Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
The Israeli spacecraft “Beresheet” on it’s first-ever moon mission has recently sent its first selfie back to Earth. The image showing part of the Beresheet spacecraft with Earth in the background was beamed to mission control in Yehud, Israel — 37,600 km away. Earlier, on 22nd February 2019, the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and NGO SpaceIL launched the unmanned spacecraft Beresheet from Cape Canaveral in Florida on 22nd February 2019. The 585-kg Beresheet (Genesis) spacecraft took off on a Falcon 9 rocket from the private US-based SpaceX company of entrepreneur Elon Musk. It is the Israel’s first-ever moon mission that will measure the lunar magnetic field to help understanding of the moon’s formation. So far, only Russia, the US and China have made the 239,000 mile (384,000km) journey and landed on the moon. For Israel, the landing itself is the main mission, but the spacecraft also carries a scientific instrument to measure the lunar magnetic field, which will help understanding of the moon’s formation. It also carries a time capsule loaded with digital files containing a Bible, children’s drawings, Israeli songs, the recollections of a Holocaust survivor and the Israeli flag.

Notes:
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has recently said that five candidates have been presented by FAO member countries for the post of Director-General, to be elected in June 2019. The 194 members will cast their vote on a ‘one country, one vote’ basis in a secret ballot that requires a simple majority for a valid outcome. In it, India has nominated NITI Aayog member and agricultural economics and policy expert Ramesh Chand to lead a specialised agency of the United Nations focussed on achieving food security for all. The other candidates are Qu Dongyu of China, Medi Moungui of Cameroon, Catherine Geslain-Laneelle of France and Davit Kirvalidze of Georgia. The next Director-General of FAO will be appointed for the period August 1, 2019 to July 31, 2023 and will be eligible for only one additional mandate of four years.

Notes:
Malaysia has become the 124th member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after ratifying the Rome Statute. It joined the ICC because of the following reasons: Firstly, the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine and the Rohingya crisis. Secondly, the May 2018 election of Mahathir Mohamad for his 2nd stint as Prime Minister has brought a significant shift in the relationship between the Malaysian government and monarchy. Thirdly, the election of Mahathir and appointment of a new Attorney General, Tommy Thomas, has seen the main legal obstacles to ratification removed. Finally, Malaysia’s decision to ratify the Rome Statute has also been driven by Mahathir’s stated ambition to see his country “play a more active role” in ASEAN and the United Nations. Hence, it is third country of the 10 member states of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), to ratify Rome Statute after Cambodia and Philippines. However, Philippines has announced its withdrawal from the ICC and it is set to take effect from 19th March 2019. Earlier, Burundi became the first country to quit the court in 2017.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has constituted a 5-member committee to examine the issues related to framing of a proper, structured scheme for providing insurance cover to advocates and suggest modalities for its implementation. The committee, under the chairmanship of Legal Affairs Secretary Alok Srivastava, will recommend a comprehensive insurance scheme for the welfare of advocates all over the country to address concerns relating to untimely death and medical insurance. The committee will submit its reports within 3 months.

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:
The 5th edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship 2019 has started in Biratnagar, Nepal on March 12. Defending champion India has been drawn in Group B in the six-team competition alongside Maldives and Sri Lanka, while host Nepal has been kept in Group A with Bangladesh and Bhutan. The opening match was played between Nepal and Bhutan. Unbeaten in 19 matches from the last four editions, India will take on Maldives on March 13. Indian coach Maymol Rocky has expressed confidence in her side. The tournament will be last opportunity for Indian coach Maymol Rocky to fine tune her team for the crucial 2020 Olympic Qualifiers Round 2, which is scheduled to be held in Myanmar from April 1-9.

Notes:
The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has appointed self-styled godman Namdev Tyagi to the post of the chairperson of the ‘Ma Narmada, Ma Kshipra evam Ma Mandakini River Trust’. He is popularly known as “Computer Baba”. Notably, Tyagi was accorded minister of state (MoS) status by the previous BJP-led government in April 2018. However, he resigned in October 2018, claiming that the government was anti-religion and not fulfilling the promise of stopping illegal sand mining in the river Narmada.

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.

Notes:
As per the latest report by the World Gold Council (WGC), India has the 11th largest gold reserve with the current holding pegged at 607 tonnes. However, India is the world’s largest consumer of gold. The top slot is occupied by the U.S., which boasts of gold reserves of 8,133.5 tonnes, followed by Germany with 3,369.7 tonnes. Italy and France complete the top five lists with reserves of a little over 2,400 tonnes each. India’s overall position in terms of total gold holding would have been tenth had the list included only countries. Whereas, International Monetary Fund (IMF) is included and is third on the list with total gold reserves of 2,814 tonnes. Pakistan, with its gold reserves of 64.6 tonnes, occupies the 45th position. The WGC is market development organization for the gold industry. It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom (UK).

Notes:
The 14th CII-EXIM Bank Conclave on India-Africa Project Partnerships will be held in New Delhi from March 17-19, 2019. It is being organized by Ministry of Commerce & Industry in association with Confederation of Indian Industry and EXIM Bank of India. The event will mark the deepening of India-Africa economic and business ties and pave the way for a whole range of cross-border project partnerships. The Conclave will mark the pre-eminence of India-Africa partnership in the area of ‘South-South Cooperation’, at a time when the global economy is faced with intractable challenges that stem from rising protectionism and trade conflicts. It is expected to see the participation of 400 plus delegates from Africa and around 300 delegates from India. The B2B meetings at this Conclave are expected tobe held on more than 500 project proposals from Africa.