Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2019

Notes:
The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is observed every year on 22 May 2019 to increase understanding and awareness about biodiversity issues on a global scale. The 2019 theme “Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health” is meant to leverage knowledge and spread awareness of the dependency of our food systems, nutrition, and health on biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. The theme also the diversity provided by our natural systems for human existence and well-being on Earth, while contributing to other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including climate change mitigation and adaptation, ecosystems restoration, cleaner water and zero hunger, among others.

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In Germany, the international competition ‘Elsevier Foundation-ISC3 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge’ was recently held at the 4th Green and Sustainable Chemistry Conference. In it, a project idea by Dr. Ankur Patwardhan from Pune has bagged the second prize of €25,000. His project named ‘Butterfly attractant for pollination and ecosystem health’ is about the relation between chemistry and ecosystem. Dr. Patwardhan is currently working as head of the ‘Annasaheb Kulkarni Biodiversity Department’ at Abasaheb Garware College, Pune. He developed the project idea with the help of Tejaswini Pachpor and Dattatray Naik. Patwardhan serves as a member of the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board. He is also the president of a high-level committee appointed by the Centre on Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Eco-Sensitive Zone.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) has unveiled a new strategy to dramatically cut deaths and injuries from snakebites, and also warned a lack of anti-venoms could soon spark a “public health emergency”. Each year, nearly three million people are bitten by poisonous snakes, with an estimated 81,000-138,000 deaths. The aim of the strategy is to cut snakebite-related deaths and disabilities in half by 2030. An important part of the strategy is to significantly boost production of quality anti-venoms. The strategy also called for integrating snakebite treatment and response into national health plans in affected countries, including better training of health personnel and educating communities. Snake venom can cause paralysis that stops breathing, bleeding disorders that can lead to fatal haemorrhage, irreversible kidney failure and tissue damage that can cause permanent disability and limb loss. Most snakebite victims live in the world’s tropical and poorest regions, and children are worse affected due to their smaller body size. In a new report, the UN health agency urged the international community to take steps to address the problem, which it warned had long been dangerously under-estimated and neglected.

Notes:
The workhorse of the Indian Air Force (IAF), the Russian made AN-32 transport aircraft was formally fleet certified to fly on a blended bio-jet fuel partly derived from trees. The fuel will be 10% tree-derived and 90% conventional aviation fuel. The IAF has plans to widen the experiment over the next two years. The approval for use of bio-fuel to fly the Russian made fleet was given by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC). The indigenous bio-jet fuel was first produced by the CSIR-IIP lab at Dehradun in 2013, but could not be tested or certified for commercial use on aircraft due to lack of test facilities in the civil aviation sector. This is a huge step in promoting the ‘Make in India’ mission as this bio-fuel would be produced from Tree Borne Oils (TBOs) sourced from tribal areas.

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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.

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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.

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On 2019 World Meterology Day, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and National Physical Laboratory (CSIR-NPL) has recently introduced redefined International System of Units for the country. The redefined systems are Kilogram (SI unit of weight), Kelvin (SI unit of temperature), Mole (SI unit of amount of substance), and Ampere (SI unit of current). The purpose of a system of units is to enable world-wide coherence of measurements. CSIR- NPL has also sent the new definitions to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MoHRD) for the engineering course syllabus and to National Council of Educational Research and Training for adoption in schools. It must be noted that the world’s scientific community adopted the resolution to redefine four of the 7 base units during the open session of the General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM) at BIPM in November 2018. Therefore, there is no change in the definition of three other SI units—second, metre and candela — which were defined based on natural constants.

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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.

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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.

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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.