Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Cardiologist Prof. Balram Bhargava has won the 2019 Dr Lee Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva. He bagged the award for his achievements as a clinician, innovator, researcher and trainer. Prof. Bhargava is the Director-General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). His passion to know how things work, and to make them work, has resulted in a long list of innovative medical devices – affordable, created and applied in India. In cooperation with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and a devoted follower group of more than 100 young innovators, his work on developing low-cost devices is already saving thousands of lives.

Notes:
The architectural heritage of Orchha town in Madhya Pradesh has been included in UNESCO’s tentative list of world heritage sites following a proposal sent by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the U.N. body. According to the rules, to be a part of UNESCO’s World Heritage sites, the heritage or any historical site first has to be on the tentative list. After it makes to the tentative list, another proposal is sent to the UNESCO. Orchha town is situated on the banks of the Betwa river in Niwari district of MP’s Bundelkhand region. The town was built by King Rudra Pratap Singh of Bundela dynasty in the 16th century. The ancient town is famous for its Chaturbhuj Temple, Orchha fort complex, Raja Mahal among others. The Bundela architecture has Mughal influence since the two dynasties were very close. The famous King of Bundela dynasty Veer Singh Dev was a close friend of Mughal emperor Jahangir and fought wars as Akbar’s aid.

Notes:
Rahi Sarnobat booked an Olympic quota place for India at World Cup rifle pistol stage in Munich, Germany by winning gold in women’s 25m pistol event. Asian Games champion Rahi clinched her career’s second World Cup Gold, which helped India win its sixth quota place in shooting for 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Now, India tops the Munich World Cup medals tally with three gold. China is at 2nd position with one gold, one silver and three bronze.

Notes:
In October 2020, Sweden will host an international conference against anti-Semitism in memory of the Holocaust. The conference, which is scheduled to be held in Malmo, will coincide with two significant dates: the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Europe from Nazi rule and the 20th anniversary of the Stockholm Declaration, the founding document of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which assists with the commemoration and study of the Holocaust around the world. Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice, or discrimination against Jews.

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:
Scott Morrison has been sworn-in as new Prime Minister of Australia, after retaining the position in the 2019 general election. Along with Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack, Mr. Morrison was sworn in by Queen Elizabeth’s official representative , Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, at a ceremony in the capital, Canberra. Mr. Morrison became Australia’s 30th Prime Minister through an internal party vote in August 2018 in which he replaced Malcolm Turnbull as chief of the ruling Liberal Party. The 46th Parliament of Australia is expected to open in the first week of July.

Notes:
The International Everest Day (IED) is observed every year on May 29 to mark the first successful climb to the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. On this day in 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa reached the zenith of the mountain and became the first humans to achieve the feat in memory of the first summit of Mt. The day is celebrated with memorial events, processions, and special events in Kathmandu and the Everest region. Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day (IED) since 2008, when the legendary climber Hillary passed away.

Notes:
Motilal Oswal Asset Management Company (AMC) has launched its WhatsApp transaction platform for new as well as existing investors. It is the first of its kind initiative by any fund house in India to do mutual fund transactions through the popular cross-platform messaging app. Investors can use WhatsApp to invest in any scheme from Motilal Oswal AMC. The investor through his/her registered number can initiate a transaction in Motilal Oswal MF schemes just by typing ‘Hi’. A customer can complete the entire process in less than two minutes and gets an instant transaction confirmation through the medium. The investor can make the investments either in a lump sum or through systematic investment plans (SIP).This feature is not a part of WhatsApp Pay and is different from using it as a payment channel.

Notes:
Indians Scientists has recently identified a new species of primate wasp from the genus Kudakrumia in Goa. The new species was collected in the forests of Western Ghats. The wasp, which is dubbed as Kudakrumia rangnekari, was named after Goa-based researcher Parag Rangnekar. Rangnekar is the author of a book “Butterflies of Goa”, which is perhaps a first field guide with photographs of the species found in this region. His quest to document the butterflies of this unique region resulted in a record of 220 species, of which 13 species had not been described before. He is the founder-president of the Goa Bird Conservation Network. The holotype is from Kotigao Wildlife Sanctuary of Goa of northern Western Ghats and the paratype is from Ranipuram hill of Kerala of southern Western Ghats. A wasp is any insect of the order Hymenoptera and suborder Apocrita that is neither a bee nor an ant.

Notes:
India’s only orangutan, ‘Binny’, has passed away at the age of 41 at Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha. The great ape was brought to the Odisha zoo in November 2003 from Pune’s Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park on November 20, 2003, when she was 25. Orangutans are one of the world’s three extant species of great apes. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there are three species of orangutans — Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli. Bornean and Sumatran orangutans differ a little in appearance and behaviour. All three kinds of orangutans are listed as “Critically Endangered” by the United Nations-affiliated International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). They are native to Indonesia and Malaysia and at present are found only in the rainforests of Borneo and Sumatra. The WWF states that orangutans, with distinctive red fur, are the largest arboreal mammal, spending most of their time in trees.They are considered to be among the most intelligent primates. They can live up to 45 years in the wild and even more in zoos.