Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

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.

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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.

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Astronomers have captured the first-ever image of a black hole, which is located in a distant galaxy known as ‘Messier 87’ (M87), through a network of 8 linked radio telescopes known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration. The black hole in the centre of M87 has a mass of more than six billion solar masses. The picture shows an intensely bright ‘ring of fire’ surrounding a perfectly circular dark hole. MIT Computer scientist Dr. Katie Bouman has been credited for developing an algorithm that allowed the world to see what a black hole actually looks like. The EHT is a consortium of more than 200 scientists that has been in the works for about two decades. The EHT telescope achieved the necessary firepower by combining data from 8 of the world’s leading radio observatories, including the Atacama Large Millimetre Array (Alma) in Chile and the South Pole Telescope and created an effective telescope size of the Earth. Black holes were first predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity and now, the first black hole photo confirms his theory. A black hole is a region of space whose mass is so large and dense that not even light can escape its gravitational attraction.

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The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has recently released a State of World Population 2019 report. The report stated that India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2% between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion, which is more than double the annual growth rate of China. According to the report, in India, total fertility rate per woman was 5.6 in 1969, dropping to 3.7 in 1994 and 2.3 in 2019. India also recorded an improvement in life expectancy at birth. The life expectancy at birth in 1969 was 47 years, growing to 60 years in 1994 and 69 years in 2019. As per India’s population composition in 2019, 27% of the population was in the age bracket of 0-14 years and 10-24 years each, 67% in the 15-64 age bracket and 6% was of the age 65 and above. The report noted that Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country dropped from 488 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1994 to 174 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2015.

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The International Day of Human Space Flight is observed every year on April 12 to mark the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes. On 12th April 1961 the first human space flight was carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

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India’s first-of-its-kind ‘Voter Park’ has recently inaugurated in Gurugram, Haryana to increase voter awareness and educating people about the electoral process. At the park, voters will get information about the polling process and the history of elections in the country. The purpose of establishing Voter Park was also to motivate eligible people to vote in the Lok Sabha election so that they can contribute to the progress of the country. A ‘Selfie Point’ has also been set up in the park, where people can click selfies displaying the indelible ink mark on their finger after casting their vote.

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The World Allergy Week (WAW) is an annual initiative of the World Allergy Organization (WAO) to raise awareness of allergic disease and related disorders and advocate for the provision of training and resources in the diagnosis, management, and prevention of these diseases and asthma, which are rising in prevalence around the world. The 2019 theme is “The Global Problem of Food Allergy”. In 2019, the WAW ran from 7th to 13th April and the focus area was food allergy.

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Harsheel Dani from India has clinched the 2019 Dutch International badminton title at Hague in Netherlands. In the final, he defeated Mads Christophersen of Denmark by 15-21, 21-12, 21-13.

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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.

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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has set up an Indo-Pacific division in the foreign office to integrate the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), ASEAN region and the Quad. The new division is a brainchild of foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale and is intended to give a coherent architecture to the Indo-Pacific policy. It is a big step by the Government and it is expected to give thrust to the Indo-Pacific centred policymaking. The Indo-Pacific Wing is currently headed by joint secretary Vikram Doraiswami.