Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has launched an awareness programme on Goods and Services Tax (GST) in collaboration with Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Institute Limited to help small scale businesses. The purpose of the GST programme is to impart basic knowledge and skills required to fulfil various requirements under the GST Act. It would be beneficial to people who are engaged in maintaining accounts and filing of various indirect tax returns. The main objective of the programme is to impart skills to book keeping professionals to file various regular GST returns along with the various compliance requirements. Those who have passed Class 12 are eligible for the course, which will be offered in January and July cycle of admissions.

Notes:
The International Labour Day (ILD) is celebrated every year on 1st of May to honour the contribution of working men and women. The day aims to pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. During industrialization at the beginning of the 19th Century, the industrialists used to exploit the labour class and made them work up to 15 hours a day. The workers rose against this exploitation and demanded paid leaves, proper wages and breaks for the workforce. Hence, the day marks the victory of the workers’ movement for eight hours of work. In India, the first Labour day or May Day was celebrated in 1923 in Chennai. The 2019 theme is – Sustainable Pension for all: The Role of Social Partners.

Notes:
In Rajasthan, the 8th Asian Youth Women Handball Championship is scheduled to be held in Jaipur, in which 10 teams, including defending champions South Korea, will be participating. It is the first time that the prestigious tournament would be played in the Pink city from August 21 to 30. Earlier, Delhi had hosted it in 2015 where the hosts India had finished seventh. The tournament has been dominated by South Korea who has emerged champion in the all the 7 editions of the tournament held so far. The previous edition in 2017 was held at Jakarta in Indonesia where South Korea was the champion while Japan and China were placed second and third respectively.

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:
Duti Krushna Panda (97), the veteran CPI leader and former Lok Sabha member, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on May 5, 2019. Panda was elected to Lok Sabha from Bhanjanagara Parliamentary Constituency (presently Aska) in 1971. He was also elected to the state assembly from Aska seat in 1990. He was actively associated with several trade unions and was the founder president of Odisha Anganwardi Workers’ Association. Panda was state secretary and president of CPI and AITUC, respectively. He was also the president of Ganjam district sugar growers’ association.

Notes:
After 8 years, India will once again mark its presence at the art world’s oldest Biennale in Venice, Italy that begins on 11th May 2019. The overarching theme at the 58th Venice Biennale 2019 is ‘Our Time for a Future Caring’, and India has decided to showcase Father of Nation Mahatma Gandhi to ensure a memorable show at the art event. In it, 16 of the 400 Haripura posters will go up on the walls of the India pavilion with the theme ‘Hundred and Fifty years of Mahatma Gandhi’. This will be the second time India will have a pavilion of its own at one of the biggest art events in the world. The India pavilion is curated by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), and commissioned by the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). The India Pavilion will revisit through diverse art forms, the indelible memory of Mahatma Gandhi, his philosophical ideas, and the many facets of Gandhi that continue to inspire, provoke and challenge the public, intellectuals and artists alike. In 1938, Mahatma Gandhi commissioned Indian modern artist Nandalal Bose to create paintings portraying different aspects of Indian life to be displayed at the Indian National Congress’ session in Haripura, Gujarat.

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:
India is officially invited to Group of 7 (G-7) industrialized nations summit along with Australia, Chile and South Africa. The summit is scheduled to be held in Biarritz, France in August 24-25, 2019. According to analysts, the invitation clearly reflects the strong strategic connect between India and France. And also, the invitation to Australia, France and Chile besides India reflects the French emphasis on the Indian Ocean and the Pacific region. The G-7 groups together the US, Britain, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Germany. This is not first time that India will be present at this exclusive club. In 2005, the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had attended the G-8 +5 meet in Gleneagles in Scotland at the invitation of then British prime minister Tony Blair.

Notes:
The World Thalasseamia Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 8 to raise awareness about this ailment among people all over the world. The day is also dedicated to commemorate thalassemia patients as well as encourage those who struggle to live with the genetic disorder of the blood. The 2019 theme is “Universal access to quality thalassaemia healthcare services: Building bridges with and for patients”. Thalaseemia is a chronic blood disorder. It is a genetic disorder due to which a patient cannot make enough hemoglobin found in Red Blood Cells (RBC’s). This leads to anemia and patients also require blood transfusions every two to three weeks to survive. Thalassemias are inherited disorders passed from parents to children through genes. Each red blood cell can contain between 240 and 300 million molecules of haemoglobin. The severity of the disease depends on the mutations involved in the genes, and their interplay.

Notes:
The 5th edition of United Nations (UN) Global Road Safety Week has started from 6th May with theme “leadership for road safety”. The World Health Organization (WHO) promotes road safety as a means to reduce traffic-related injuries. Hence, UN Global Road Safety Weeks and its’ campaigns are chaired by WHO and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). The 5th edition acknowledges that strong leadership is needed to advance road safety in countries and communities and achieve related Sustainable Development Goal and other global targets. Therefore, it launched action through the ongoing campaign: Save Lives – #SpeakUp. The #SpeakUp campaign provides an opportunity for civil society to generate demands for strong leadership for road safety, especially around concrete, evidence-based interventions which will save lives. It will also inspire leaders to take action by showcasing strong leadership for road safety within governments, international agencies, NGOs, foundations, schools and universities and private companies.