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 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.

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The first-of-its-kind naval drill exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard’has been kick started by the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia near Guam, United States. The “Pacific Vanguard” drill brings together more than 3,000 sailors from the four countries to sharpen skills and strengthen practical cooperation at sea. The drills will focus on live fire exercises, defensive counter-air operations, anti-submarine warfare, and replenishment at sea. The Royal Australian Navy contributed two frigates to the exercise – HMAS Melbourne and HMAS Parramatta. The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force sent destroyers – JS Ariake and JS Asahi, and South Korea the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Wang Geon. The USS Blue Ridge, the Seventh Fleet’s flagship, will lead the operation from the U.S. side. Guam is home to more than 160,000 people, and was at the centre of nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang in 2017, with North Korea threatening to hit the US territory with “enveloping fire”.

Notes:
Russia has recently launched the third and final Project 22220 LK-60Ya-class nuclear-powered icebreaker – the Ural – at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersburg to open up Arctic shipping routes.The ship is one of a trio that when completed will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world. It is part of an ambitious programme to renew and expand its fleet of the vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential. The Ural will eventually be handed over to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the two other icebreakers in the same series – Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia) – enter service. The main task for the Project 22220 icebreakers will be to clear passages for ship traffic on the Northern Sea route, which runs along the Russian Arctic coast from the Kara Sea to the Bering Strait. As per estimated of U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic holds oil and gas reserves equivalent to 412 billion barrels of oil, about 22% of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas.

Notes:
Ivo Karlovic (40) of Croatia has become the oldest man to win a match at the French Open since 1973, after he defeated the 37-year-old Feliciano Lopez of Spain in a first-round duel of the 2019 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros. This was the oldest men’s match in combined age at Roland Garros during the Open Era, and the 7th-oldest match at a Grand Slam. Karlovic is also the oldest to win a Grand Slam match since 1978. The record for women is held by Elizabeth Ryan, who was 42 when she won the 1934 women’s doubles with Simone Mathieu.

Notes:
On 30 May 2019, James Marape has been nominated, elected, and sworn-in as the 8th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (PNG). He is a former finance minister and critic of a major global gas development deal. His appointment comes after the outgoing leader Peter O’Neill resigned recently. Papua New Guinea is a South Pacific nation of 7.3 million people. It has rich reserves of copper, gold, and oil, but development has been hampered by public order issues, rugged terrain and disputes over land.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) have recently signed a MoU for getting Indian astronauts trained for ISRO’s Gaganyaan mission. The development formally involves IAF’s Bengaluru-based medical arm, the Institute of Aerospace Medicine (IAM), in the programme as the nodal centre to train the first set of Indian astronauts. The Rs 10,000-crore Gaganyaan is planned for 2022, the 75th year of Indian independence. Gaganyaan (“Sky Craft”) is an Indian crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the basis of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme.