Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
K Govindaraj has been re-elected as president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI). The BFI is the governing and controlling body of Basketball in India. It is responsible for the development and promotion of the sport at all levels. BFI manages all the national level basketball operations in India. It is involved in organizing training camps and national tournaments, and in preparing Indian teams for both men and women international competitions in various age categories. The national team of India is also called as Young Cagers

Notes:
The researchers at IIT-Gandhinagar has conducted study of 89 urban areas in India. In it, they found that though there is an absolute increase in temperature during heat waves in both urban and non-urban areas, the urban areas are relatively cooler than the surrounding non-urban areas. At 1.94°C, the absolute increase in temperature during the day in non-urban areas during a heat wave was significantly higher than in urban areas (0.14°C). According to the analysis, urban areas were found to be relatively cooler than the surrounding non-urban areas during heat waves. At 44.5°C, the non-urban areas were warmer than urban areas (43.7°C). However, during the night, all urban areas were hotter than the surrounding non-urban areas. The study suggested that the lack of vegetation cover in summer after crops are harvested in rural areas may be the cause. The study was published in the journal ‘Environmental Research Communications’.

Notes:
Mankading is a method of run out where a bowler dismisses a non-striker by hitting the bails before bowling when the latter is outside the crease. Though this is a legally permissible dismissal, it is considered against the spirit of the game. The method is named after legendary Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad. During India’s tour of Australia in 1947, Vinoo Mankad had dismissed Bill Brown, not once but twice by removing the bails when he was outside the crease. It is in news recently because Kings XI Punjab captain and bowler Ravichandran Ashwin dismissed Jos Buttler in a run out popularly called ‘Mankading’ during a match against Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in 2019 IPL. The Laws of Cricket 41.16 states that a “Non-striker leaving his/her ground early: If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out. Whether the attempt is successful or not, the ball shall not count as one in the over.” The law also states that if the bowler fails in an attempt to run out the non-striker, the umpire shall call and signal Dead ball as soon as possible.

Notes:
Prafulla Rajguru (82), the veteran journalist and academician, has passed away in Jorhat, Assam on March 28, 2019. Rajguru had retired as the head of the department of English from DCB Girls College in Jorhat in 1997 and after his retirement he joined leading Assamese daily ‘Amar Asom’ as executive editor of the Jorhat edition where he served till 2000.Rajguru authored four books and was a member of several social organisations like the Asom Sahitya Sabha. He was also the founder president of Jorhat Press Club and was its adviser till his death.

Notes:
The International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed every year on 25th of March to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the transatlantic slavery system. The day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today. The 2019 theme “Remember Slavery: The Power of the Arts for Justice”, aims to recognize the importance of art in confronting slavery, to raise awareness of the struggles and to empower those who have been affected by it.

Notes:
Assam Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Sahu launched the Enajori initiative in Guwahati. It is a special initiative for persons with disabilities with an aim that ‘No Voter to be Left behind’. It is a joint initiative of CEO Assam and Social Welfare Department (SWD) with an objective to make 2019 Lok Sabha Elections accessible to Persons with Disability (PwD) voters. Under this initiative, comprehensive mapping of PwDs will be done in consultation with Booth Level Officers, Divyang Sarothis and a woman mascot-Chandraprabha, to facilitate the PwD voters for barrier-free and inclusive accessible elections. Under Enajori, sensitization programmes will be conducted by SWD to make aware the PwD voters about Braille system. A special initiative will be undertaken to make Braille voter slips and Braille ballot paper to facilitate blind voters.

Notes:
The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) has been awarded the “Best Sports Federation” award in the country by the Association Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM). This is another feather in the cap of the shooting sport community. NRAI is affiliated to International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF), Asian Shooting Confederation (ASC), Commonwealth Shooting Federation (CSF), South Asian Shooting Confederation and Indian Olympic Association (IOA). It was founded in 1951 with a view to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India.

Notes:
Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Bodley Medal, the highest honour bestowed by the University of Oxford’s world-famous Bodleian Libraries. Sen received the medal in Oxford during an event called the ‘Founder’s Lunch’ from Chris Patten, chancellor of the university, and Richard Ovenden, librarian. Beside him, other winner of the 2019 Bodley Medal is Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, who will receive it during the Oxford Literary Festival on April 3.The Medal is awarded to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the fields in which the Bodleian is active, including literature, culture, science and communication. The medal was instituted in 1646 by Thomas Bodley, founder of the libraries. The Bodleian Library is the main library in the Bodleian Libraries group and is second in size only to the British Library. First opened in 1602, the group holds over 13 million printed items.

Notes:
‘The State of the Global Climate’ report has recently launched by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The report presented a grim picture of the accelerating physical signs and socio-economic impacts of the climate change across the world as record greenhouse gas concentrations drive global temperatures towards increasingly dangerous levels. UN Chief Antonio Guterres has asked world leaders to come with concrete, realistic plans to boost climate action as greenhouse gas concentrations are driving global temperatures towards increasingly dangerous levels impacting millions of people. The report notes that 2018 was the fourth warmest year on record and 2015–2018 were the four warmest years on record as the long-term warming trend continues. Ocean heat content is also at a record high and global mean sea level continues to rise, while Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extent is well below average. Average global temperature reached approximately 1°C above pre-industrial levels and nations are not on track to meet climate change targets and rein in temperature increases.

Notes:
According to the Skytrax World Airport Awards, New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport has been designated as the best Indian airport but ranks 59th globally. The other Indian airports in the list were Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport at 64, the Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport at 66, and Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport at 69. The list has been compiled by the UK-based Skytrax, a consultancy firm which runs an airline and airport review and ranking site, featuring 100 airports. Singapore’s Changi Airport has been crowned the world’s best aviation hub for the seventh time in a row. At number two on the list is Tokyo International Airport (Haneda). This hub also won World’s Best Domestic Airport and World’s Cleanest Airport.