Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The innovative pilot project – Medicine from the Sky – will be launched by the Telangana government and the World Economic Forum (WEF)’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network. The aim of the pilot project is to deliver emergency medical supplies such as blood, vaccines, medical samples and organs via drones. The project will run in partnership with the state government and HealthNet Global Limited. It will help facilitate decision-making in healthcare supply chains, focus on last-mile deliveries and address issues that affect the medical distribution system.

Notes:
Arun Kumar Roy (90), the veteran Left leader and chief patron of CITU Jharkhand state committee, has passed away in Dhanbad, Jharkhand on 21st July 2019. He was the former Lok Sabha MP and founder of Marxist Coordination Committee (MCC). Roy won the Dhanbad Lok Sabha seat in 1977, 1980 and 1989. He also represented Sindri in the Bihar Assembly in 1967, 1969 and 1972. Along with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Shibu Soren and former MP, the late Binod Bihari Mahto, Roy began the Jharkhand movement that demanded a separate State from Bihar in 1971. Jharkhand became a separate State on November 15, 2000. Roy was called a ‘political saint’ by his associates and followers, as his bank account always showed a ‘zero’ balance.

Notes:
Yukiya Amano ( 72), the former Japanese diplomat and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief, has passed away on 23rd July 2019. He had been chief of the key U.N. agency that regulates nuclear issues worldwide since 2009. It is not yet clear who will succeed Amano on an interim basis. During his tenure, Amano oversaw the signing of a landmark deal in 2015 between Iran and six major powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — under which the Islamic republic agreed to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. As Head of the IAEA, Amano also dealt with the aftermath of the devastating 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. Amano had wide experience in disarmament, non-proliferation diplomacy and nuclear energy.

Notes:
India has successfully launched its 2nd lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 onboard its powerful rocket GSLV-MkIII-M1 from Sriharikota to explore the uncharted south pole of the Moon by landing a rover. The Rs 978 crore mission will mark a giant leap in India’s space research and make it only the 4th country to have landed a rover on Moon. For the first time in India’s space history, an interplanetary expedition is being led by two women – Muthaya Vanitha (the project director) & Ritu Karidhal (the mission director). According to ISRO, the lunar South Pole is an interesting surface area which remains in shadow than North pole. There is a possibility of the presence of water in permanently shadowed areas around it. The lander ‘Vikram’, named after father of Indian space research programme Dr Vikram A Sarabhai, carrying the rover ‘Pragyan’, will be landed in a high plain between two craters at a latitude of about 70 degrees South of the moon. Then the 27-kg ‘Pragyan’ meaning ‘wisdom’ in Sanskrit and a six-wheeled robotic vehicle, will set out on its job of collecting information on lunar surface. A safe site free of hazards for landing would be decided based on pictures sent back by the camera onboard the lander and after touchdown the rover will carry out experiments for 14 Earth days, equals one Lunar Day.

Notes:
Scientists in Bangladesh have developed a method to convert Jute fibre into low-cost bio-degradable cellulose sheets named ‘Sonali’ which can be used as wrapping material and carrying bag. The Eco-friendly jute poly bags made up of Sonali can be used in garments and food packaging work and they are not harmful for human health. The commercial production of these bags is likely to start by the year-end. The main challenge in the large scale adoption of Sonali sheet is the relatively high cost of production which is almost double that of polythene. However, production on a large scale is expected to bring down the cost.

Notes:
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee led West Bengal government has decided to bring legislation in the Assembly for ensuring the job security of Journalists in the State. The legislation aims at social security of Journalist. Besides, it will deal with the issues of retrenchment of Journalists and closure of TV channels and Newspapers publication houses.

Notes:
Priti Patel, a prominent member of the Back Boris campaign for the Conservative Party leadership, has become the Britain’s first Indian-origin home secretary as part of new Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s top team. She succeeded Pakistani-origin Sajid Javid, who moves to the Treasury department as the first ethnic minority Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr Javid, a former banker from a modest background, was a contender for the premiership but endorsed Johnson when he failed to get enough support from fellow Conservative MPs. Mr Johnson has also named Brexit hardliner Dominic Raab as the country’s Foreign Secretary.

Notes:
Ajay Kumar Bhalla, the1984-batch Assam Meghalaya cadre IAS officer , has been appointed Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with immediate effect. He will take over as Home Secretary from incumbent Rajive Gauba. Mr. Bhalla will have a fixed two-year tenure as Union Home Secretary till August 2021. Excerpts of the major reshuffle in the senior bureaucracy: Subhash Chandra Garg has been shifted to the Power Ministry as Secretary, while Gujarat cadre IAS officer Atanu Chakraborty has been made new Economic Affairs Secretary. Anshu Prakash has been appointed new Secretary of Telecommunications. This is the first reshuffle in the top bureaucracy after the parliamentary polls that saw return of the Narendra Modi government with thumping majority. The reshuffle includes IAS officers of 1984, 1985 and 1986 batches.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has assigned deputy governor B.P. Kanungo to run the monetary policy portfolio after the resignation of fellow deputy governor Viral Acharya. Kanungo would become the 6th member of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee, which will next convene on 5-7 August. He will also retain his currency management portfolio. Now, all the other three deputy governors — N S Vishwanathan, B P Kanungo and M K Jain — have been made responsible for 12 departments each.

Notes:
In a first, the Goa government has decided to ply ‘water taxis’ in its inland waterways between Panaji and Old Goa. The announcement was made while tabling the performance budget of the River Navigation department (RND) for the financial year 2019-2020. The department also plans to upgrade existing ferry ramps and jetties and provide better facilities on all the ferry routes. The RND has a fleet of 34 ferry boats which cater to different inland routes, connecting islands to the mainstream areas. The Central government’s Sagarmala project has also funded reconstruction of 9 jetties in Goa. A flagship programme of the Ministry of Shipping, the Sagarmala project aims to promote port-led development by exploiting India’s 7,500 km long coastline, 14,500 km of potentially navigable waterways and its strategic location on international maritime trade routes.