Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
Zuzana Caputova, a liberal environmental activist and a political newcomer, has been elected as the first female President of Slovakia. She framed the election as a struggle between good and evil. With 58% of the vote, Caputova edged out European Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic, a diplomat backed by the county’s governing Smer-Social Democracy party. She is set to take office on June 15, after the tenure of incumbent Slovak President Andrej Kiska finishes.

Notes:
The Hump-backed Mahseer, also known as ‘Tor remadevii’ in scientific terms, is a critically endangered species as per the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This iconic and highly-valued freshwater fish, termed as the ‘tiger of the water’, inhabits the Cauvery river basin, including Kerala’s Pambar, Kabini and Bhavani rivers. The fish earns its megafauna status by reaching up to a measurement of 1.5m and a weight of 55 kg. Its endangered title also accompanies five other species, including two wild orchids, the Arabian scad, and two wild coffee species exclusive to a few locales in the Western Ghats.

Notes:
The United States has approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo Seahawk helicopters to India under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program at an estimated cost of $2.4 billion. The multi-mission helicopters can detect, track and attack submarines and surface ships at sea. They are designed to operate from frigates, destroyers, cruisers and aircraft carriers. Thus, these are considered the world’s most advanced maritime helicopters. The choppers will provide the Indian defence forces with the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay. Hence, the Lockheed Martin-built helicopters would replace India’s aging fleet of British-made Sea King helicopters. The proposed sale will support US foreign policy & national security by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner.

Notes:
The book titled “Kundan: Saigal’s Life & Music” has been penned by Sharad Dutt, documentary filmmaker and former DDG of Doordarshan. The genius of legendary singer K L Saigal, his timeless compositions and the golden era of Indian cinema have been brought alive in a book. The book has been trans-created in English by Jyoti Sabharwal of Stellar Publishers and will be released on April 4, the 115th birth anniversary of Saigal. Some of Saigal’s all time hits are ‘Jab dil hi toot gaya’, ‘Ek bangla bane nyara’, ‘Dukhake din aab bitat nahin’, ‘Duniyamen hun duniyaka talabgaar nahin hun’ and ‘So ja rajkumari so ja’.

Notes:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) has recently released its flagship publication Asian Development Outlook 2019. In its report, ADB has lowered India’s growth by 40 basis points to 7.2% in fiscal year 2019-20. Still, it will be fastest growing economy in the world. The report mentioned that recent policy measures by the Government of India (GoI) to improve the investment climate and boost private consumption and investment will help India to lift economic growth in the next two fiscal years. The growth rate in FY 2020-21 is likely to be 7.3%. India’s growth slowed from 7.2% in fiscal 2017 to 7% in 2018, with weaker agricultural output and consumption growth curtailed by higher global oil prices and lower government expenditure. The report added that sub-region wise, southeast Asia will sustain growth at close to 5% this year and the next one.

Notes:
The Indian Army has constructed the 260 feet long cable-suspension bridge ‘Maitri Bridge’ over Indus river at Choglamsar village in Leh in a record time of 40 days. It is the longest suspension bridge over the river and is built by combat engineers of the ‘Sahas aur Yogyata’ regiment of the Indian Army’s ‘Fire and Fury Corps’. The name of the bridge, “Maitri”, is meant to symbolise the amity and solidarity between soldiers and locals. The bridge is expected to improve connectivity in remote regions of Leh and Ladakh. It will connect the remote areas of Choglamsar, Stok and Chuchot, which are said to be the largest villages in the region.

Notes:
On April 5, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the National Cardiology Conference 2019 at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of medical sciences in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The 3-day conference will be organized by Dept of Cardiology in which leading national and international experts from Europe, USA, Japan, Singapore South Korea, Indonesia and Australia will deliberate on the latest topics of Interventional cardiology and cutting edge technology. The conference being held for the first time in Uttar Pradesh offers an opportunity to showcase newer innovations in Cardiology that can help deliver cost-effective cardiology care to patients.

Notes:
The Nepal-India Franchise Investment Expo and Conclave will be held in Kathmandu from 15th to 16th May, 2019. The event primarily focuses on building the relations between India and Nepal through entrepreneurship development. The conclave is organised by Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FNCCI) in association with Embassy of India and Franchise India. The event is expected to introduce new investment opportunities to Nepalese market. According to Indian Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri the summit will help in bringing the leading Indian iconic brands to Nepal. Their entry would not only bring investment into Nepal but also technology transfers and business know how. According to organizers 250 businesspersons and investors will attend the conclave and more than 1000 prospective franchisees and investors are expected to visit the expo.

Notes:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has said that its Hayabusa2 spacecraft has successfully blasted the surface of an asteroid Ryugu to make a crater on its surface. The move will pave the way for the collection of underground samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system. For this, the Hayabusa2 dropped a “small carry-on impactor” made of copper onto the asteroid and the spacecraft safely evacuated and remained intact. Now, JAXA is analyzing data to examine if or how the impactor made a crater. The copper explosive is the size of a baseball weighing 2 kg. If successful, it would be the first time for a spacecraft to take such materials. The asteroid, named Ryugu after an undersea palace in a Japanese folktale, is about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth. Earlier, Hayabusa2 successfully touched down on a tiny flat surface on the boulder-rich asteroid in February 2019, when the spacecraft also collected some surface dust and small debris.

Notes:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has said that its Hayabusa2 spacecraft has successfully blasted the surface of an asteroid Ryugu to make a crater on its surface. The move will pave the way for the collection of underground samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system. For this, the Hayabusa2 dropped a “small carry-on impactor” made of copper onto the asteroid and the spacecraft safely evacuated and remained intact. Now, JAXA is analyzing data to examine if or how the impactor made a crater. The copper explosive is the size of a baseball weighing 2 kg. If successful, it would be the first time for a spacecraft to take such materials. The asteroid, named Ryugu after an undersea palace in a Japanese folktale, is about 300 million kilometers (180 million miles) from Earth. Earlier, Hayabusa2 successfully touched down on a tiny flat surface on the boulder-rich asteroid in February 2019, when the spacecraft also collected some surface dust and small debris.