Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
On May 23, the NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL) has officially inaugurated in Bengaluru, Karnataka to scale up industry participation in Indian space programmes. It is the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). NSIL will act as an aggregator for all space related activities in industry and develop private entrepreneurship in space related technologies. Specifically, it will be responsible for manufacturing the and production of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) and Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) through technology transfer mechanisms. It will also cater to emerging global commercial SSLV market demand, providing satellite building and satellite-based services, including supply of sub-systems for various domestic and international application needs and will enable space technology spin-offs through Indian industry interface.

Notes:
In Ukraine, comedian and political newcomer Volodymyr Zelensky has been sworn-in as the new President of war-torn country. He starred in the long-running satirical drama ‘Servant of the People’ in which his character accidentally becomes Ukraine’s president. He plays a teacher who is elected after his expletive-laden rant about corruption goes viral on social media. He ran under a political party with the same name as his show. With no previous political experience, Mr Zelensky’s campaign focused on his difference from the other candidates rather than on any concrete policy ideas. Despite this, he stormed to victory and won 73% of the vote.

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:
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:
Gian Chand (93), the veteran freedom fighter, has passed away at his native village in Mohalla Ramgarh of Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh on May 27, 2019. Born on 26th October 1926, Chand was a member of Azad Hind Fauj led by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose.

Notes:
Conrad K Sangma, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, has launched Rs 18-crore Aroma Mission at Byrwa in Ri-Bhoi district with an aim to strengthen the livelihood condition of farmers and create employment opportunities in the state. The move will boost the cultivation of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs). As part of the mission, a Memorandum of Agreement was also signed between the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP) and Meghalaya Basin Development Authority (MBDA) for a collaborative work on medicinal and aromatic plants. The CIMAP is a frontier plant research laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The chief minister also called for preserving forest cover while announcing the government’s plan to plant one million trees on World Environment Day on June 5 in different parts of the state especially in catchment areas.

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:
Admiral Karambir Singh has taken charge as the 24th Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) from Adm. Sunil Lanba, who stepped down upon retirement. He is the first helicopter pilot of the Navy to become the CNS. Prior to this post, Adm. Singh was the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C) of the Eastern Naval Command, headquartered in Visakhapatnam. During his long and distinguished service spanning nearly 39 years, Adm. Singh has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments. The tenure of a Service Chief is three years or 62 years of age, whichever is earlier.

Notes:
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.