Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
On May 26, China clinched the badminton world mixed-team championship at the 16th edition of the Sudirman Cup 2019 in the Chinese city of Nanning. They beat Japan in men’s doubles, women’s singles and men’s singles to clinch the title for an 11th time. In the latest Men’ singles match Shi Yuqi stunned world champion Kento Momota 15-21, 21-5,21-11. Japan has never lifted the mixed-team world championship since it began in 1989.

Notes:
Acharya Balkrishna, the Managing Director of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd., has received the ‘UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in Healthcare Award’ on behalf of Patanjali Group of Institutions in Geneva, Switzerland. Balkrishna was among keynote speakers of the UNSDG (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) organisation. The others are Randy Oostra, UNICEF executive director Henrietta H Fore, WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and Abe Lee. Patanjali Ayurved produces a range of Ayurvedic medicinal and personal care products, among other consumer items. The company was co-founded by Baba Ramdev and Balkshrina.

Notes:
The first session of the UN-Habitat Assembly has started at the headquarters of UN-Habitat in Nairobi, Kenya on May 27, 2019. In it, India has been elected to the Executive Board of the UN-Habitat Assembly. The special theme for 2019 Assembly is ‘Innovation for a better quality of life in cities and communities’ with the sub theme of ‘Accelerated Implementation of the New Urban Agenda towards achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals’. The 5-day Assembly will be attended by four Heads of State, over 40 ministers and high-level representatives from 116 countries with over 3,000 delegates attending. During the first session, The Assembly is expected establish the Executive Board of UN-Habitat and elect its members, to review and approve the UN-Habitat Strategic Plan 2020-2025 and also review the Progress in implementation of New Urban Agenda, among other things.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to adjudicate whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as an unlawful association. The Tribunal is comprised of sitting Judge of Delhi High Court Justice Sangita Dhingra Sehgal. Earlier, the Home Ministry had issued a notification extending ban on LTTE in India for a further period of five years. LTTE was banned in India after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.

Notes:
Mumbai-based freelance writer, Annie Zaidi has been announced as the 2019 winner of the $100,000 Nine Dots Prize for her essay ‘Bread, Cement, Cactus’ Her essay is the combination of memoir and reportage to explore concepts of home and belonging rooted in her experience of contemporary life in India, where migration – within the country, especially from villages to cities – is high. The prestigious book prize is created to award innovative thinking that addresses contemporary issues around the world. The winner of the Nine Dots Prize is supported to develop their response into a full-length book, which is published by Cambridge University Press (CUP), and given the opportunity to spend a term at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities (CRASSH), Cambridge University.

Notes:
N Kumar, Vice-Chancellor of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), has been conferred the lifetime recognition award by the Confederation of Horticulture Association of India at the International Conference on Innovative horticulture at Pantnagar, Uttarakhand on May 28, 2019. The award has been conferred for his outstanding contribution in the field of horticulture and academic leadership focussed on human resource development in agriculture.

Notes:
The World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) is observed every year on May 31 to create awareness about the negative impacts of tobacco consumption on human health. The focus theme of 2019 edition of WNTD is on “tobacco and lung health”. The campaign will increase awareness on: the negative impact that tobacco has on people’s lung health, from cancer to chronic respiratory disease, the fundamental role lungs play for the health and well-being of all people. The campaign also serves as a call to action, advocating for effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption and engaging stakeholders across multiple sectors in the fight for tobacco control. On the occasion, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of India organized a national consultation on tobacco and lung health in New Delhi. The consultation, organized in collaboration with World Health Organization (WHO), was aimed at raising awareness about the negative impacts of any form of tobacco consumption on the health of lung and cancer causing micro-elements in it. Theme of the event was “Don’t Let Tobacco Take Your Breath Away – Choose Health Not Tobacco”.

Notes:
The Gujarat government has decided to equip the traffic police with ‘laser guns’ for detection of over-speeding by vehicles. The state traffic police has purchased 39 such high-tech guns at a cost of Rs.3.9 crore. The gun uses laser technology to detect the speed of a vehicle. It can record speed of three vehicles simultaneously in a second, even if the vehicles are a km away. The speed gun is an online device which can send an e-memo to the owner with a photo of the vehicle. If required, the speed gun can also generate and print the challan offline on the spot. It is also capable of recording videos of the over- speeding vehicles which will serve as a proof if the vehicle owner confronts the police.

Notes:
The IIT-Madras has recently launched an Integrated Database on Infrastructure Projects (IDIP) at the 15th World Conference on Transport Research conference held at IIT Bombay. The purpose of the data platform is to enhance the efficiency of infrastructure development and enable effective decision-making among different stakeholders involved in the sector. The initial focus of IDIP will be on the road sector, which has received the highest private investment among all infrastructure sectors. The PPP programme in the road sector in India is the largest in the world. The platform includes data coverage across the project life cycle comprising development, construction and operation phases. In addition to roads, other sectors such as railways, ports, and airports would also be included in the platform shortly.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will observe 2019 Financial Literacy Week (FLW) across the country from 3rd to 7th of June. The theme this year is – ‘Farmers and how they benefit by being a part of the formal banking system’. The posters and leaflets will be used to spread awareness and spread the message of financial literacy among the farming community. The RBI has advised banks to display the posters and content in their rural bank branches, Financial Literacy Centres, ATMs and websites. It will also undertake a mass media campaign this month on Doordarshan and All India Radio to disseminate essential financial awareness messages to farmers.