Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
On the occasion of 2019 World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) on May 31, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has banned production, distribution, advertisement and sale of Electronic-cigarette in the state. The decision will be an important step to curb addiction among youths. According to the health department officials, both online or offline sale, storage, production, distribution and advertisement of e-cigarettes in the state has been banned.

Notes:
The World Milk Day (WMD) is observed every year on 1st of June to provide an opportunity to focus attention on milk and to publicise activities connected with milk and the milk industry. In 2001, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) selected June 1st as World Milk Day, which celebrates the important contributions of the dairy sector to sustainability, economic development, livelihoods and nutrition. The 2019 theme is “Drink Milk: Today & Everyday”.

Notes:
In a strong reaction, the Government of India (GoI) has recently rejected the reference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in its final communique at the 14th Islamic summit in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on May 31, 2019. The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that the OIC has no locus standi in matters relating to the state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is an integral part of India. It is reiterated that OIC should refrain from making such unwarranted references. Earlier, at the 2019 Mecca Summit, the OIC reiterated its support for the legitimate rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and also appointed a special envoy for the state. The OIC is an international organization consisting of 57 member states & 53 of them Muslim-majority nations. It is not for the first time that OIC has made references on J&K, and India has slammed the 57-strong grouping of Muslim countries each time. Pakistan has been behind such anti-India references in the OIC communiqués / resolutions.

Notes:
Enoplotrupes tawangensis is a new species of dung beetle that has been discovered in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. The species is shining dark blue in colour and, measuring up to 27 mm, is relatively bigger than most of the dung beetles. The specimens were first collected and studied by two scientists from the Zoological Survey of India: Kailash Chandra and Devanshu Gupta. From India, approximately 65,000 species of insects are known, of them, more than 22,000 species are beetles. Dung beetles belong to the super family scarabaeoidea. They are the one of the fascinating group of insects because of their ability to bury dung deep in the soil and are indicators of the ecological health of an ecosystem, having clubbed antennae and pro-tibiae (pro-legs) modified for burrowing dung inside the soil. Often referred to as little recyclers, these scavenger beetles require mammalian dung to survive.

Notes:
In Bangkok , the 2019 edition of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) was attended by senior officials of India, US, Japan and Australia to hold consultations on their collective efforts for a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region and to reaffirm their shared commitment to preserving and promoting the rules-based order in the region. The four countries underscored their intent to continue regular consultations on Indo-Pacific engagement and initiatives together and with other interested countries and institutions. The consultations were part of the Quad an informal strategic grouping consisting of India, US, Australia and Japan. China has been trying to expand its military presence in the Indo-Pacific which is a biogeographic region. China claims almost all of the South China Sea whereas Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have also counter claims over it.

Notes:
Dinyar Contractor (79), the veteran actor and theatre legend, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on June 5, 2019. He was best known for his comic roles in films and was awarded a Padma Shri in 2019. He was appeared in many Bollywood films like Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Khiladi, Badshah, Daraar and 36 China Town. He was also part of many TV shows such as Khichdi and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

Notes:
Indian tennis player Sidharth Rawat defeated Rio Noguchi of Japan to win his first title in the $25,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament on June 2, 2019. With the ATP points being restored for events of this level, he will be able to improve his current rank of 510. He had a career-best rank of 430.

Notes:
Laldingliana Sailo (76), the former Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIT) news editor, has passed away in Aizawl. Sailo, a senior officer in the Indian Information Service (IIS), was inducted as Field Publicity Officer (FPO) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) in the year 1972. His first posting was in Arunachal Pradesh Tawang. After the stints in AIR, Kohima and Aizawl and News Services Division in New Delhi, he was transferred to Doordarshan Kendra Aizawl with additional charge of RNU, AIR, Aizawl. He retired as Director in the Directorate of Field Publicity for Kohima Region.

Notes:
The Delhi Metro has become the India’s first-ever project to receive power generated from a waste-to-energy plant. According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the project is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Mission”. This will also help in creating awareness on the importance of waste management and utilizing waste in a sustainable manner. The DMRC has started receiving 2 MW power from a 12 MW capacity plant in Ghazipur. The DMRC will take approximately 17.5 million units per annum from this plant. However, the energy off-take will depend upon the actual generation of the plant. The waste-to-energy plant set up by East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited (EDWPCL) is based on a public private partnership (PPP) involving the Delhi government, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and EDWPCL. The waste-to-energy plant will mitigate over 8 million tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) over the life of the project.

Notes:
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has recently signed a deal worth around Rs 300 crore for buying more than 100 SPICE bombs from Israel. The IAF fighter jets used these bombs to target Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps in Pakistan’s Balakot on 26th February 2019 after the ghastly Pulwama terror attack in which over 44 CRPF jawans lost their lives after a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-laden SUV into the convoy which was passing from the area. As per the contract, the advanced SPICE bombs would be delivered to the Air Force in the next 3 months as the deal is under emergency powers. SPICE bomb has a standoff range of 60 km and approaches the target as its unique scene-matching algorithm compares the electro-optical image received in real-time via the weapon seeker with mission reference data stored in the weapon computer memory and adjusts the flight path accordingly. Israeli defence firm Rafael Advanced Defence Systems manufactures the weapon.