Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

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:
IIT-Madras has recently collaborated with American conglomerate General Electric (GE) to set up India’s first ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory, which will develop advanced services technology for aircraft engine components. This is the first of its kind High-Pressure Cold Spray (HPCS) facility that is being installed in any academic institute in India. The laboratory consists of a state-of-the-art HPCS equipment has been imported from the famous company Plasma Giken of Japan. The project is funded under ‘Uchchatar Avishkar Yojana’ (UAY) of the Government of India, which is intended to boost collaboration between academia and private sector. The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) was the key investor along with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), IIT Madras and GE. The Cold Spray is an emerging technology for advanced manufacturing and services and will be utilised to co-develop processes for aero-engine applications. This smart technology has application temperatures that are much lower than other thermal-spray and welding processes, which means the distortion and stresses associated with those repair techniques are avoided; leading to longer asset life.

Notes:
In a major boost for the Indian Army, the Government of India (GoI) has recently cleared the procurement of 464 T-90 tanks from Russia in a deal worth over Rs 13,500 crore. Under the new deal, the T-90 tanks would be provided to the Armoured Corps of the force which will use them for deployment along the border with Pakistan. The contract will also include a Make-in-India element for integration at the Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi near Chennai. The T-90 would be equipped with thermal imaging night sights to allow the tank commander to strike enemy locations during night battles. The new inductions will also strengthen the Army’s fire-power along the land border stretch with Pakistan — from Jammu in the north till the western flank in Gujarat. The new deal would increase the number of T-90s in the Army to close to 2,000 along with the remaining T-72 and T-55s.

Notes:
On April 11, the Supreme Court (SC) imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the West Bengal government for imposing a ‘virtual’ ban on the public screening of the satirical film Bhobishyoter Bhoot in the state. A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said the fine amount shall be given to producers and cinema hall owners as compensation for violation of their right to freedom of speech and expression. The court was hearing a plea by the film producer which alleged the movie was taken down from a majority of theatres at the behest of the state authorities. The film, directed by Anik Dutta, was released on February 15. Its story revolves around a group of ghosts, including a politician, who assemble at a refugee camp and try to be relevant in contemporary times. The film was allegedly withdrawn from single-screen theatres and multiplexes a day after its release.

Notes:
India and Sweden have recently launched the India-Sweden Collaborative Industrial Research and Development Programme on the occasion of the Sweden-India Innovation Partnership AI for All Summit in New Delhi. The programme will address a range of global challenges through technology and innovation. The Joint programme is co-funded by Indian Department of Science & Technology (DST) and Sweden’s Innovation Agency – Vinnova. The new programme brings together the world class excellence of Sweden and India to address challenges in the area of Smart Cities and Clean Technologies and Digitalization / Internet of Things (IoT). Vinnova will provide funding to Swedish side participants upto 2,500,000 Swedish Krona as grant. On the Indian side, conditional grant of upto 50% with a limit of INR 1.5 crores per project to Indian project partners to be provided. This Programme is technically and administratively managed by the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) on behalf of DST in India and Vinnova in Sweden.

Notes:
To make Google Pay more useful for Indian customers, Google has partnered with MMTC-PAMP India to introduce buying and selling of gold through the app. Through this partnership with India’s only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-accredited gold refinery, Google Pay users will be able to buy 99.99% 24-karat gold. Google Pay users can now purchase gold for any value, which will be stored on behalf of the user in secure vaults by MMTC-PAMP. Users can buy and sell this gold any time at the latest price, refreshed every few minutes on the Google Pay app. Other mobile wallet providers such as Paytm, MobiKwik and PhonePe too provide the facility of buying gold from their wallet apps.

Notes:
In Mumbai, EsselWorld launched India’s first foreign interactive and exotic world park at the Essel World Bird Park in Gorai. The rain forest themed park is spread across 1.5 acres and is home to over 500 birds belonging to 60 different exotic species. Hence, this is the first bird park in India to host three different varieties of birds – aquatic, terrestrial and free flying birds – across terrains, ranging from rainforests, deserts, rocky decks and lakes, all located within EsselWorld in Gorai. It is equipped with small ponds for aquatic birds, dense cover of trees for birds to incubate their eggs and a water stream that offers drinking water to birds. It also houses a special bird’s kitchen and healthcare centre. Some of the key attractions in the park are Ostriches, African grey parrots, Blue gold macaws, Toucans, Black swan and Rainbow lorikeet among others.

Notes:
The 8th edition of Home Expo India 2019 began at India Expo Centre and Mart in Greater Noida on April 16. It covers sectors with maximum thrust and growth potential in home decor, furnishing, furniture, flooring and textiles. About 500 companies in permanent marts will be exhibiting their collection under these categories. The 3-day exhibition has been organized by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts.

Notes:
Sri Lanka has launched its first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ into space from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia’s East Shore. It weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years. The launch marks Sri Lanka’s entry into the global space age. Under BIRDS project, the satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers. Its camera mission is to capture images of Sri Lanka and its neighbouring countries.

Notes:
Jaideep Sarkar, a 1987-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, has been appointed as India’s next High Commissioner to South Africa. He is currently serving as India’s ambassador in Bhutan and is expected to take up the assignment shortly. He served in Indian Missions in Tokyo, Seoul and Bangladesh as well. The Union government also appointed Suhel Ajaz Khan as next Ambassador to Lebanon.