Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2019

Notes:
The researchers at IIT Hyderabad and BR Ambedkar National Institute of Technology (NIT) of Jalandhar have developed a process by which bone implant materials can be synthesized from waste egg shells. They seek to produce bone substitute materials such as – Tri-Calcium phosphate (TCP) without the use of toxic chemicals. The natural source of choice of the IIT-Hyderabad researchers is egg shells. Eggshells are made up largely of calcium (95.1%) along with small amounts of proteins and water. In modern medicine, damaged and missing bones are replaced with bone from either patient or donor, or by using artificial materials containing calcium, such as Plaster of Paris, and phosphate compounds like hydroxyapatite and calcium phosphate. TCP is a commonly-used bone substitute material from natural sources.

Notes:
Rajasthan has bagged the “best innovation and initiative leadership award” for its achievements in higher education in the 14th World Education Summit (WES-2019). The award was received by the Minister of State for Higher Education Bhanwar Singh Bhati at the 14th summit in New Delhi. The representatives of 8 countries and 17 States of India participated in the 2-day summit.

Notes:
Legendary Indian athlete and Olympian P.T. Usha has been appointed as a member of the Athletes Commission of the Asian Athletics Association (AAA). Usha will be one of the six members of the AAA Athletes Commission. The commission will be headed by 1992 Olympics gold medallist hammer thrower Andrey Abduvaliyev of Uzbekistan. Usha is known for her stellar performance at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where she missed the bronze in the 400m hurdles finals by 1/100 second. The ‘Payyoli Express’ was awarded with the prestigious Arjuna Award in 1983. Recently, Usha is nominated for the prestigious International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) Veteran Pin Award.

Notes:
India’s first private Space Science Museum has opened in Hyderabad to mark the Golden Jubilee of the Birla Archaeological and Cultural Research Institute (BACRI). It is a collaborative effort between the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the B M Birla Science Centre. The ISRO on its part is providing some 65 models of various spacecrafts, satellites and rockets of varying sizes. This museum exhibits scale models of Indian Launch vehicles GSLV Mark III, GSLV Mark II and PSLV, Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter spacecraft, APPLE, Aryabhata, Bhaskara, Rohini RS-1 and a model of the International Space Station (ISS). Presently, 24 exhibits are on display to encourage young minds to explore Space Science and Technology.

Notes:
The 9-day National Tribal Festival “Aadi Mahotsav” is a joint initiative of Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs & Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED). On 17th August 2019, the fest is started at Polo Ground in Leh-Ladakh with theme “A celebration of the spirit of Tribal Craft, Culture and Commerce”. The event will see around 160 Tribal artisans from more than 20 states across the country, actively participating and showcasing their masterpieces. The mahotsav will showcase traditional art and handicrafts and cultural heritage of the country. The product range will consists of Tribal Textiles from Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, West Bengal; Tribal Jewellery from Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and North East; Tribal Paintings like Gond art from Madhya Pradesh, Warli art from Maharashtra; Metal craft from Chhattisgarh; Black pottery from Manipur, and Naturals and Organic products from Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka.

Notes:
Rizia Rahman (79), the renowned Bangladeshi novelist and the Ekushey Padak winning author, has passed away in Dhaka on August 17, 2019. She was born in Kolkata in 1939 and migrated to East Bengal after the partition. Rizia wrote in all genres of creative work viz. short stories, poems, essays and children’s fiction but she was renowned for her novels. Some of her well-known novels are as follows: Bong Theke Bangla, Rokter Okshor and Ghar-Bhanga-Ghar.

Notes:
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has proposed a new scheme called Supra with the sole objective of funding exploration of new scientific and engineering breakthroughs with global impact. The initiative is part of the PM Modi’s 100-day transformative ideas. The Supra (or Scientific and Useful Profound Research Advancement) scheme is designed to attract high quality research proposals consisting of new hypotheses or challenge existing ones and provide ‘out-of-box’ solutions. The SERB is a statutory body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to promote and fund research in different scientific disciplines.

Notes:
Indian cricket team has won the T20 Physical Disability World Cricket Series in England. In the final, India defeated England by 36 runs at the Blackfinch New Road ground in Worcester. The Indian team called itself Wadekar Warriors, in memory of former India captain Ajit Wadekar, who played an active role in All India Cricket Association for Physically Challenged (AICAPC). The AICAPC organised the selection and preparation for the event. The 6-nation tournament was organised by England and Wales Cricket Board.

Notes:
On 23rd August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a 3-day official visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain. During the visit, PM Modi will receive the the UAE’s highest civil honour ‘Order of Zayed”. The honour was conferred to him in April 2019 in recognition of his distinguished leadership that gave a big boost to bilateral relations between the two countries. The award is named after the UAE’s founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. It acquires special significance as it was awarded to PM Modi in the year of the birth centenary of Sheikh Zayed. So far, six countries — Russia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Palestine and Afghanistan — have given their highest award to Prime Minister Modi.After that, PM Modi will visit Bahrain that will be the first-ever Prime Ministerial visit from India to Bahrain.

Notes:
The task force, headed by CBDT member Akhilesh Ranjan, constituted by the Union government for drafting the new Direct Tax Code (DTC) has recently submitted its report to Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman. The task force was constituted to replace the 6-decades-old Income Tax Act 1961. It is believed that the task force has suggested changes in the slab for personal income tax & corporate tax. At present, the personal income tax structure has 3 categories — for people below the age of 60, for people above the age of 60 but less than 80, and the third for people of 80 years and above. Currently, companies with turnover up to Rs 400 crore attract tax at the rate of 25%. This covers 99.3% of all the companies registered. Now, the report is expected to be placed in Parliament as a part of Union Budget 2020-21.