Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
A music and poetry festival titled ‘Jashn-e-Ittihaad’ was held at the Jamia Milia Islamia central university in New Delhi on April 6, 2019. The fest is one of a kind event where people will get to enjoy soulful Hindi and Urdu poetry, music and performances that will not only make them feel good but will also spread awareness about unity and integrity. The musical evening opened with the national anthem and a dance performance by young artistes Yuvraaj Katiyal and Mahira Katyal, followed by a performance by Irshad Kamil and his band — The Ink Band. Mushaira by noted poets like Munawwar Rana, Waseem Barelvi, Shakeel Jamali, Iqbal Ashhar, and Madan Mohan Danish among others brought the evening to an end. The day-long was organised by Delhi-based entertainment company Question Associates Pvt Ltd.

Notes:
India has recently evacuated its entire contingent of peacekeeping forces comprising 15 CRPF personnel from Tripoli after the situation suddenly worsened in Libya. Indian Ambassador in Tunisia has the concurrent charge of Libya. The military conflict in Libya escalated after the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, recently launched a surprise air strike in an area in Tripoli. On the other hand, UN-backed internationally recognized government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj vowed a major counteroffensive. The move could potentially drag the country back into civil war. The United Nations has called for a two-hour truce to allow evacuations of civilians and the wounded. Libya has been torn by violence and political instability since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011 uprising.

Notes:
Indian Navy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to undertake joint research and development of advanced technologies for the Indian Navy. This will be a collaborative arrangement between labs of CSIR, the Indian Navy and Indian industry. The MoU would facilitate joint R&D activities in diverse fields of Mechanical, Electronics, Communication, Computer Science, Propulsion systems, Metallurgy and Nanotechnology.

Notes:
The World Homeopathy Day (WHD) is observed every year on 10th of April to commemorate the birth anniversary of the founder of Homeopathy, Dr Christian Fredrich Samuel Hahnemann. On the occasion, the Central Council for Research in Homeopathy (CCRH) is organizing a two-day convention in New Delhi. The council will take stock of the challenges faced and formulate future strategies for the development of Homeopathy in the country. The theme of the convention is linking research with education and clinical practice. CCRH is an autonomous research organisation of Ministry of AYUSH.

Notes:
Sydney Brenner (92), a South African-born biologist, has passed away in Singapore on April 5, 2019. He helped decipher the genetic code and his research on a roundworm sparked a new field of human disease research. Brenner shared the Nobel Prize in medicine in 2002 for his contribution to work unraveling how genes control cell division. He and two colleagues, John Sulston and Robert Horvitz, traced a transparent roundworm known as C. elegans to determine how cells divide and create something new. The findings on programmed cell death were key to understanding how cancers develop and laid the groundwork for making C. elegans a major model organism in research.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB) has recently released its latest edition of Migration and Development Brief. In it, India has retained its position as the world’s top recipient of remittances with its diaspora sending a whopping $79 billion back home in 2018. India was followed by China ($67 billion), Mexico ($36 billion), the Philippines ($34 billion), and Egypt ($29 billion). Over the last three years, India has registered a significant flow of remittances from $62.7 billion in 2016 to $65.3 billion 2017. According to the report, remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached a record high of $529 billion in 2018, an increase of 9.6% over the previous record high of $483 billion in 2017. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, reached $ 689 billion in 2018, up from $633 billion in 2017.

Notes:
On April 11, the Supreme Court (SC) imposed a fine of Rs 20 lakh on the West Bengal government for imposing a ‘virtual’ ban on the public screening of the satirical film Bhobishyoter Bhoot in the state. A bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud said the fine amount shall be given to producers and cinema hall owners as compensation for violation of their right to freedom of speech and expression. The court was hearing a plea by the film producer which alleged the movie was taken down from a majority of theatres at the behest of the state authorities. The film, directed by Anik Dutta, was released on February 15. Its story revolves around a group of ghosts, including a politician, who assemble at a refugee camp and try to be relevant in contemporary times. The film was allegedly withdrawn from single-screen theatres and multiplexes a day after its release.

Notes:
Telugu poet K Siva Reddy has been selected for the prestigious Saraswati Samman, 2018 for his collection of poetry titled Pakkaki Ottigilite (Turning Aside While Lying Down). It is the highest recognition in the field of Indian literature and carries a cash purse of Rs 15 lakh, apart from a citation and a plaque. Pakkaki Ottigilite, published in 2016, is an anthology of 104 poems in blank verse. It captures the responses of the poet over the years to social change, the evolution of his own self and his dynamic relationship with the world.The award, instituted by the KK Birla Foundation in 1991, is given annually for an outstanding literary work written in any Indian language and published during the last 10 years.

Notes:
Professor Najma Akhtar has become the first-ever woman Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) for a period of five years or until she attains the age of 70 years, She is also the first lady vice chancellor of any central university in Delhi. Ms. Akhtar has four decades of academic scholarship in educational leadership. She is known for spearheading international educational administrators’ course for senior officials from 130 countries for more than 15 years at National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) in New Delhi.

Notes:
To make Google Pay more useful for Indian customers, Google has partnered with MMTC-PAMP India to introduce buying and selling of gold through the app. Through this partnership with India’s only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-accredited gold refinery, Google Pay users will be able to buy 99.99% 24-karat gold. Google Pay users can now purchase gold for any value, which will be stored on behalf of the user in secure vaults by MMTC-PAMP. Users can buy and sell this gold any time at the latest price, refreshed every few minutes on the Google Pay app. Other mobile wallet providers such as Paytm, MobiKwik and PhonePe too provide the facility of buying gold from their wallet apps.