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 13th edition of Earth Hour 2019 was observed on March 30 with theme “#Connect2Earth” to encourage people across the world to turn off non-essential electric lights for one hour from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. It calls for greater awareness and more sparing use of resources, especially fossil fuels that produce carbon gases and lead to global warming. On this day, the World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature-India made an appeal to citizens to join the Earth Hour 2019 to inspire millions across the country to shift to more sustainable practices and minimize negative impacts on the planet.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has constituted a tribunal to adjudicate if there exists sufficient cause to ban the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeL) and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front-Yasin Malik (JKLF-Y) faction. The tribunal will be headed by Justice Chander Shekhar of the Delhi High Court. The decision has been taken by the Union Home Ministry exercising the powers conferred under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act of 1967. The JeI and the JKLF-Y were declared as unlawful associations on February 28 and March 22 respectively.

Notes:
IIT Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy (PGBA) to develop research and training module for the trainees of the Hyderabad-based sports facility. The thrust area of the collaboration is to promote health and wellbeing of sportspersons and coaches for enhancing the quality of performance and resilience. Players and coaches from PGBA will benefit from these programs. Further, the coaches will also be trained on how to use that knowledge while training players. Under the collaboration, IIT-KGP will also set up a sports academy in collaboration with Gopichand. The academy would promote collaborative research related to happiness in sports in general and badminton in particular, and science and technology in sports training. The scope would also include joint monitoring and use of materials used in general and badminton in particular by IIT Kharagpur and PGBA. A sum of Rs10 crore has been allocated to develop modern sports facilities at IIT-Kgp.

Notes:
Kandhamal Haldi, a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has finally got the Geographical indication (GI) tag from Intellectual Property India. The recognition coincided with the state’s Foundation Day (Utkal Divas). Odisha, on April 1 1936, was carved out as a separate state in the then British India on a linguistic identity. The golden yellow spice is named after the district where it is produced & has been cultivated since time immemorial and is known for its medicinal value. Turmeric is the main cash crop of tribal people in Kandhamal. More than 60,000 families (nearly 50% of Kandhamal population) are engaged in growing the variety. Apart from domestic use, turmeric is also used for cosmetic and medicinal purposes. A GI is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin.

Notes:
The State of the Global Air 2019 report has recently released by the Boston-based Health Effects Institute (HEI). The report revealed that 1.2 million Indians lost their lives due to exposure to unsafe air in 2017. Now, in India, air pollution is the third-highest cause of death among all health risks, ranking just above smoking. This is a combined effect of outdoor fine particles PM2.5, ozone and household (indoor) air pollution. In 2017, exposure to PM 2.5 pollution was found to be the third leading risk factor globally for Type 2 diabetes-related deaths and disability after high blood sugar and excessive body weight. Due to this combined exposure South Asians including Indians are dying early — their life expectancy has reduced by over 2.6 years. In India, early deaths are linked to respiratory diseases, heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and diabetes that are influenced by air pollution.

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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.

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The National Maritime Day (NMD) of India is celebrated every year on April 5 to spread awareness in supporting intercontinental commerce and the global economy. On this day, in 1919, navigation history was created when SS Loyalty, the first ship of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company, journeyed to the United Kingdom. It was a crucial step for Indian shipping history when sea routes were controlled by the British. The theme of the 56th edition of the NMD 2019 is “Indian Ocean-An Ocean of opportunity”. According to the Directorate General of Shipping, India now has 43 shipping companies owning 1,401 ships with a combined 12.69 million gross tonnage’ as of December 2018.

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Scientists at the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) have discovered a new enzyme ‘Murein Endopeptidase’ which helps in breaking cell walls of bacteria. This discovery offers a potential for a new drug delivery route to arrest the anti-bacterial resistance through existing antibiotic drugs. Hence, it opens up fresh ways to target microbes, leading to a new wave of antibiotic drugs. The man behind this discovery is Pavan Kumar Chodisetti, research student and his mentor Dr Manjula Reddy. Antibiotics are medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. The findings have been published in the latest issue of Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences, USA

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The Guwahati Railway Station has become the first station in India to obtain the ISO 14001: 2015 certification for implementation of environment management system by carrying out directives issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The station also has amenities such as High-class reserve (VIP) lounge, waiting rooms, AC and non-AC retiring rooms, food courts and sanitation facilities. The certification will be reviewed in 2020 by NF Railway, which mandates stricter environmental norms regarding waste disposal among others to be adhered to Railway Station. ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) is responsible for establishing standard in different areas of activities. There are many types of ISO certification and ISO-14001 is for environment management system as per international norms and was upgraded last in 2015. Hence the certificate is called ISO 14001:2015.