Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The Chhyoiphel Kundeling Monastery has recently inaugurated by a Buddhist scholar Shyalpa Tenzing Rinpoche at Lisankhu village in Sindhupalchok district in Nepal. The Monastery has been reconstructed with Government of India (GoI) grant of 18.9 million Nepalese rupees. Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India Dr. Ajay Kumar was also present on the occasion. In addition to reconstructing the monastery, the project also included building additional infrastructure such as residences, kitchen, sanitation facilities and compound wall. The Chhyoiphel Kundeling Monastery was established in 1946 with the active initiation and contribution of Lisankhu villagers. It has been carrying out various socio-cultural activities like teaching Buddhism,Thangka painting, wood carving and sculpting etc. Apart from being an important heritage building, the monastery is also an integral part of social and cultural life of people in the area.

Notes:
Jerrie Cobb (88), NASA’s first female astronaut candidate, has passed away in Florida on March 18, 2019. In 1961, Cobb became the first woman to pass astronaut testing. Altogether, 13 women passed the arduous physical testing and became known as the Mercury 13. But NASA already had its Mercury 7 astronauts, all test pilots and men. None of the Mercury 13 ever reached space, despite Cobb’s testimony in 1962 before a Congressional panel. She wrote in her 1997 autobiography “Jerrie Cobb, Solo Pilot’, “My country, my culture, was not ready to allow a woman to fly in space”. Cobb also served for decades as a humanitarian aid pilot in the Amazon jungle.

Notes:
The first edition of Naval Commanders’ Conference – 2019 is scheduled to begin in New Delhi from April 23. The 3-day conference is the apex forum within the Service for interaction between the Naval Commanders. The Chief of the Naval Staff, with the Commanders-in-Chief, will review major operational, logistics, training and administrative activities undertaken during the previous six months and deliberate upon the course to be steered in the ensuing six months. The Conference assumes greater significance in the backdrop of Pulwama associated events that have brought country’s defence under sharper focus and will provide the higher naval leadership a forum to discuss the emerging challenges in the maritime domain. The conference also serves as a platform for institutionalised interaction of Naval Commanders with senior Government Officials.

Notes:
Amar Paul (97), the legendary Bengali folk singer, has passed away in Kolkata on April 20, 2019. Born on May 19, 1922, at Brahmanbaria in undivided Bengal in an area now in Bangladesh, Paul had started taking music lessons from his mother Durgasundari Paul. Afterwards, he learnt classical music from Ayat Ali Khan and folk music from Mani Chakraborty and Suren Chakraborty. He surfaced as a folk singer for the All India Radio in the early 1950s. Paul lent his voice in a number of films including Satyajit Ray’s “Hirak Rajar Deshe”. He has penned several books on folk songs of Bengal and received accolades from various academies around the world.

Notes:
Iran and Pakistan have decided to set up a Joint Border Reaction Force (JBRF) following a number of deadly attacks by militant groups on their frontier. The announcement comes following tensions between the two countries who have in recent months accused each other of not doing enough to stamp out militants allegedly sheltering across the border. The The Iran-Pakistan border skirts the volatile southeastern Iranian province of Sistan-Baluchistan which has been the scene of frequent attacks on Iran’s security forces.

Notes:
The World Book and Copyright Day (WBCD) is celebrated worldwide on 23rd April to pay tribute to the veteran literary figures like William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso De La Vega. It is a symbolic date in world literature. On this day, UNESCO and organisations representing publishers, booksellers and libraries select World Book Capital (WBC) for a year to maintain the celebrations of books and reading. For the year 2019, Sharjah, UAE has been declared as the World Book Capital. It will be preceded by Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in the year 2020.

Notes:
India has been nominated as the “Guest of Honour” country at the 29th edition of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF-2019) which begins on April 24. Here, India’s selection as the guest of honour reflects the strong relations between the leadership and the people of the UAE and India. Around 30 publishing houses from India will take part in the fair.A three-member team from the Publications Division is also participating in the Fair. Books on the life and struggle of Mahatma Gandhi will be on display as part of the 150th birth anniversary celebrations. A special presentation will be made by the Publications Division on the 100 volume series of the Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi in a bid to reach out to the international audience. An annual fair is a major event in the publishing sector in the Middle East and North Africa. It will conclude on the 30th of this month.

Notes:
World No.1 Bajrang Punia made India proud once again by clinching the India’s first gold at the Asian Wrestling Championships 2019 in Xi’an, China. Punia logged 10 points in a row in the gold medal bout to reclaim his Asian Championship crown. He defeated Kazakhstan’s Sayatbek Okassov 12-7 in a nail-biting 65kg men’s freestyle final. It is Bajrang’s second gold at this championship, having won one in 2017. Another Indian Parveen Rana, lost to Bahman Mohammad Teymouri of Iran in the final 0-3 in 79kg category securing a silver medal. In 97 Kg category, Satywart Kadian picked a bronze defeating Haobin Gao of China by 8-2.

Notes:
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has released the 2019 Index of Cancer Preparedness (ICP) in which India’s overall rank is 19th out of 28 countries, with a score of 64.9. Australia topped the index, followed by the Netherlands and Germany. The ICP explores the issue of cancer preparedness through three broad domains: Policy and planning; Care delivery; and Health systems and governance. It was released as part of the report titled “Cancer preparedness around the world: National readiness for a global epidemic” prepared by EIU.