Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, the renowned scientist and cyclone warning specialist, has been appointed as the chief of India Meteorological Department (IMD). Popularly known as the ‘Cyclone man of India’, he will take charge of his new assignment on August 1 for a period of five years. Mohapatra and his team at the Cyclone Warning Division (CWD) of the IMD have earned praise for their accurate forecasts on cyclones, its wind-speed and likely impact on life and property including during the recent cyclone ‘Fani’, when their timely warnings enabled the authorities to ensure early evacuation of millions of people. Over the last six years, the CWD has given accurate forecasts on cyclones including when Phailin (2013), Hudhud (2014) and Titli (2018) hit the eastern coast. The IMD is responsible for weather and climate-related forecasts in the country. It is also mandated to issue warning to people about severe weather phenomenon like cyclones, dust storms, heavy rain and snow, cold and heatwaves, among others.

Notes:
The book ‘Cricket World Cup: The Indian Challenge’ has been authored by veteran broadcaster and writer Ashis Ray. It is a book on the history of the tournament from an Indian perspective that has been formally unveiled by the chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Tom Harrison. The book reviews all tournaments from 1975 to 2015 and also previews the ongoing 2019 World Cup in England and Wales. All matches of India, since the inaugural World Cup 44 years ago, are recorded as well as every semi-final and final regardless of whether India featured in them or not.

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 World Oceans Day (WOD) is observed every year on June 8 to celebrate the majesty of the world’s oceans and raise awareness about their preservation. Oceans are important for mankind because they generate an estimated 70% of the earth’s oxygen. They regulate the globe’s climate and weather. They support marine life. They provide us with food, and ingredients for many of our medicines. But our oceans and marine life are under threat: from pollution and overfishing. Hence, the day aims to address these challenges. The 2019 conservation action theme “Gender and Oceans” reflects on equalizing the representation of women and men in marine fields. It highlights the important role gender equality has to play in ensuring effective conservation of our oceans, seas and marine life. The focus of the day is to inspire a worldwide fight against plastic pollution.

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:
Bancha in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh has become the first village in India to have zero wooden stoves and almost no use for LPG cylinders with all its 75 houses relying on solar-powered stoves to meet their cooking needs. The team of IIT Mumbai has designed a special solar stove & now no trees are being cut by the villagers for lighting their stoves. The project of installing solar power plates, batteries and stoves in all the 74 houses was started in September 2017 and got completed by December 2018. The success story of Bancha is an eye opener which shows the potential of renewable energy. Not only will it help the nation economically but will also prove to work wonders for the environment if implemented across India.

Notes:
R V Janakiraman (79), the former Puducherry Chief Minister and senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader, has passed away in Puducherry on 10th June 2019. He began his career as a taxi driver and later went on to become a fleet operator before foraying into politics. He was the Chief Minister between 1996 and 2000, heading the coalition government of DMK and the Tamil Maanila Congress. Mr. Janakiraman became the Chief Minister in 1996 and represented the Nellithope Assembly constituency for five consecutive times.

Notes:
Dr. Romila Thapar, the well-known historian and writer, has been elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest learned society in United States (US). Dr. Thapar, a Professor Emerita of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, was among 1,013 members elected to the society at its Annual Spring Meeting.

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).

Notes:
India has been designated as the Guest of Honour at the 33rd Guadalajara International Book Fair (GIBF) 2019 in Mexico, which is scheduled to be organized from Nov 30 to Dec 8. The book fair will be the largest book fair in the Spanish speaking world. The dedicated India pavilion at the fair will showcase over 35 Indian authors and artists, along with 15 publishing houses. Ancient and rare manuscripts including “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana” will be put on exhibition, along with photo books, handicrafts and paintings. India’s participation at the fair will also include a film festival showing movies like “Dangal”, “Chennai Express” and “Omkara”.