Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
Bangladesh-based terror outfit — the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) — was banned by the Government of India (GoI) under the anti-terror law UAPA. The terror out fit is also called as Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan. The Union Home Ministry stated that the outfit has committed acts of terrorism, promoted acts of terrorism and has been engaged in radicalization and recruitment of youths for terrorist activities in India. Therefore, the JMB and all its manifestations have been inserted in the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967. The listing under the First Schedule of the UAPA means the outfit is now a banned organisation in India.

Notes:
The World Thyroid Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 25 to promote awareness and understanding of thyroid health and the advances made in treating thyroid diseases. The thyroid gland is an important part of the body and is extremely important as it regulates metabolism, affects energy levels, crucial body functions, and heart rate. Abnormalities in the thyroid gland can lead to excess production of the thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism), less production of the thyroid gland (hypothyroidism), thyroid nodules (lumps in the thyroid gland), goitre (enlargement of the thyroid gland), thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid gland) and thyroid cancer.

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:
Kalpana Dash (50), the first woman mountaineer of Odisha, has passed away near Balcony area of world’s highest peak Mount Everest on May 23, 2019.She had first scaled Mt Everest in 2008. During her decade and half-old career, she had trekked many mountains conquering peaks in Europe, America and Australia, besides India.

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:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a 6-member committee to review the existing state of mortgage securitisation in India and suggest measures to deepen it. The committee on the development of housing finance securitisation market, headed by Bain & Co Senior Advisor Harsh Vardhan, will review the regulations relating to Mortgage-Backed Securitization (MBS) currently in place, and make specific recommendations on suitably aligning the same with international norms. It will recommend specific measures for facilitating secondary market trading in mortgage securitisation instruments, such as broadening the investor base, and strengthening the market infrastructure.

Notes:
The Trump administration has recently removed India and Switzerland from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners. Both the countries were removed from the list because for two consecutive reports they had both met only one of three criteria necessary for inclusion on the monitoring list. According to the report, India had a significant bilateral surplus & Switzerland had a material current account surplus. The watch list contains the names of countries that have potentially questionable foreign exchange policies and are suspected to be manipulating their currencies to gain trade advantages over the US. However, the list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam among others.

Notes:
To celebrate 2019 World Environment Day (WED), the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recently launched the song ‘Hawa Aane De’ to spread awareness about Air pollution. The theme song is written by Swanand Kirkire and sung by Shantanu Mukherjee, Kapil Sharma, Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan. The film has been directed by Romanchak Arora. Every year, Union Environment Ministry celebrates WED focusing on the theme declared by UNEP and organizes several events. This year, the theme of Environment Day is ‘Air Pollution’. Hence, the events will include launch of film competition on environment, release of several books and three thematic sessions on Air Pollution, Waste Management and Forests: the Green Lungs of cities. It is noteworthy that to combat air pollution, MoEFCC has recently launched the National Clean Air programme (NCAP) which is a mid-term 5 Year Action Plan with targets of 20-30% reduction of PM 2.5 and PM 10 concentration in 102 cities, out of which 84 cities have already submitted their action plan. The main objective of NCAP is to control and abate air pollution across the country. It is a multi sectoral and collaborative approach with mainstreaming and integration.

Notes:
In Madhya Pradesh, Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport of Indore has been declared as International Airport. It was given the International status as per sub-rule (b) of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 by the Central Government. The airport, named after Maharani Ahilya Bai Holkar of Indore, is considered the busiest airport in the region. The Indore airport facilitates round the clock operations and was given its World Standardization Certificate by the UK. An international airport has customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. Such airports are usually larger than domestic airports and often feature longer runways.

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.