Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL) has acquired the Philippines-based personal care maker Splash Corporation for an undisclosed amount to enter the country which has a consumer base of around 100 million. The acquisition strengthens Wipro’s consumer care portfolio in personal care and strengthens its South-East Asian market footprint. Splash is the largest Filipino personal care player and amongst Top 5 in the Philippines market. Its product categories such as exfoliants and leave-in hair care range are new for WCCL. This is Wipro’s 11th consumer business acquisition, and the 9th in the personal care segment. Other Wipro consumer acquisitions include UK’s Yardley, Singapore-based personal-care company LD Waxson Unza Holdings and China’s Zhongshan and a lot more. The company has made five acquisitions in the Indian market in the consumer line business.

Notes:
The Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) have signed a MoU for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility. BHEL’s unique strength as technology developer and implementer and ARAI’s advanced facilities and expertise in design, testing and certification of mobility products, will generate synergies in implementing solutions for Electric & Trolley Bus, EV Chargers, Battery & Charger testing, etc. The ARAI is an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises (MoHI&PE). The objectives of the Association are Research and Development in automotive engineering for industry, product design and development, evaluation of automotive equipment and ancillaries, standardization, technical information services, execution of advanced courses on the application of modern technology and conduct of specific tests.

Notes:
The United Kingdom Parliament has become the first national legislative body in the world to pass national declaration (or motion) of an Environment and climate emergency. The move comes a week after 16-year-old Swedish student Greta Thunberg addressed UK lawmakers to demand more climate action, and in the wake of protests by climate action group Extinction Rebellion, who blocked major landmarks in London. Thus, the symbolic move recognizes the urgency needed to combat the climate crisis. The move will increase pressure on the government and is demanding that the country takes action to help avoid more than 1.5 degrees centigrade of warming, requiring global emissions to be cut by almost half of 2010 levels by 2030. It also calls for the government to work towards carbon neutrality before 2050 and for ministers to draft proposals within the next six months to restore the country’s environment and create a “zero waste economy”.

Notes:
Master Hirannaiah (85), the noted Kannada theatre personality, passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka on May 2, 2019. He was well known for his caustic barbs on the political class dipped in humour on stage from late 1960s. Hailing from Mysuru, Narasimha Murthy was the son of theatre thespian K. Hirannaiah, who started K. Hirannaiah Mitra Mandali. He took on the stage name Master Hirannaiah after his debut in his childhood. His mega hit play was “Lanchavatara” with which he pioneered a freewheeling style, including a commentary on the day’s politics and making the play new with every staging. His other famous plays include Double Thaali, Kanya Daana, Sanyasi Samsara, Chamachavathara, Haasyadalli Ulta Palta, Kapil Mushti, Nadubidi Narayana, Bhrashtachara and Anaachaara. Based on these successes, he had starred in many Kannada language movies and TV shows.

Notes:
Dilip Kumar, a 1995-batch IAS officer of Punjab cadre, has been appointed as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the office of Lokpal. He has been appointed for a period of six months on additional charge basis or till a new incumbent joins the post. It is perhaps the first official appointment of a bureaucrat in Lokpal. Prior to this post, he was joint secretary at National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Earlier, on 23rd March 2019, President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairperson of the anti-corruption ombudsman. According to the rules, there is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of 8 members in the Lokpal panel. Of these, four need to be judicial members.

Notes:
According to the latest data from US space agency NASA, the giant asteroid named 99942 Apophis is expected to approach dangerously close to the Earth on April 13, 2029. However, there is no need to worry as it will be about 31,000km away from the surface of the Earth. This is going to be a great opportunity for asteroid scientists as it’s relatively rare for such a large object to pass so close to the Earth. The colossal asteroid is named after the Egyptian god of chaos and destruction. Apophis was discovered in 2004 by U.S. astronomers. Since then, optical and radar telescopes have tracked Apophis as it continues on its orbit around the sun, so scientists know well its future trajectory. Current calculations shows that Apophis still has a small chance of impacting earth.

Notes:
The fourth of Indian Navy’s stealth Scorpene class Submarines of Project 75, INS Vela has recently launched for trials at the Kanhoji Angre Wet Basin of Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) in Mumbai. The submarines are being built at Mazagon Dock Limited, with the main collaborator being M/s Naval group, France. The INS Vela is the 4th of the six Scorpene submarines that has completed its out fittings at MDL. The Scorpene-class submarine in the Indian Navy has been termed as the Kalvari-class. In 2005, a contract was signed between French DCNS (now Naval Group) and MDL under Indian Navy’s Project-75 for the supply of six submarines. Of the six submarines, INS Kalvari was commissioned in December 2018 while INS Khanderi and INS Karanj are are in advanced stages to join the Navy fleet. The remaining two — INS Vagir and INS Vagsheer are in the in the “advanced stages of manufacturing” at the Mazagon Dock. The contract is expected to be completed by 2020. The Kalvari class is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines based on the Scorpene-class submarine being built for the Indian Navy.

Notes:
A Nepali teenager, Bandana Nepal (18) has set a new Guinness World Record on ‘Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual’ by dancing continuously for 126 hours (over 5 days). She received the official confirmation from the Guinness Records on 3rd May 2019. Bandana set the record by doing a solo dance on Nepali music for 126 hours in the hall of Big Foodland restaurant in Kathmandu on November 23, 2018. Hails from Dhankuta district in eastern Nepal, she also owns a youth organisation named Bandana Nepal Foundation. The organization works for uplift of poor women in Nepal. Bandana beat the record set by a Kerala-based woman named Kalamandalam Hemalatha in 2011. Known as ‘the Dancing Queen of Kerala’, Hemalatha performed the Mohiniattam, a classical dance form continuously for 123 hours and 15 minutes.

Notes:
India’s first natural Ice Cafe has started at a height of 14,000 feet in Leh, Ladakh. The ice cafe is located on the Manali-Leh Highway. It is created by natural process by the Border Road Organisation (BRO) officials, with the help of some locals during winters. It is built in the shape of a mound with the purpose of saving water in winter and using it later for irrigation purposes when the ice melts in spring. The cafe utilises the same concept as used by Sonam Wangchuk for his ice stupa project in Ladakh and has been attracting a large number of tourists.

Notes:
For the first time, researchers have recently sighted nests of the grizzled giant squirrel (Ratufa macroura) at Pakkamalai Reserve Forests near Gingee (Tamil Nadu) in the Eastern Ghats. It is an endangered species listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. The grizzled giant squirrel is usually known to nest in the Western Ghats in Southern India ranging from Chinnar Wildlife sanctuary in Kerala to Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Palani hills in Tamil Nadu. Owing to habitat loss and poaching, the species has been categorized as near threatened by the Red List and listed under Schedule II of CITES. The grizzled giant squirrel has a body length of 25-45 cms, with an equally long or slightly longer tail. It can weigh anything between 1.5-3 kg.