Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, ancient tribal language Gondi will be taught in tribal districts to save it from becoming a thing of the past. The rapid decline in the number of people who speak that tongue is a matter of concern; hence, Chief Minister Kamal Nath has decided to include Gondi in the primary education curriculum of the state’s tribal-dominated districts.

Notes:
The US space agency NASA has recently announced that it will carry out first all-female spacewalk at the International Space Station (ISS) on 29th March 2019. Astronauts – Christina Koch and Anne McClain -will walk outside the ISS on a mission to replace batteries installed last summer. They will get ground support from Canadian Space Agency flight controller Kristen Facciol at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. In addition to two space walkers and the flight controller, Mary Lawrence will take the helm as lead flight director and Jackie Kagey will be the lead flight controller. Earlier, Soviet cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to carry out a spacewalk on 25 July 1984.

Notes:
Subhash Chandra Garg , a 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been designated as the new Finance Secretary (FS) of India. He is also the current Union Economic Affairs Secretary. He succeeded Ajay Narayan Jha. As per the convention, the senior-most among the five secretaries in the Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary. Here, Ajay Bhushan Pandey is the Revenue Secretary, Rajiv Kumar is Secretary in Department of Financial Services, Atanu Chakraborty is Secretary in Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and Girish Chandra Murmu is the Expenditure Secretary. Pandey and Kumar are 1984 batch IAS officers of Maharshtra and Jharkhand cadre respectively. Chakraborty and Murmu are 1985 batch IAS officers of Gujarat cadre.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has granted provisional recognition to All India Carrom Federation (AICF) as National Sport Federation with immediate effect till up to 31st March 2019 or decision of the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi in the matter, whichever is earlier. It is to facilitate participation of Indian Athletes in the forthcoming National/International competitions. The recognition means granting a major role to AICF for development of the Carrom sport in India. The recognition can be reviewed by the government in case Memorandum of Association (MoA) of the AICF or its practices come into conflict with the government guidelines as amended from time to time. The Carrom sport is placed in the ‘Others’ category.

Notes:
Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, a Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) of the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been named Chief Scientist of the WHO. The newly created division of chief scientist is being seen as the fifth pillar to strengthen the WHO’s core scientific work, ensure quality and consistency of norms and standards.

Notes:
To reduce casualties in Pulwama type attacks & warefare, the Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS) has developed a range of ‘combat casualty drugs’ that can extend the golden hour till the trooper is shifted to hospital. INMAS is a medical laboratory of DRDO. The spectrum includes bleeding wound sealants, super absorptive dressings, and glycerated salines, all of which can save lives in the event of warfare in a jungle and high altitude areas as well as in terror attacks. According to developers of the drugs, chances of survival and minimum disability are highest when effective first aid care is given within the golden hour. Among the drugs developed is glycerated saline, a battlefield intravenous fluid that does not freeze till -18 degrees Celsius and is useful in handling trauma cases in high altitude areas. Glycerated saline has life saving capacities as it gives more time to the medical personnel to shift the wounded patient to a higher care facility. INMAS has also developed a special medicated dressing material which is 200 times more absorptive than normal dressings during bleeding wounds. They have also developed a chitosan gel which helps in preventing blood loss by forming a film over the wound.

Notes:
Kavinder Singh Bisht has clinched gold in the 56kg-category at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Helsinki, Finland. In it, 3-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (60kg) and three other Indian pugilists – Govind Sahani, Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Mohammed Hussamuddin and Dinesh Dagar – claimed silver medals to end a fine campaign in the tournament. Besides, Sumit Sangwan (91kg), former youth world champion Sachin Siwach (52kg) and Naveen Kumar (+91kg) got bronze in their categories.

Notes:
M. Venkaiah Naidu , the Vice President of India and Chairman of Rajya Sabha, has become the first Indian to receive an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Peace Peace (UPEACE) for his contribution to the Rule of Law, democracy and sustainable development in India. Mr. Naidu received the degree of ‘Doctor of Philosophy’ (Doctor Honoris Causa) from the Dean of the University of Peace in the Costa Rican capital of San Jose. The UPEACE is an intergovernmental organization with university status. It was founded by resolution of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 1980 and its main campus is located in Costa Rica. India is a signatory to this resolution.

Notes:
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is the government agency for authentic source of data on crime, accidents, suicides, and prisons for policy matters and research data as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL). Founded in 1986, Bureau is also apex nodal agency for all Finger Print related matters including accreditation of Finger Print Experts in the country. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The current Director of NCRB is Ramphal Pawar (IPS). Recently, NCRB has celebrated its 34th Inception Day on March 11.

Notes:
In celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD-2019) and its 60th anniversary, American toymaker Mattel has released a new range of barbies to honor 20 female role models across 18 countries speaking 14 different languages. Indian gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been selected as a Barbie Role Model to help inspire the next generation of girls. She is the first Indian woman to win a Commonwealth Games gymnastics medal. Others honoured in the latest dolls include Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka of Japan, German double Olympic gold medallist cyclist Kristina Vogel, Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira, Mexican mountaineer, writer and lecturer Karla Wheelock and British activist & supermodel Adwoa Aboah. Mattel has been slowly trying to bring more diversity into their line to present the true representation of real-life women instead of one single standard.