Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
A team of scientists from CSIR-NEIST Assam has developed a chemical process that turns ‘dirty’ coal into a biomedical ‘dot’ to help detect cancer cells. The team, led by Binoy Kumar Saikia and Tonkeswar Das, has applied for a patent for their chemical method of producing Carbon Quantum Dots (CQDs) from cheap, abundant, low-quality and high-sulphur coals. CQDs are carbon-based nanomaterials whose size is less than 10 nm (or nanometer). The CQDs that the CSIR-NEIST team developed emit a bluish colour with high-stability, good-conductivity, low-toxicity, environmental friendliness, and good optical properties. CQDs are futuristic materials whose demand in India has been increasing leading to a considerable volume of import. The CSIR-NEIST technology can produce approximately 1 litre of CQDs per day at a low cost to become an import substitute. The acronym ‘CSIR-NEIST’ stands for “Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-North East Institute of Science and Technology”.

Notes:
The fifth edition of International Yoga day (IYD-2019) is celebrated across the country and abroad on 21st June with theme ‘Yoga for Climate Action’. The aim of the IYD is to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.

Notes:
Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan has been sworn-in as new Chief Justice of Telangana High Court in Hyderabad. Governor ESL Narasimhan administered the oath of office to Justice Chauhan at Raj Bhavan. Justice Chauhan is the 2nd Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court after the bifurcation of the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh High Court in 2018.

Notes:
Author Amish Tripathi has been appointed the new director of Nehru Centre in London, which is under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR). He will replace diplomat Srinivas Gotru. Tripathi is the author of best-selling books such as the Secret of the Nagas and Sita – Warrior of Mithila. The Nehru Centre was founded in 1992 with Gopalkrishna Gandhi as its founder director. Playwright-actor Girish Karnad was among the prominent people to have helmed the centre.

Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched a unique flood hazard atlas on the basis of historic flood inundation captured through satellite imagery over the period from 2001 to 2018. It is expected to help the State manage floods more efficiently. The atlas will help the authorities to systematically plan flood control measures, to carry out relief operations, to plan relief shelters & health centres and to control development activities on flood plains. The atlas is prepared by Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Hyderabad. Around 14 lakh hectare of agriculture land is being affected by floods every year in Odisha.

Notes:
Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri inaugurated the Central Command Centre for Air Traffic Flow Management (C-ATFM) at Vasant Kunj, New Delhi. The C-ATFM system is primarily meant to address the balancing of capacity against the demand to achieve optimum utilization of the major resources viz., airport, airspace and aircraft at every Indian airport where there is a capacity constraint. It integrates flight data from various subsystems like ATC Automation System, flight updates and flight update messages. The system also displays weather information along with static information about airports, airspaces and air routes. The system processes the demand and capacity information and provides decision-making tools to the ATFM Flow Manager for collaborative decision making and to ensure regulated flow of traffic at each airport in India. After successfully implementing the AFTM, India has become the 7th country after the US, Europe, Australia, South Africa, Japan, Brazil.

Notes:
To commemorate 20 years of Kargil War, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has turned the Gwalior air base virtually into a conflict theatre with dramatic reenactment of some of the milestones of the operation in 1999. In a symbolic ‘recreation’ of the Tiger Hill attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Drass-Kargil area, the air force used the Mirage 2000 aircraft and explosives were blown up on a ‘model hill’ to recreate the crucial events of the war. The chief guest for the event is Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa. It is observed in the remembrance of recapturing the towering hills in Kargil district in Ladakh division subsequent the occupancy of Pakistani troops. The objective of these celebrations is to evoke feeling of patriotism through nationwide campaigns especially amongst youth and to pay homage to the valiant soldiers.

Notes:
On June 26, the 32nd Congress of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) has kick-started in Hyderabad, Telangana. The Seed Congress is being held for the first time in South Asia. Over 600 delegates including seed experts, officials, policy makers and representatives of national and international companies from nearly 70 countries like the UK, South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Austria are taking part in the Congress. The deliberations will be mainly focusing on various technologies for increasing quality seed production and seed export-import policies. Several pre and post-event workshops, conferences and exhibitions are also being held as part of the 8-day long Congress.

Notes:
The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has recently approved a proposal to provide 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of the general category in jobs and education. The family should not own more than 5 acres of agricultural land or a house measuring more than 1,200 square feet in municipal corporation limits. The size limit for the house would be 1,500 square feet in municipality areas and 1,800 square feet in Nagar Panchayat areas. In rural areas, size of the house won’t matter. The state cabinet also approved a proposal to enter into a tripartite agreement with the Union government and Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company for metro rail projects in Bhopal and Indore.

Notes:
India has signed a loan agreement worth $400 million with the World Bank (WB) to help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis from the country. In India, around five lakh people died every year due to Tuberculosis. According to Finance Ministry, the World Bank supported program will cover 9 States and it will support the government’s National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025. The Program will provide financial incentives to private sector care providers for reporting cases of TB and ensuring that their patients complete the treatment regimen. It will also provide Direct Benefit Transfers to patients for acquiring the critical nutrition needed during treatment. The Program will also strengthen the detection, treatment and monitoring of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and will track progress in the detection of additional drug resistance.