Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan has been honoured with the ‘Yashwantrao Chavan National Award 2018’ for his contribution to economic development. He was presented the award at a function on 12th March 2016 on the occasion of the 106th birth anniversary of Yashwantrao Chavan, who was the first chief minister of Maharashtra. The award is given every year by the Yashwantrao Chavan Prathisthan to individuals and institutions in recognition of their outstanding contribution to national integration, and social and economic development, among others.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently launched new Global Influenza Strategy for 2019-2030 aimed at protecting people in all countries from the threat of influenza. The strategy will provide a framework for WHO alongside countries and other partners to work to prevent seasonal influenza, control the spread of the infection from animals to humans and prepare for the next pandemic. A global influenza pandemic was listed as one of the WHO’s top ten threats to global health in 2019. Influenza is one of the world’s greatest public health challenges.Every year across the globe, there are an estimated 1 billion cases, of which 3 to 5 million are severe cases, resulting in 290 000 to 650 000 influenza-related respiratory deaths. WHO recommends annual influenza vaccination as the most effective way to prevent influenza.

Notes:
Jammu-born film director and novelist Ved Rahi has been selected for prestigious ‘Kusumagraj’ national award for literature. The award is instituted by the city-based Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) and carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a memento and a citation. It is named after Jnanpith-laureate Marathi poet and playwright late VV Shirwadkar, popularly known as ‘Kusumagraj’. Born in Jammu in 1933, Rahi has penned seven novels in Dogri. He was given the Sahitya Akademi award for his Dogri novel, ‘Aale’ in 1983. Rahi also made the film ‘Veer Savarkar’ (2001), a biopic on the life of revolutionary Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He was director of the 1991 Doordarshan television serial, ‘Gul Gulshan Gulfaam’. Rahi has written dialogues for several Bollywood movies, including ‘Bezuban’, ‘Charas’ and ‘Mom ki Gudiya’.

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:
Indo-Oman joint military exercise titled “Al Nagah III 2019” has started at Jabel regiment headquarters, Nizwa, in the Arab country. The exercise is scheduled to end on March 25 at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains. The Omani contingent was represented by Jabel Regiment of the Royal Army of Oman (RAO) while the Indian side was represented by troops of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment. The Indian Army contingent is represented by four officers, nine junior commissioned officers and 47 other ranks. The aim of this exercise is to enhance interoperability in counter terrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.

Notes:
Recently, a study titled “Hotspots of human impact on threatened terrestrial vertebrates” published in the journal PLOS Biology has reported that human impacts on species occur across 84% of the earth’s surface. A team of scientists led by James Allan (University of Queensland) found this when they mapped the distribution of 8 human activities — including hunting and conversion of natural habitats for agriculture — in areas occupied by 5,457 threatened birds, mammals and amphibians worldwide. Malaysia has been ranked first among the countries with the highest number of impacted species (125), followed by Brunei and Singapore. India ranks 16th in such human impacts, with 35 threatened species impacted on average. The Southeast Asian tropical forests including those in India’s Western Ghats, Himalaya and north-east — are among the ‘hotspots’ of threatened species. These affected areas are also ‘cool-spots’ (the world’s last refuges where high numbers of threatened species still persist). They could be result of protection or because of intact habitat.

Notes:
Arecanut (also known as supari or betel nut) is the latest entrant in the list of agricultural produce with a Geographic Indication (GI) tag. The Registrar of Geographical Indications, under the Union government, accorded a GI tag to ‘Sirsi Supari’ grown in Sirsi, Siddpaur and Yellapur taluks of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. The Totagars’ Cooperative Sale Society (TSS) Ltd, a Sirsi-based agri cooperative, is the registered proprietor of the GI ‘Sirsi Supari’. The GI tag will guarantee the authenticity of arecanut grown in these taluks, and ensure a better market for ‘Sirsi Supari’. The arecanut has unique features like a round and flattened coin shape, particular texture, taste. The total carbohydrates in ‘Sirsi Supari’ are 23% to 26%, total arecoline is 0.11% to 0.13%, total tannin content is 14.5% to 17.5%. ‘Sirsi Supari’ is used both as ‘chali’ (white arecanut) and red arecanut. The ‘chali’ variety is made by peeling the ripened nuts and sun drying them later. The red arecanut is produced by harvesting the tender nuts, then boiling and colouring them, then making them into different grades and finally sun drying them.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched doorstep banking service for senior citizens over 70 years of age, differently-abled customers and infirm customers, including visually-impaired customers. Eligible customers can avail this service at a nominal fee of Rs. 100 per transaction for financial transactions and Rs. 60 for non-financial transactions. The doorstep banking services are available to KYC- compliant account holders, with a valid mobile number registered with the bank and residing within 5km radius from their home branch. This service will not be available for accounts operated jointly, minor accounts, and accounts of non-personal nature. The list of specific services will include – Cash pickup & delivery, Cheque pickup, Cheque book requisition slip pickup, Delivery of drafts & Term deposit advice, Life certificate pick-up and Pickup of Form 15H for Income Tax purposes.

Notes:
Astronomers from Japan, Taiwan, and Princeton University have discovered 83 quasars powered by supermassive black holes in the distant universe, which were formed when the universe was only 5% of its current age. These quasars are lying 13 billion light-years away from the Earth. The team used data taken with ‘Hyper Suprime-Cam’ (HSC) instrument, mounted on the Subaru Telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, which is located on the summit of Maunakea in Hawaii. This finding, published in The Astrophysical Journal, increases the number of black holes known at that epoch considerably, and reveals, for the first time, how common they are early in the universe’s history. It also provides new insight into the effect of black holes on the physical state of gas in the early universe in its first billion years. Supermassive black holes, found at the centers of galaxies, can be millions or even billions of times more massive than the Sun. While they are prevalent today, it is unclear when they first formed, and how many existed in the distant early universe. A supermassive black hole becomes visible when gas accretes onto it, causing it to shine as a quasar.

Notes:
Karnataka has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for the first time. In the final, they defeated Maharashtra by 8 wickets at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. With the win, Karnataka set a record of most number of wins in a row by an Indian domestic team as they won 14 T20 matches to lift the coveted T20 trophy. Karnataka also equaled Indian Premier League outfit Kolkata Knight Riders’ record of 14 consecutive wins.