Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
Gomathi Marimuthu from Tamil Nadu has clinched India’s first Gold in the women’s 800m race at the 2019 Asian Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar. Gomathi clocked a personal best time of 2 minute 02.70 seconds in the half mile event to win a surprise gold for India. Then, Asian Games champion Tajinder Pal Toor added the 2nd gold medal to India’s tally by clinching the top spot in the podium in men’s shot put with a season’s best throw of 20.22 metres. While Shivpal Singh added a silver in men’s javelin throw by sending the spear to a distance of 86.23m, his personal best. In the process, Shivpal also booked a berth for the World Championships to be held at the same venue in September-October as he crossed the qualifying mark of 83m.

Notes:
Scientists have long been known that Mercury and the Earth have metallic cores. Like Earth, Mercury’s outer core is composed of liquid metal, but there have only been hints that Mercury’s innermost core is solid. Now, in a new study, scientists from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland have found evidence that Mercury’s inner core is indeed solid and that it is very nearly the same size as Earth’s inner core. To explore what the core of Mercury is made of the science team used several observations from the NASA’s MESSENGER (Mercury Surface, Space Environment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) mission looking at the planet’s spin and gravity. The findings of Mercury’s solid inner core not only help scientists better understand Mercury but also offer clues about how the solar system formed and how rocky planets change over time. The study is published in Geophysical Research Letters.

Notes:
Dr. Benny Antony, co-founder of Kochi-based Arjuna Natural Ltd, has been conferred with the National Intellectual Property Award for 2019 in the category of Top Individual for Patents and Commercialization. Along with the National IP Award, the Intellectual Property Office India and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) have jointly conferred the ‘WIPO Medal for Inventors’ also to Antony. The Indian Intellectual Property Office bestows National Intellectual Property (IP) awards to outstanding innovators, organisations and companies in the field of patents, designs, trademarks and geographical indications on the occasion of World IP Day every year. Antony is the inventor of the world’s leading patented turmeric extract formulation “BCM-95” and also has over 80 international patents to his credit.

Notes:
Rajendra Kumar Nayak, the 1983 batch officer of Indian Defence Accounts Service , has been appointed as the new Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA). With over 35 years of experience, Nayak has held important assignments in the Defence Accounts Department and on deputation in the Government of India. He has vast and varied experience in handling Finance, Personnel, Pay & Budget matters of Ministry of Defence. The CGDA heads the Defence Accounts Department (DAD) and operates under the Ministry of Defence. It is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Defence Accounts Service.

Notes:
The 5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Preparedness has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 26, 2019. The theme of the two-day summit is “Media Solutions for Sustainable Future: Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities”. The basic aim of the summit is to address the issue of fully utilizing media’s potential of accelerating climate action and disaster preparedness and connect stakeholders to media professionals for collaboration and joint practical projects. Over 200 participants including political leaders, representatives of UN agencies and NGOs, climate change and disaster management experts, scientists and media persons are attending the event.

Notes:
The World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) is observed every year on April 26 across the globe to spread awareness about the role that intellectual property rights like patents, trademarks, industrial designs and copyright play in encouraging innovation and creativity. It aims to increase people’s awareness and understanding of the intellectual property. The main purpose of intellectual property law is to encourage the creation of a large variety of intellectual goods for consumers. The 2019 theme is ‘Reach for Gold: IP and Sports’. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind, inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names and images used in commercial activities.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched India’s first ‘Green Car Loan’ (Electric Vehicle) to encourage customers to buy electric vehicles. The new scheme will offer loan at 20 basis points lesser than the interest rate on the existing car loan schemes. Additionally, borrowers will also get a longer repayment period. The EMI per Rs 1 lakh will be lower at Rs. 1,468 for 96 months against Rs.1,622 for 84 months, based on the maximum tenor, in line with the existing scheme. The move is in line with the Union Government’s endeavour to ensure that India has 30% of EVs out of all vehicles by 2030.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently announced that it will shortly issue Rs 20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. The new denomination has motif of Ellora Caves on the reverse that depicts the country’s cultural heritage. It also contains a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi at the centre, with micro letters ‘RBI’, ‘Bharat’, ‘India’ and ’20’, along with a guarantee clause, Governor’s signature with Promise Clause and RBI emblem towards the right of Gandhi’s portrait. On the right side of the portrait are — an Ashoka Pillar emblem and electrotype (20) watermarks. The base colour of the note is Greenish Yellow. It will bear the signature of RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. The dimension of the new Rs 20 note will be 63 mm x 129 mm. All the banknotes in the denomination of Rs 20 issued by the RBI in the earlier series will continue to be legal tender.

Notes:
The World Day For Safety And Health At Work is observed every year on 28th of April by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to promote safe, healthy and decent work. The day marks the need and awareness of a safe and healthy environment at the workplace. All of us spend most of our day at our workplaces and it is a necessity that our workplace is safe and secure, and we feel healthy and happy while we are there. It is both the duty of the management and the employees to make sure the best of conditions and environment are provided to the employees to make sure their productivity is always on the rise, and they are healthy throughout the year.

Notes:
The BCCI recommended Indian pacers Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and women’s team spinner Poonam Yadav for the 2019 Arjuna award. The decision was taken during a meeting of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) in New Delhi. Bumrah is currently playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians (MI). He is a regular across all three formats of cricket for the country. He will be spearheading India’s campaign in the upcoming World Cup in the UK. Pacer Shami has been a crucial cog in the Indian bowling set up. All-rounder Jadeja has also made a comeback in the limited overs team and has been named in the 15-member squad for the World Cup. The 27-year-old leg-spinner, Poonam, is the fourth name to be nominated for the coveted award. She has picked up 63 wickets from 41 ODIs and 74 wickets from 54 T20 games.