Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Global internet body Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and Indian IT industry body Nasscom has collaborated to develop identifier technology that can be used for managing devices and infrastructure using internet. Under the collaboration, both the bodies will focus on updating Internet of Things (IoT) devices using Domain Name System (DNS) even in situation when the manufacturer or supplier has closed down the business. The ICANN is a nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the maintenance and procedures of several databases related to the namespaces and numerical spaces of the Internet, ensuring the network’s stable and secure operation. Its’ headquarters is located at Los Angeles in California, United States.

Notes:
India has opened its first specialised hydrotherapy treatment center (water clinic) for elephants suffering from arthritis, joint pain and foot ailments on the banks of the Yamuna in Mathura. It is opened near the Wildlife SOS’ Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC), which currently houses 20 rescued elephants. The new hydrotherapy jumbo pool is 11-foot-deep and has 21 high pressure jet sprays that create water pressure that massage the elephants’ feet and body and help in increasing blood circulation. The center is a joint collaboration of Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the NGO Wildlife SOS.

Notes:
The World Sickle Cell Day (WSCD) is observed every year on 19th of June to raise public awareness about the sickle cell disease and its treatment methods. Sickle cell disease is an inherited form of anaemia in which red blood cells are not able to carry adequate oxygen throughout the body. Government has organised several campaigns for the proper treatment and cure of those suffering from the disease.

Notes:
India’s first solar-powered cruise boat to be rolled out in Alappuzha, Kerala in December 2019. A Rs 3-crore cruise boat that can carry 100 passengers is under construction at a boatyard in Aroor. This is part of an initiative of the State Water Transport Department (SWTD), whose solar ferry Aditya in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route has proved to be a success. The hybrid vessel will be powered by a motor that can source energy from solar panels, battery, and generator. Its battery will have 80 KWh (kilowatt hour) power backup as compared to 50 KWh backup in Aditya.

Notes:
On June 20, the first-ever International Theatre Festival of Bangladesh inaugurated at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) in Dhaka by the Bangladesh State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid. The week-long festival will feature theatre and puppet shows by eight troupes from seven countries. Rabindranath Tagore’s dance-drama ‘Mayar Khela’ was performed as the inaugural presentation of the festival on Thursday evening. The festival is being organised at the initiative of the Culture Affairs Ministry of Bangladesh. Theatre troupes from India, Bangladesh, Russia, China, France, Vietnam and Nepal are participating in the festival. The festival will also have a dance drama and a seminar on theatre. The Cultural Affairs Ministry has announced that this festival will be organized every other year.

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:
Saudi Arabia has become the first Arab country to be granted full membership of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) following its Annual General Meeting at Orlando in Florida, USA. Since November 2004, Saudi Arabia has been a founding member of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) arm of the FATF group. Its full FATF membership comes after it was reported the Kingdom had made “tangible progress” for its efforts in implementing the FATF’s guidelines. FATF is responsible for issuing international standards, policies and best practices to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation. The FATF Secretariat is housed at the OECD headquarters in Paris. As of June 2019, there are 39 Member countries of FATF and policies drafted by FATF are highly regarded and treated as law.

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:
The Rajasthan government has decided to set up Vedic education board and culture board in the state. It was announced by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at the 25th ‘Bhamashah Sammelan’ at Birla Auditorium in Jaipur. The board will help future generations take inspiration from Vedic culture.