Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
The 2nd edition of Global Disability Summit (GDS) will be held at Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6-8 June 2019. The Indian delegation will be headed by Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE). The objective of the summit is to deliberate on issues across the world concerning empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to work out a mechanism for enabling them to live an independent and dignified life. The Indian delegation will also participate in the bilateral discussions with Government of Argentina for developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries on 9-10 June 2019.

Notes:
Facebook has launched its first interactive game show titled “Confetti” in India, which will start from June 12 on its dedicated video platform – Facebook Watch. The interactive show will air from Wednesday to Sunday and will challenge participants to answer pop culture trivia questions for a chance to win Rs 3 lakh as cash prize every day. In 2018, the social networking giant globally rolled out Facebook Watch as its video-on-demand service in an attempt to take on its rival YouTube. The video service allows users to enjoy videos from different genres, including entertainment, sports and news in their personalised “Watch Feed” that carries a collection of recent videos from the pages they follow.

Notes:
The US aircraft maker Boeing co and national airports body Airports Authority of India (AAI) have signed a technical assistance agreement for developing a comprehensive roadmap for modernisation of air traffic services in the country. The air traffic services comprise Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) and Air Traffic Management (ATM). The 10-year modernisation roadmap will be undertaken with a grant from the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA ). The agreement is aimed at developing a roadmap for AAI to use as guidance in the modernisation of the Indian National Airspace System (NAS) based on global and local best practices to optimally utilize airspace capacity, enhance CNS/ATM. Under the agreement, Boeing will analyse current technologies and processes to identify efficiency improvements that can be implemented while maintaining a practical and safe airspace system.

Notes:
China has successfully launched a space rocket from sea for the first time and became the third nation to successfully demonstrate the ability to launch satellites into orbit from a floating platform after Russia and United States. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has announced that a Long March 11 rocket was launched from a floating launch pad in the Yellow Sea just off the coast of Shandong on 5th June 2019. China now spends more than Russia and Japan on its civil and military space programmes. Earlier this year, China became the first nation to land a rover on the far side of the moon. It also unveiled ambitious plans to build a research base on the lunar surface, send a probe to Mars and build a space station in Earth orbit.

Notes:
American author Tayari Jones has won the 2019 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel “An American Marriage”. The book portraits a young African American’s wrongful conviction and how it affects his marriage. It is a story of love, loss and loyalty, the resilience of the human spirit painted on a big political canvas – that shines a light on today’s America. Jones wins £30,000 and the “Bessie” – a limited edition bronze figurine. The prize is one of the biggest international celebrations of women’s creativity.

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.

Notes:
The first-ever World Food Safety Day (WFSD) has officially celebrated on 7th June 2019 to strengthen efforts to ensure that the food we eat is safe. The theme of this year’s inaugural WFSD ‘Food Safety, everyone’s business’ invites us to recognize that food safety is everyone’s business. The day gives us an opportunity to share the outcomes of the two food safety conferences, discuss ways in which food safety can incentivize healthy diets, and discuss how the United Nations in New York can further support the efforts to improve food safety. The day was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in December 2018. The UN has designated two of its agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) – to lead efforts in promoting food safety around the world.

Notes:
The ruling National People’s Party (NPP), which is in an alliance with the BJP in Meghalaya, has been granted recognition as a national party by the Election Commission of India (ECI). As per the party’s request, the symbol ‘book’ has been allotted to it. With this, the NPP has become the first party from the North East (NE) to get the national party status. It is a recognized party in four states of the region viz. Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland. According to the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order of 1968, a political party can be recognised as a national party if its candidates secure at least 6% of votes polled in four or more states in Lok Sabha or assembly elections. In addition, it has at least 4 members in the Lok Sabha. It also has to have at least 2% of the total Lok Sabha seats and its candidates come from not less than 3 states. Third, it is recognised as a state party in at least four states.

Notes:
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has recently announced that harmful single-use plastics will be banned in the country from 2021 to reduce ocean waste. He declared it a global challenge to phase out the plastic bags, straws and cutlery clogging the world’s oceans. Currently less than 10% of plastic used in Canada gets recycled. The Canadian government said that one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals worldwide are injured or die each year when they mistake plastic for food or become entangled. Single-use items represent some 70% of the plastic waste littering the marine environment. Canada’s move follows one by the European Union (EU), which late last year announced a similar ban. Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Italy, along with the European Union, subscribed at 2018 G7 summit in Quebec to a new charter against pollution in the world’s oceans. The non-binding Ocean Plastics Charter called on participating countries and the EU to commit to making all plastics reusable, recyclable or recovered by 2030.

Notes:
After linking its short-term loans and large savings deposits rates to the repo rate, the State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to introduce a repo rate-linked home loan product from July 1. The home loans under this product will be priced at 2.65% over the repo rate of 5.75%. So, the home loan interest rate will work out to 8.40%. Currently, SBI offers home loans, which are linked to its marginal cost of funds, at 8.55%. The lender has also reduced the interest rate on cash credit /overdraft customers (limits above Rs1 lakh) after RBI cut its repo rate from 6% to 5.75%. Now the effective Repo-Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) for CC/OD customers is 8%. Repo rate is the key interest rate at which commercial banks borrow short-term funds from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).