Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
Vikram Kirloskar, the CMD of Kirloskar Systems Ltd, has taken charge as the new President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). He succeeded Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman of Bharti Enterprises. Uday Kotak, the founder and MD & CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, is the President-Designate and T.V. Narendran, the CEO & MD of Tata Steel, is the Vice President for 2019-20.

Notes:
Kartik Chandra Rath (70), an eminent theatre organiser and playwright, has passed away in Cuttack , Odisha on April 1, 2019. He wrote a play called “Aie Desa, Aie mati” at the young age of 15 and then never looked back in his artistic journey. His play “Bhagwan Jane Manisha” staged at the National Theatre festival in Allahabad way back in 1980s gave him an opening as a dramatist from where he scripted a passionate career as a dramatist. Recipient of Kendra Sangeet Natak Akademi award and Odishi Sangeet Natak Akademi award, Rath has penned over hundred plays and directed over 500 plays in his career as a dramatist. He is known for organising the international theatre festival in Cuttack for more than 20 years. He won the prestigious literary award for his One Act Play ‘Nisang Bisarga’. “Mansara Phula” is his another widely acclaimed play, which was staged at various theatre festivals across the country.

Notes:
Graham Reid from Australia has been appointed as the new chief coach of the India men’s hockey team till the end of 2020. As per industry standards, every international coach’s contract is supposed to be for an Olympic cycle. But his tenure can be extended till 2022 FIH World Cup depending upon his performance. Hence, everything will depend on India’s performances leading upto the Tokyo Olympics. Reid had a decorated playing career for the Australian national team and was part of the silver medal winning team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. He also comes with a strong coaching experience, having worked with the Australian and the Netherlands national teams.

Notes:
Isaak Hayik has set a new world record as the oldest person to play in a professional soccer match at the age of 73. He broke the record after playing as a goalkeeper for Israeli team Ironi Or Yehuda against Maccabi Ramat Gan on April 5, 2019. Hayik was officially recognised in an award ceremony attended by representatives from the Guinness World Record organisation. The previous record was held by Robert Carmona of Uruguay, who in 2015 played a professional match with Uruguay’s Pan de Azucar at the age of 53.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) has recently released its latest edition of Migration and Development Brief. In it, India has retained its position as the world’s top recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending a whopping $79 billion back home in 2018. India was followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico ($36 billion), the Philippines ($34 billion), and Egypt ($29 billion). Over the last three years, India has registered a significant flow of remittances from $62.7 billion in 2016 to $65.3 billion 2017. According to the report, remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached a record high of $529 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.6% over the previous record high of $483 billion in 2017. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, reached $ 689 billion in 2018, up from $633 billion in 2017.

Notes:
Scientists from University of Michigan in the United States have found that dangerous airborne viruses can be rendered harmless on-the-fly when exposed to ‘cold plasma’ – a stream of energetic, charged fragments of air molecules. The researchers have measured the virus-killing speed and effectiveness of non thermal plasmas – the ionised, or charged, particles that form around electrical discharges such as sparks. A non thermal plasma reactor was able to inactivate or remove from the air stream 99.9% of a test virus. The researchers hope to one day harness this capability to replace the surgical mask.

Notes:
In a bid to further improve the cash position of banks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently tweaked Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) norms to provide an additional 2% window to lenders. The move will harmonise the liquidity requirements of banks and release additional money for lending. The LCR indicates the proportion of highly liquid assets held by banks to ensure their ability to meet short-term obligations. In a statement on ‘Developmental and Regulatory Policies’ the RBI has extended the timeline for linking floating interest rates on personal, home, auto and MSEs loans to external benchmarks.

Notes:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) 2019 was held at the Dead Sea in Jordan on April 6 to 7. The 17th WEF meeting in the region called for united efforts to address the most pressing challenges of the area. It was themed on three major visions: generating job opportunities, empowering Arab women and promoting the most intriguing startups that have joined the region’s industry over the past years. Over 1,000 government, business and civil society leaders from more than 50 countries participated in the summit.

Notes:
India’s education technology startup ‘Dost Education’ has bagged a $25,000 Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019 for its ability to empower parents to take charge of their child’s early education by creating short, friendly audio content that is sent to them via their mobile phones. Besides India’s Dost, two other winners also receive $25,000 each included Ubongo from Tanzania and PraxiLabs from Egypt. The prize, which is run by UK-based Varkey Foundation, recognises the most innovative technology destined to have a radical impact on education in low income and emerging world countries.

Notes:
Alice G. Vaidyan, the CMD of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India, has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her work to promote insurance ties between India and the UK. The Freedom of the City of London dates back to the 13th century and has since developed into an honour bestowed upon individuals who make an impact in the financial hub of London, referred to as the City or the Square Mile. The Freedom of the City of London is a very special and ancient tradition.