Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
The World Haemophilia Day (WHD) is observed every year on April 17 to increase awareness of haemophilia and other inherited bleeding disorders. The 2019 theme ‘Outreach and Identification’, encourages people to meet and connect with other people who have had similar experiences, and what it is like.It will be observed with the slogan – ‘Reaching Out: The First Step to Care’. Haemophilia is an inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body’s ability to form clots. This condition is dangerous as it can cause excessive loss of blood in case of injuries, easy bruising, and also bleeding between joints and in the brain. Haemophilia can only be managed but does not have a cure.

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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.

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Dr SK Shivakumar, the renowned space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Center (ISAC) director, has passed away in Bengaluru on April 14, 2019. He was part of the team that developed the telemetry system for Chandrayaan-I – India’s first lunar exploration mission. A native of Mysuru, he was responsible for designing deep space communications equipment. He was involved in the development of the 32-metre dish antenna that can communicate with satellites millions of miles away.

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A site containing the 220-million-year-old fossilized remains of nearly a dozen dinosaurs has been discovered in western Argentina. According to Argentinian paleontologist Ricardo Martinez of the University of San Juan, there are almost ten different individuals, with practically no sediment. The discovery is doubly important because there are at least 7 or 8 individuals of dicynodonts, the ancestors of mammals, the size of an ox. There were also remains of archosaurs, reptiles that could be the ancestors of great crocodiles. The find was discovered in September 2018 in San Juan province, about 1,100 kilometres west of Buenos Aires. The site is between one and two metres in diameter and about the same depth, leading scientists to speculate it was a former drinking hole at a time of great drought, and the creatures died of weakness at the spot. Argentina has been a rich source of fossils from the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous eras over the years – of most creatures not found in the northern hemisphere.

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The Royal Society of London has announced a list of 51 eminent scientists elected to its fellowship in the year 2019. Among these is Dr. Gagandeep Kang, who is now with the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute, Faridabad. With this feat, Dr. Kang has become the India’s first female scientist to be elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). She is known for her inter-disciplinary research studying the transmission, development and prevention of enteric infections and their sequelae in children in India. She has built national rotavirus and typhoid surveillance networks and conducted phase 1-3 trials of vaccines, which has supported two WHO pre-qualified vaccines.

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Israeli President Reuven Rivlin has formally nominated Benjamin Netanyahu for a fourth consecutive term as prime minister and officially launched a process that is expected to result in a new government dominated by religious and nationalist parties in the coming weeks. Now, Netanyahu has 28 days to form a government, with a possible extension of a further two weeks. The results from the April 9 election put Netanyahu on course to become Israel’s longest-serving prime minister later this year, surpassing the state’s founding father David Ben-Gurion. If Netanyahu fails to form a coalition within 42 days, Benny Gantz (leader of the rival centrist Blue and White party) would be given a shot at assembling a government.

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The Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited has been certified with ISO 31000:2018 by TUV India for applying a risk management system in line with the standard. The Certificate is an international risk management standard which provides guidelines, principles, framework, and a process for managing risk. It can be used by any organization regardless of its size, activity or sector. The application of these guidelines can be customized to any organization and its context. It is valid for a period of 3 years from April 07, 2019, to April 06, 2022.

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Cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been appointed brand ambassador of bus ticketing platform ‘redBus’. Dhoni will appear in a hockey player avatar in his first cameo for the brand, slated to be launched soon. According to celebrity managers, Dhoni’s brand endorsement deals can be in the range of Rs 3-10 crore, depending on the size of the company he is associated with and the size and duration of the contract. Currently, the cricketer endorses an array of brands across categories, including fantasy sports firm Dream11, Colgate, MasterCard, Orient Fans, Bharat Matrimony, Indigo Paints, SRMB Steel, and health supplement brand Revital H among others.

Notes:
The National Civil Services Day (NCSD) is organized every year on April 21 in India by civil servants to rededicate themselves to the cause of citizen and renew their commitment to public service and excellence in work. This date is chosen to commemorate the day when the first Home Minister of Independent India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, addressed the probationers of Administrative Services Officers on April 21, 1947 at Metcalf House, Delhi. He referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India.

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The Indian Navy has launched guided missile destroyer INS Imphal at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai on April 20. It’s the third state-of-the-art warship built as part of Project 15B, in which ships are built to carry and operate two multiple role helicopters. INS Imphal has a length of 163m and 17.4m at the beam and a displacement of 7.300 tonnes, which are propelled by four gas turbines to achieve speeds in excess of 30 knots. Under Project 15B, the Navy had launched first ship ‘INS Vishakhapatnam’ in April 2015, while the second ship ‘INS Mormugao’ was launched in September 2016.