Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
The Karnataka government has recently classified nicotine as Class A poison by amending the Karnataka Poisons (Possession and Sale) Rules 2015. The move is to curb illegal sale, smuggling of nicotine cartridges & e-cigarettes. Highly toxic chemicals (such as cyanogen, hydrocyanic acid, nitrogen peroxide, and phosgene) which even in very small quantities as gas or vapour in the air are dangerous to life.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, former Chief Minister of the state Babulal Gaur (89) has passed away in Bhopal on 21st August 2019. Born on 2nd June 1930 at Pratapgarh in Uttar Pradesh, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader was credited with expanding party’s foothold in Madhya Pradesh. He retired from electoral politics in 2018 citing old age. He served as the Chief Minister of MP from August 2004 to November 2005 and represented Govindpura Vidhan Sabha seat 10 times.

Notes:
On 21st August 2019, Indian Para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia from Madhya Pradesh has scripted history by becoming the first Asian swimmer to cross the Catalina Channel of America. He holds the Asian record of crossing both the English and Catalina channels. Gwalior-born Satendra led the Indian Para Relay team along with 5 team mates and crossed the Catalina Channel in 11 hours 34 minutes. At that time, the water temperature was around 13 degrees Celsius. In 2014, Satyendra has also honoured with the highest sports award of Madhya Pradesh – Vikram Award.

Notes:
For the first time-ever India is hosting the prestigious World Youth chess championship, which is scheduled to be held in Mumbai from October 1 to 13. The world’s best talent in under-14, u-16 and u-18 categories will be on view. The tournament is being held under the aegis of the All-India Chess Federation and organised by the All-Marathi Chess Association. Players from 62 countries have confirmed their participation, including Russia, USA, France, Italy and Azerbaijan.

Notes:
Ajay Kumar, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, has been appointed as the new Defence Secretary. He succeeded Sanjay Mitra. Apart from him, Brij Kumar Agarwal has been appointed as Secretary to the Lokpal and Subash Chandra as Secretary of Department of Defence Production. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the appointments.

Notes:
On 22nd August 2019, Union Minister of State for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik inaugurated the two-day National Conference on Varmam Science in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. ‘Varmam’ is a constituent of the Siddha system of medicine, that also doubles up as a martial art. The national conference is being organized by the National Institute of Siddha in Chennai.

Notes:
On 18th August 2019, visitors to the Injambakkam beach in Chennai and Besant Nagar’s Eliot’s Beach noticed a blue shimmer on the waves i.e. Popularly known as ‘Sea Tinkle’. According to marine experts, the Noctiluca algae were behind this blue glow phenomenon. The algae exhibit the phenomenon of bioluminescence (or biologically produce light when disturbed). The light is produced by a chemical reaction in the presence of oxygen involving an enzyme called “luciferase”. Bioluminescence has been observed in fireflies, a few beetles and in marine creatures such as Anglerfish and copepods. Though the sight that algae produce is beautiful, their arrival may not be good news for marine health. Noctiluca are known to be voracious predators of planktonic organisms(diatoms) that leads to disruption of the marine food chain. Such blooms have been reported annually in the Northern Arabian Sea since the early 2000s. Goa, Mumbai and the backwaters of Kerala have witnessed these algal blooms. Recently the magical glow featured in the Malayalam movie Kumbalangi Nights, which gained much attention.

Notes:
Prof. Meeta Narain of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been conferred the prestigious ‘Pushkin Medal – 2019’ for her contribution to Russian studies abroad. Narain has contributed towards re-writing of Russian studies textbooks for graduate students after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Her work gave a contemporary flavour to the textbooks, which are now being used in departments of Russian language studies at various universities of India, in many former Soviet nation institutes, Europe, the US and other countries. The Pushkin Medal is the highest honour given to an Indian scholar by the Russian government in recognition of outstanding contributions to the promotion of the Russian language and culture. It was instituted in the name of famous Russian author and poet Alexander S. Pushkin.

Notes:
The first-ever International Day for Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief is observed on 22nd of August 2019 to honour the victims and survivors of heinous acts who often remain forgotten. This is a great opportunity to raise awareness about religious intolerance, and violence and discrimination against anyone based on their religion or belief.

Notes:
In football, Gokulam Kerala FC won the 129th Durand Cup tournament by defeating heavyweights Mohun Bagan 2-1 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on 25th August 2019. It was a close game throughout which saw both the teams go through testing moments. With this win, Gokulam Kerala became the first club from the state in 22 years to clinch the tournament.