Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Journalist Nileena MS, a reporting fellow with The Caravan, has won the prestigious ACJ Award for Investigative Journalism in print/online category for the year 2018. She won the award for her story titled “Coalgate 2.0: The Adani Group reaps benefits worth thousands of crores of rupees as the coal scam continues under the Modi government”. Her investigative piece revealed how a joint venture between Rajasthan Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited and Adani Enterprises Limited continues to function on the basis of agreements that pre-date a landmark Supreme Court judgement from September 2014. The ACJ award comprises a trophy, citation and a cash prize of Rs 2 lakh. The award is given by the Asian College of Journalism with the support of the Media Development Foundation to recognise and encourage the best works of investigative journalism produced for Indian readers, viewers and audiences in order to promote journalism in the public interest.

Notes:
The World Asthma Day (WAD) is celebrated every year on first Tuesday of May to increase awareness about asthma and aims to improve the lives of people with asthma across the world. Asthma is a chronic disease of the lungs which causes breathing problems. Asthma usually appears through symptoms like coughing, tightness in the chest, breathlessness. The 2019 WAD is observed on 7th of May with theme ‘Stop for Asthma’. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there are 235 million people currently suffering from asthma around the world. Asthma is one of the major non-communicable diseases and it is also the most common chronic disease in children. Regular exercise can help reduce asthma symptoms.

Notes:
Justice PR Ramachandra Menon has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court. Governor Anandiben Patel administered him the oath of office and secrecy at a function at Raj Bhawan. Earlier, Menon was a judge in the Kerala High Court. As per article 217 of constitution, the Chief Justice of a High Court is appointed by the President with the consultation of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Governor of the State. The other judges are appointed by the will of President, Governor and the Chief Justice of High Court.

Notes:
India and Bangladesh will jointly produce a film on the life & works of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and also a documentary on Bangladesh Liberation War. He was the founding father of Bangladesh. The movie will be directed by the acclaimed Indian filmmaker Shyam Benegal and will be written by Atul Tiwari. The decision was taken after a Bangladeshi delegation led by Dr. Gowher Rizvi met Information and Broadcasting Secretary Amit Khare. The Bangladesh Delegation assured full cooperation in ensuring smooth logistics for shooting the movie in Bangladesh. It was mutually agreed that the director of the documentary would be from Bangladesh who would be assisted by a co-director from India. Prasar Bharati has decided to carry Bangladesh TV on DD Free Dish platform without charging carriage fees. As a reciprocal gesture, Bangladesh Delegation announced that a Doordarshan channel will be adopted on the soon-to-be launched DTH platform of Bangladesh.

Notes:
BharatPe has launched India’s first UPI Bahi Khata for merchants, which allows merchants to record their cash/ credit (udhar) sales customer wise, request accounts receivable from customers via SMS payment links, and keep track of accounts payable to suppliers, among other services. It also serves as a networking platform for merchants to connect and collaborate with other BharatPe merchants near them to source and expand their businesses. BharatPe is the India’s first fintech start-up enabling payments for merchants through interoperable UPI QR codes.

Notes:
A team of herpetologists led by Ashok Captain have described a new species of reddish-brown pit viper — a venomous snake with a unique heat-sensing system — from a forest in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh. The discovery makes the Arunachal pit viper (Trimeresurus arunachalensis) the second serpent to have been discovered after the non-venomous crying keelback in the State’s Lepa-Rada district in 2018. The new species also makes Arunachal Pradesh the only Indian state to have a pit viper named after it. Before the Arunachal Pradesh discovery, India had four brown pit vipers — Malabar, horseshoe, hump-nosed and Himalayan — which were discovered 70 years ago. The discovery was recently published in the March-April volume of the Russian Journal of Herpetology.

Notes:
Y C Deveshwar (72), the noted industry leader and ITC Chairman, has passed away in Gurugram on May 11, 2019. He was India’s longest serving CEO and had received the India’s third-highest civilian award ‘Padma Bhushan’ in 2011. Deveshwar took over as chairman of ITC group in 1996 when the company was going through its worst crisis. Under his leadership, ITC battled resistance from its largest shareholder BAT and it made a successful diversification in the FMCG category. He transformed the cigarette major into a diversified player with interests in FMCG, hospitality, IT and other sectors. In 2017, Deveshwar stepped down as chief executive of ITC Ltd, India’s largest cigarette maker . After that, he moved to the role of non executive chairman. He was also a director on the central board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). ITC Limited is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Notes:
The Indian Army has decided to commemorate 2019 as the ‘Year of Next of Kin’ and plans to reach out to the next of kin of battle casualties, ex-servicemen and serving soldiers to inform them of entitled financial benefits, welfare schemes and help resolve pension related problems. The issue gains importance in light of most next of kin of deceased soldiers being unaware of the financial benefits that are entitled to them. Incorrect and incomplete documentation is a common problem for most of the next of kin, which aggravates their plight. Indian Army plans to overcome these challenges through its formations and regimental centres. It will also seek the involvement of the defence ministry, Nepal Embassy (due to several soldiers being recruited from Nepal), Sainik Boards, banks and welfare agencies such as the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS). The Directorate of Indian Army Veterans will be the nodal agency. Earlier, the Indian Army marked 2018 as the ‘Year of Disabled in the Line of Duty’.

Notes:
On 12th May 2019, Mumbai Indians became IPL champions for the fourth time after defeating Chennai Super Kings by one run in a thrilling final in Hyderabad. Last ball dismissal of Shardul Thakur by paceman Lasith Malinga registered final win for Mumbai over Chennai. Chasing a victory target of 150 set by Mumbai, Chennai Super Kings were restricted to 148 for 7 in stipulated 20 overs. Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni became the most successful wicket-keeper in the history of IPL by taking his dismissals tally to 132, surpassing his India teammate Dinesh Karthik. David Warner of Sunrisers Hyderabad won the Orange Cap for the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 692 runs. Imran Tahir, of Chennai Super Kings, was awarded the Purple Cap for finishing as the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 26 wickets. Andre Russell of Kolkata Knight Riders was named Most Valuable Player, also known as Man of the Series, while Shubman Gill also of Kolkata Knight Riders was named the Emerging Player of the Tournament.

Notes:
On 13th May 2019, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting of developing countries has started in New Delhi. The two-day meeting is being held at a time when the multilateral rule-based-trading system is facing serious and grave challenges. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the Ministers to discuss various issues and the way forward. Sixteen developing countries and six Least Developed Countries, LDCs are participating in the meeting. It includes China, South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh. The Director-General of WTO Roberto Azevedo is also participating in the meeting. In two-day meeting following issues are likely to be discussed: Finding a solution to the ongoing impasse in the Appellate Body on an urgent basis, Issues of importance and priority for developing countries including Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in the reform agenda, How to reinvigorate negotiating agenda on issues of critical importance for developing countries?, and How to ensure effective S&D for all developing countries including LDCs?.