Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently appointed 5-member committee under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani to further deepen digital payments and enhance financial inclusion through Fintech. The panel would assess the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion, suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments, provide a road map for increasing customer confidence to use digital transactions, and suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening of digital payments. Financial technology (often shortened to Fintech) is computer programs and a new technology innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. The committee will submit its report in 90 days from its first meeting.

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India has moved up two places to rank 76th on a global energy transition index 2019. This annual list, compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF), has ranked 115 economies on how well they are able to balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability. Sweden remains on the top on this annual list and is followed by Switzerland and Norway in the top three. Among major economies, the UK is ranked 7th, Singapore 13th, Germany 17th, Japan 18th and the US 27th. Within Asia, Malaysia is ranked highest at 31st, Sri Lanka is 60th, Bangladesh 90th and Nepal 93rd. The report said that India is amongst the countries with high pollution levels and has a relatively high CO2 intensity in its energy system. Despite this, India has made significant strides to improve energy access in recent years, and currently scores well in the area of regulation and political commitment towards energy transition. The report suggested there was a ground for optimism regarding India despite the current outdated energy system not being ready for the transition because an enabling environment is being built to support the future transition.

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Australian researchers, at the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, have developed a new automated non-invasive technique for diagnosing eye surface cancer. The novel technique involves custom-building of an advanced imaging microscope linked with computing and Artificial Intelligence (AI) operations. It results in an automated system that is able to successfully identify between diseased and non-diseased eye tissue, in real-time, through a simple scanning process. The new technique scans natural light given off by specific eye cells — diseased cells — that have their own unique ‘light-wave signature’. This new technique offers the potential to reduce the need for biopsies, prevent therapy delays, and make treatment far more effective for patients. Eye surface cancer, also known as Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia (OSSN), is a common malignancy of the cornea and conjunctiva parts of the eye.

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The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) has recently developed an anti cancer anti-inflamatory drug conjugated to the human serum Albumin. It is an intravenous delivery system, enabling 100 fold increase in drug bio-availability and is a mix of human serum albumin and a plant based drug. This combination is the first of its kind as human albumin which is more compatible to the human body is being used. Clinical trials in humans have to be completed and results assessed as the ensuing steps towards commercialisation. The institute has also developed the technology of isothermal based DNA amplification device to detect TB bacterium in sputum samples in less than 30 minutes. Nearly 2-3 million people are infected with Tuberculosis and the prevalence of totally drug resistant TB (TDR-TB) is very high in India. The TB screening device employs a nucleic acid amplification technique to detect TB in less than 30 minutes with high specificity and without false positives. It can simultaneously screen 20 patient samples in one assay and at considerably lower cost than the existing devices ( costs approx Rs 2500/ sample). The device will also help in mass screening of population of people for TB at a substantially low cost.

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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

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Justice (Retd.) DK Jain, who is the newly appointed ombudsman for the BCCI, will also be its ad-hoc Ethics Officer. The mandate of the Ethics Officer is to look into matters of conflict of interest involving players, coaches and officials. Justice Jain is already looking into Hardik Pandya-KL Rahul chat show controversy due to which the duo served provisional suspension. The Rule 39(1) of the new BCCI Constitution states: “The BCCI shall appoint an Ethics Officer at the Annual General Meeting for the purpose of guidance and resolution in instances of conflict of interest. The Ethics Officer shall be a retired Judge of a High Court so appointed by the BCCI after obtaining his/her consent and on terms as determined by the BCCI in keeping with the dignity and stature of the office. The term of an Ethics Officer shall be one year, subject to a maximum of 3 terms in office.

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The researchers from Australian Antarctic Program have discovered a network of lakes lying under the ice during their 160-day expedition to the Totten Glacier, the largest in eastern Antarctica. The lakes were detected by scientists setting off small explosives 2m below the surface of the Totten glacier and listening to the reflected sound. They are discovered by using seismic studies, which were conducted to find out if there is bedrock or water, as sub-glacial lakes or ocean, under the ice. The study has shown that there are substantial amount of water found in these lakes could impact the predicted rise of the sea level. Thus, this research may help scientists predicting how melting of Antarctic glaciers would change the world’s oceans polar ice will change the world’s oceans in the future. The Totten glacier is 30km wide and up to 2km thick, and has the potential to raise sea levels by 7m. The seismic study involved setting off a series of small explosions at about 2m below the surface of the glacier.

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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.

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In New Delhi, the Ministry of commerce has launched a blockchain-enabled marketplace app for coffee to help farmers integrate with markets so that they can realise fair prices for the commodity. The app is developed in coordination with Eka Software Solutions and is intended to bring in transparency in coffee trade and maintain the traceability of Indian coffee from bean to cup so as the consumer tastes real Indian coffee and the grower is paid fairly for his produce. The blockchain will also reduce the number of layers between coffee growers and buyers and help farmers double their income. India is the only country in the world where entire coffee is grown under shade, handpicked and sun dried. Indian coffee is highly valued in the world market and sold as premium coffees. The share of farmers in the final returns from coffee is very meagre.

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President Ram Nath Kovind has recently honoured with Croatia’s highest civilian award — the Grand Order of the King of Tomislav. He is the first-ever Indian head of state to visit Croatia. The civilian order is awarded to heads of state for their important contribution towards the development of state relations between Croatia and their respective countries. Kovind is currently on a three-country trip – Croatia, Bolivia and Chile -from March 25 to April 4 to strengthen bilateral ties between India and the three countries.