Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

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 The film was allegedly withdrawn from single-screen theatres and multiplexes a day after its release.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:
The National Safe Motherhood Day (NSMD) is observed every year on 11th of April to raise awareness about the proper healthcare of women and maternity facilities to pregnant and lactating women. This day also raise awareness for the prevention of child marriages that may be an indirect cause of maternal deaths. The 2019 theme is “Midwives for Mothers”. India is the first country in the world to have officially declared a National Safe Motherhood Day.

Notes:
Two schemes of the West Bengal government for skill development and distribution of bi-cycles to students have won the prestigious World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS-2019) awards under the aegis of the United Nations in Geneva. The schemes are “Utkarsh Bangla” and “Sabooj Sathi”. Out of 1062 nominations in 18 categories, Utkarsh Bangla got the topmost award and emerged a winner in Capacity Building category. Sabooj Sathi ranked in the first five as a champion project under ICT application: E-Government category. The “Utkarsh Bangla” project aims at creating a pool of skilled candidates who are industry ready, while under the “Sabooj Sathi” scheme, bi-cycles are distributed to students between class IX and XII studying in government run and government aided schools and madrashas of the state. Earlier, in 2017, the West Bengal government had received another UN award for its ‘Kanyashree’ project, a targeted conditional cash transfer scheme aimed at promoting education among girls. The WSIS Prizes is an international contest to create an effective mechanism to evaluate and recognise individuals, governments and private bodies for outstanding success in implementing development oriented strategies that leverage the power of ICTs as an enabler of the development.

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.

Notes:
Ethiopian athletes Gelete Burka (women’s race) and Abrha Milaw (men’s race) won the 43rd edition of the Paris Marathon on 14th April 2019. They led a record 60,000 participants to the finish line through the French capital. Milaw won the men’s race with a time of 2 hours :07 minutes and :50 seconds. Burka was the fastest woman with 2 hours :22 minutes and :48 seconds. In the wheelchair race, Julien Casoli won for a third time. The fastest disabled racer put up a time of 1 hour:36 minutes and :57 seconds. The Paris marathon is one of the world’s most popular running events.

Notes:
The 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific (RCAP) Congress 2019 is a platform for discussing the opportunities and mechanisms of executing the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which is started in New Delhi on April 15, 2019. The three-day event is being hosted by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation in association with UN (ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability). This event is being organised in India for the first time and 31 countries are taking part in this programme that was inaugurated by the vice president. The RCAP Congress 2019 is offering cities and regions from Asia-Pacific a variety of innovative solutions that build resilience to climate change at the sub-national level.

Notes:
Telecom operator Bharti Airtel in collaboration with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) launched a women safety app – My Circle – to help women in case they face any problem or a panic situation. The application is carrier agnostic which would work on phones with any telecom service network, both Airtel and non-Airtel. The app enables women to send SOS alerts to any five of their family or friends in 13 languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Bangla, Urdu, Assamese, Oriya, and Gujarati. A woman in distress can send an SOS alert by pressing the SOS prompt on the app. It can also be activated by voice command through Siri on iOS. It will instantly send an SOS alert along with the user’s location over SMS to the five contacts selected by the user and advise them to immediately reach out or respond to the emergency situation. The free-to-download app is now available on Google Play store (Android) and will be available on App Store (iOS) shortly.

Notes:
International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket for Good CC has partnered with UNICEF to organise #OneDayforChildren campaign at the Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019. Former England batsman and #OneDay4Children ambassador Nasser Hussain along with all-rounder Chris Woakes launched the tournament-wide campaign focused on bringing the world of cricket together as one team to help build a better world for every child. There will be #OneDay4Children activity throughout all 48 matches of the event, peaking with a day of celebration during the England v India game on 30 June at Edgbaston. The money raised will support UNICEF’s work in cricket playing nations to help children learn to play and be healthy. The tournament will run from 30 May to 14 July. The semi-finals will be played at Old Trafford in Manchester and Edgbaston in Birmingham on 9 and 11 July respectively, while Lord’s will host the final on 14 July. The 10 teams in the tournament will play against each other in a single-league format, with the top four sides after 45 matches to qualify for the two semi-finals.

Notes:
The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), has launched a 5G Use Cases Lab for banking and financial sector. The use of 5G will change a range of technologies and applications including point of sale machines in the banking sector which were now using 2G . The 5G lab will develop and domesticate 5G use cases and set up a research and development experience platform for banking and financial services. It will also collaborate with various stakeholders including banks, government and financial institutions for 5G promotion and absorption of best practices.

Notes:
Nepal has successfully launched its first satellite NepaliSat-1 into space from Virginia in the United States. The satellite was developed by the Nepalese scientists. NepaliSat-1 is a low orbit satellite which will be in the 400-km distance from the Earth’s surface. It will be stationed at the International Space Station (ISS) for a month and then it will be sent to orbit the earth. The satellite will take photographs on a regular basis to gather geographical information of the country. It weighs 1.3 kilograms, making it a small satellite with limited capability. The Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) initiated the launch of the country’s own satellite under the BIRDS project of the Japanese Kyushu Institute of Technology. The BIRDS project has been designed in association with the United Nations (UN) and aims at helping countries launch their first satellite.