Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Former US astronaut Alan Bean (86), who was the fourth man to walk on the Moon, has passed away in Texas, United States. Bean went into space twice, the first time in November 1969 as the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 12 moon-landing mission. In 1973 he was commander of the second crewed flight to Skylab – America’s first space station. Bean retired from NASA in 1981 and carved a successful career as an artist. His paintings, inspired by space travel, featured lunar boot prints as well as small pieces of his mission patches which were stained by Moon dust.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology-Kanpur (IIT-K) has signed a Rs 15 crore-Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the VTOL Aviation Pvt Ltd to develop prototypes for self-piloted Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. These prototypes will be used as air taxis for civilians. The VTOL technology equips the aircraft to perform manoeuvres that are impossible with traditional aircraft, and also comes across as a big advantage for air combat and rescue. Other features like an ability to carry enough payload and minimal readiness time make it handy in emergency situations like rapid deployment of ground troops, precise location hovering for delivery of supplies. These aircraft will also be very useful for rapid medical evacuation of troops from difficult terrains. VTOL aircraft can be used for surveillance, rescue mission, combat situations, paramedics, and civil aviation. These aircrafts could be operated in both steered and pilotless modes from any trivial base like helipads or any ground surface.

Notes:
Colombia will formally become the first Latin American ‘Gobal Partner’ of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). According to a statement posted on NATO’s website, cybersecurity, maritime security, terrorism and its links to organized crime, and building the capacities and capabilities of the Colombian armed forces. In addition to Colombia, NATO lists Afghanistan, Australia, Iraq, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mongolia, New Zealand and Pakistan as “partners across the globe” or simply “global partners”. Each country has developed an “Individual Partnership Cooperation Program” with the 29-country US-led alliance, with many contributing actively to NATO missions.

Notes:
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has recognized the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) in Kerala as the world’s first fully solar energy-powered airport. The airport has a 12 MWp solar power plant comprising of 46,150 solar panels laid across 45 acres. The plant is capable of generating 50,000 units of electricity daily, and is equipped with a supervisory control and data acquisition system (SCADA), through which remote monitoring is carried out. The airport now generates 0.125 million units of power a day from its eight power plants with a total installation capacity of 30 MWp. It will be scaled up to 40 MWp by July 2018. The CIAL is the first airport in India developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model and was funded by nearly 10,000 non-resident Indians from 30 countries. With over 2 million sq ft in area, the airport’s Terminal 3 is India’s fourth largest terminal.

Notes:
Pankaj Saran, the 1982-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He will at post for a period of two years, on deputation basis initially till the date of his superannuation, i.e., November 30, 2018, then on re-employment on contract basis. Currently, he is India’s envoy to Russia. He served twice in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) — first as Deputy Secretary/ Director during 1995 and 1999, and then as the Joint Secretary between 2007 and 2012. Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is assisted by Deputy National Security Advisers. Ex-chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Rajinder Khanna was in January 2018 also appointed as the Deputy NSA.

Notes:
In the North-East, the Gaj Yatra has been rolled out by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) from Tura, the principal town of Garo Hills of Meghalaya on May 28, 2018. It is the part of an 18-month-long national campaign to protect India’s national heritage animal “elephants” and its habitat. The event involves taking an elephant mascot across districts frequented by jumbo herds for generating awareness among the people. The aim of the campaign is to involve people from all walks of life in the conservation of elephants. The WTI is securing 101 elephant corridors through its Right to Passage project, in partnership with the Union government’s Project Elephant, state forest departments and various NGOs. The aim is to rehabilitate people affected “by conflict in corridor areas” while ensuring uninterrupted movement of elephants between key habitats. Earlier, the campaign was launched by the Dr. Harsh Vardhan on the occasion of 2017 World Elephant Day (WED) in New Delhi.

Notes:
Former Supreme Court judge Justice R K Agrawal, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, has been appointed the President of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). He will take over from Justice D K Jain, who will complete his term on May 31. The NCDRC, which deals with consumer rights and addresses their disputes and grievances, is a quasi-judicial commission set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986. The commission is headquartered in New Delhi and is headed by sitting or retired judge of Supreme Court of India (SCI).

Notes:
Alicia Pucheta, who is the Vice President of Paraguay, will become the first-ever interim woman President of Paraguay after President Horacio Cartes offered his resignation from the presidency in order to assume a position as Senator. The parliament is due to confirm Cartes’s resignation and proclaim Pucheta as interim president. If his resignation is accepted, he would be succeeded by Pucheta for the remainder of his 5-year term, which is due to end on 15 August 2018.

Notes:
The Gujarat government has launched its ‘Reuse of Treated Waste Water Policy’ in Gandhinagar, which aims to reduce the state’s dependence on fresh water sources like the Narmada river. The policy will promote the use of treated wastewater and will see the setting up of Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) in all major towns and cities of Gujarat. Under this policy, the state government planned to construct 161 sewage treatment plants to treat waste water and use it for non-drinking purposes. The treated water would be used in industrial units, thermal power plants, gardening and in the construction sector. At present, around 2,600 million litres per day (MLD) of waste water was being treated by 52 STPs in the state. The policy aims to double the existing water treatment capacity to around 5,000 MLD in the next two years.

Notes:
Top Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda has recently retired after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years, during which he became the first and only Indian male to win Commonwealth Games medals in the discipline. His retirement was announced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on its twitter page after Gowda sent the AFI a letter declaring his intent to call it quits. Gowda, who will turn 35 on July 5, is also four-time Olympian. He holds the national record of 66.28m (achieved in 2012) and is one of the most decorated Indian athletes, having won gold in the 2013 and 2015 Asian Championships. He also won silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a gold in the 2014 Glasgow CWG. In the Asian Games, he won a bronze in 2010 and a silver in 2014.