Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan has recently inaugurated Young Scientist Programme (Yuvika-2019) for school children at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The initiative is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities. The Yuvika (Yuva VIgyani KAryakram) 2019, which will be conducted from May 13 to 26, is a two week summer vacation residential training programme. It is launched by ISRO in tune with the Union Government’s vision ‘Jai Vigyan, Jai Anusandhan’.

Notes:
A team of researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has created a next-generation plastic, called Poly Di-Ketoenamine (or PDK), that can be fully recycled into new materials of any colour, shape, or form, without loss of performance or quality. They have designed a recyclable plastic that, like a Lego playset, can be disassembled into its constituent parts at the molecular level. According to the journal Nature Chemistry, unlike conventional plastics, the monomers of PDK plastic could be recovered and freed from any compounded additives simply by dunking the material in a highly acidic solution. The acid helps to break the bonds between the monomers and separate them from the chemical additives that give plastic its look and feel. After testing various formulations, the researchers demonstrated that not only does acid break down PDK polymers into monomers, but the process also allows the monomers to be separated from entwined additives.

Notes:
At Paris summit, French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern launched an ambitious new initiative to eliminate terrorist and violent content online. The initiative, “Christchurch Call”, was pushed by Ms Ardern after a white supremacist gunned down 51 people at two mosques in the New Zealand city in March. Participants will be asked to commit to pledges to eliminate terrorist and violent extremist content on social media and other online platforms. The political meeting will run in parallel to an initiative launched by Macron called ‘Tech for Good’ which will bring together 80 tech chiefs in Paris to find a way for new technologies to work for the common good. The Paris summit comes as there is a growing realisation that the current abuse of social media by extremists must be countered, after the Christchurch attacker broadcast live footage on Facebook from a head-mounted camera.

Notes:
The first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) of Indian Navy has been inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. The SSB (Kolkata) will boost the induction of officers, both men and women, into the Indian Navy. Its location will reduce the travel time and effort for candidates from northern and northeastern parts of the country. This is the fifth SSB of the Indian Navy and will cater for selection of both permanent and short service commission (SSC) officers. The other boards are located in Bhopal, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore. The board can accommodate 160 candidates at a time and has separate facilities and accommodation for men and women candidates. Facilities available at the board include a GTO ground, testing hall, conference room, accommodation for staff and a medical inspection room.

Notes:
ICICI Bank has launched a co-branded multi-currency card with online travel booking portal Goibibo. Anyone travelling abroad, whether they hold an ICICI Bank savings account or not, can apply for the Goibibo ICICI Bank Travel Card on the Goibibo website and mobile app The acceptance of the card is across 200 countries and 4.6 crore merchants globally. Further, the card can be loaded with up to 15 currencies. Customers can instantly transfer money from one currency to another through ICICI Bank’s internet portal and reload currency into the card anytime, anywhere, using the bank’s mobile and internet banking platform. The card also includes benefits of up to Rs. 20,000, including gift vouchers of Rs.15,000 from Goibibo. Additionally, customers get 40 paise discount on currency conversion rate on loading of a minimum of $1,000.

Notes:
Kadavoor Sivadasan (87), the veteran Congress leader and former Kerala Minister, has passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on May 17, 2019. An active trade union leader, Sivadasan had served as secretary of Kerala Provisional United Trade Union Congress in 1977 and participated in the International Labour Organisation conference in Geneva representing the Central government in 1985. Mr. Sivadasan, a five-time MLA, had served as a Minister in the United Democratic Front governments headed by the late K. Karunakaran and A. K. Antony and had held Power, Health and Forest portfolios. He represented the Kollam and Kundra segments in the Assembly.

Notes:
The book titled “Coming Round the Mountain”, will be released officially by India’s beloved children’s author Ruskin Bond on his 85th birthday on 19th May 2019 at Cambridge bookstores in Mussourie. The book is the third installment of Bond’s award-winning memoir series for children that includes “Looking for the Rainbow” and “Till the Clouds Roll By”. In “Looking for the Rainbow”, Bond described the two years he had spent with his father when he was just nine years old, and in “Till the Clouds Roll By” he talked about the sudden change in his circumstances, the efforts he had to make to adjust to a new and very different life with his mother and stepfather. Now, the third part of the series will deal with Bond’s story as a boy of 13 during the crucial year of India’s partition.

Notes:
The World Metrology Day (WMD) is observed every year on May 20 to commemorate anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875. The treaty provides the basis for a coherent measurement system worldwide that underpins scientific discovery and innovation, industrial manufacturing and international trade, as well as the improvement of the quality of life and the protection of the global environment. The 2019 theme is “The International System of Units – Fundamentally better”. The International System of Units is now based on a set of definitions each linked to the laws of physics and has the advantage of being able to embrace further improvements in measurement science and technology to meet the needs of future users for many years to come.

Notes:
A Reserve Bank of India (RBI) – appointed committee headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani submitted its report on promoting digital payments to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on May 17. The RBI will examine the recommendations of the committee and will link the action points, wherever necessary, in its Payment Systems Vision 2021 for implementation. Earlier this week, the RBI released the ‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 – 2021’, for ensuring a safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable e-payment system with an aim making India a ‘cash-lite’ society. In January 2019, the RBI had set up the 5-member panel on deepening digital payments with a view to encouraging digitization of payments and to enhance financial inclusion through digitization.

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The World AIDS Vaccine Day (WAVD) is observed every year on 18th May to spread awareness about the urgent need for a vaccine to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. The day is also known as HIV Vaccine Awareness Day. It is also a day to thank volunteers, researchers, scientists, community member, health professionals and everyone else who is working to eradicate the disease and find ways for safe and effective HIV vaccines.