan, Baneshan, Benishan, Chappatai and Safeda. The GI indicates products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. Once product is registered as GI, no producer can claim the same name, which is covered by a GI tag, without taking consent from the applicant.

Notes:
The 4th edition of National Standards Conclave (NSC) was held in New Delhi on May 1-2, 2017 to bring awareness and prepare Industries, Central Government Ministries, State Governments, regulatory/standards setting and conformity assessment bodies on the growing importance of “Standards” in the changing scenario of global trade. The Department of Commerce, Government of India in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and other knowledge partners has organized the Conclave.

Notes:
The International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed every year on May 4 to recognize and honor the fire fighters who risk their lives every day to save life and property of public. The day celebrates the dedication, heroism and importance of firefighters from all over the world. It was instituted after proposal emailed out across the world on January 4, 1999 due to deaths of 5 firefighters in tragic circumstances in a wildfire in Australia.

Notes:
Braj Bihari Kumar has been appointed the new chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He is the editor of quarterly journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan. Kumar succeeded economist S K Thorat and will have a term of three years. The ICSSR is a council in India which promotes research in the field of social sciences and its headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi National Forest Academy (IGNFA) is an organization under the Ministry of Environment and Forests (India) to impart knowledge and skills to the professional foresters and help them to develop competence for managing the country’s forest and wildlife resources on a sustainable basis. It is in news because the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has addressed the annual convocation of the IGNFA on May 5, 2017 at Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Notes:
The Vansda National Park (VNP) is a protected area which represents the thick woodlands of the Dangs and southern Gujarat, and is situated in the Navsari District of Gujarat. It is home to an array of wild animals viz. Indian leopard, rhesus macaque, common palm civet, Hanuman langur, small Indian civet, four-horned antelope, wild boar, Indian porcupine, barking deer, etc. The best time to visit is post-monsoon season till winter when the forests are lush green and streams are full.

Notes:
Recently, the middleweight boxer Vikas Krishan Yadav from India has settled for a bronze medal in 75 kg category after giving a walkover in the semifinal to South Korean Lee Dongyun at the 2017 Asian Boxing Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. According to the Asian Boxing Confederation, Krishan was not there in the weigh-in on May 5, 2017, therefore his South Korean opponent walked over to the final. It is not yet known as to why Vikas gave a walkover in the bout.