Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The Spektr-RG space telescope is a joint venture of Russia & Germany that will map X-rays across the entire sky in unprecedented detail. It has been successfully launched into the space from the cosmodrome in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on 13th July 2019. The Spektr-RG is a space observatory intended to replace the Spektr-R (Known as the “Russian Hubble”). The hope is Spektr-RG can provide fresh insights on the accelerating behaviour of cosmic expansion. It should also identify a staggering number of new X-ray sources, such as the colossal black holes that reside at the centre of galaxies.

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In Tennis, Simona Halep defeated Serena Williams in the final by 6–2, 6–2 to win the Ladies’ Singles tennis title at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships. Halep became the first Romanian female player to reach and win the Wimbledon final. At 37 years 291 days, Williams is the oldest Grand Slam women’s singles finalist to compete since the start of the Open Era in 1968. This was the first Wimbledon where a final set tie break rule was introduced. Upon reaching 12–12 in the third set, a classic tie break would be played. No women’s singles match required the use of the final set tie break.

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German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen has been elected as the first female president of European Commission (EC) following a secret ballot among MEPs. She secured the backing of more than half of the Members in the European Parliament (MEPs) for the biggest job in Brussels. She will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker on 1st November 2019. The Commission drafts EU laws, enforces EU rules and has the power to impose fines on member states if necessary.

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Researchers at Assam’s Tezpur University have developed a simple and cost-effective filtration system – Arsiron Nilogon – that may help reduce the health burden caused by arsenic and iron contaminated groundwater. The system filters out 99.9% of the arsenic contamination from the groundwater to make it suitable for drinking. The chemicals used in the filtration process are cooking soda for pH conditioning, potassium permanganate for supplying oxygen and ferric chloride for providing solid iron oxide adsorbents of arsenic. The method can remove arsenic even to below 2 ppb (parts per billion) level while the World Health Organization (WHO) has set 10 ppb as the standard level. According to theWHO, arsenic is a natural component of the Earth’s crust and is widely distributed throughout the environment — in air, water and land. However, it is highly toxic in its inorganic form. The long term exposure to inorganic arsenic, mainly by drinking contaminated water, eating food grown or even prepared with this water, can cause skin lesions and cancer. The filtration process also removes other toxic metal ions like manganese, lead, nickel, chromium, copper, etc, very well along with arsenic and iron.

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In Madhya Pradesh, Air India has recently launched the state’s first international flight from Indore to Dubai from Devi Ahilyabai Holkar International Airport. The non-stop flight AI903 has fulfilled a long-standing desire from the travel fraternity and tourists for direct connectivity to the Gulf. From Indore, Air India is operating a 162-seater A320 Neo aircraft which will fly three times a week — Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays — non-stop to Dubai. Indore born Sunish Kumar Bhargava was the commander of this first-ever international flight from his home city. The aircraft will fly directly to Dubai on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday while the return leg from Dubai will be on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. It will have very attractive fares starting from Rs. 18,700 (return fare) and the return fare for the business class will be Rs. 42,000.

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The Union Cabinet has given ex-post facto approval to the Inter-Institutional Agreement (IIA) between India and the USA in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bioprinting, new technologies, exchange of scientific ideas/information and technologies, and joint use of scientific infrastructure. The purpose of the Agreement is to contribute towards the development of research and education of both the Institutions through academic collaboration. The joint research projects, training programmes, conferences, seminars etc. under this Agreement will be open to all qualified scientists and technologists, and will be supported on the basis of scientific merit and excellence. Scientific research and technology development in the areas of regenerative medicine and 3D bio-printing will have potential for generation of new Intellectual Property, processes, prototypes or products.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The outbreak in DR Congo has killed more than 1,600 people. The outbreak, the second largest in history, started in August 2018 and is affecting two provinces in DR Congo – North Kivu and Ituri. This is the fifth such declaration in history. Previous emergencies were declared for the devastating 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa that killed more than 11,000 people, the emergence of Zika in the Americas, the swine flu pandemic and polio. Ebola is a virus that initially causes sudden fever, intense weakness, muscle pain and a sore throat. It progresses to vomiting, diarrhoea and both internal and external bleeding. People are infected when they have direct contact through broken skin, or the mouth and nose, with the blood, vomit, faeces or bodily fluids of someone with Ebola. Patients tend to die from dehydration and multiple organ failure.

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Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik has recently launched the new e-challan system and the e-payment gateway for the use of Delhi Traffic Police. The E-challan devices are enabled with active GPS where the challaning officer and the violator, both can be logged and tracked to a particular geo-location. This is an important tool for evidence to establish the credibility of the prosecution. The payment gateway will help the citizens with the flexibility to login securely at their convenience and settle the pending violation notices with proof of payment. It is an important step towards cashless economy. It also ensures that the citizen interface with police improves and becomes more transparent.

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The Union Government has proposed light urban rail transit system – ‘Metrolite’ – in small cities and towns having lower projection of ridership, with each train having three coaches and a restricted speed of 25 kmph. The ‘Metrolite’ can be developed at a lower cost in comparison with existing metro system & will also act as feeder system to high capacity Metro. The three-coach train will have capacity of carrying 300 passengers. Sources said the government would provide financial assistance to states to implement the light urban rail transit system. It will have a dedicated path separating the road traffic with it. For segregation with road traffic, fencing can be provided on either side of network. The ‘Metrolite’ system will have shelter platforms. Metrolite platforms will not have AFC gates, platform screen doors, X-ray and baggage scanner. The ‘Metrolite’ train will comprise three non-separable coaches with low floor height of about 300-350 mm. Unit length should be of minimum 33 m. The car structure material will be stainless steel or aluminium.

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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.