Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
The 3rd edition of Namaste Thailand Festival (NTF-2019) was held at Select Citywalk in New Delhi on March 15, 2019. The 3-day fest was organised by the Royal Thai Embassy with an aim to strengthen bilateral ties and increase cultural exchange between India and Thailand. The festival featured stage performances by Thai artistes including the much popular Thai folk-jazz band Asia-7. Along with the traditional Thai cuisines, the Namaste Thailand festival will feature a series of Thai craft activities including mulberry paper mini umbrella making, fan painting, body paint, and button badge making.

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Recently, Italian Premier Premier Giuseppe Conte has pledged to make Italy the first Group of Seven nation to join China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative, despite objections from the United States and concerns within his governing coalition. While, on 20th March 2019, India signalled that it will boycott China’s second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for a second time. It stated that no country can participate in an initiative that ignores its core concerns on sovereignty and territorial integrity. India boycotted the first BRF in 2017 after protesting to Beijing over the controversial China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is being laid through the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) overriding New Delhi’s sovereignty concerns. China has already deepened its commitment to expand the USD 60 billion CPEC, which aims to connect China’s Xinjiang province with Pakistan’s Gwadar port with a host of road, rail, gas and oil pipelines.

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Exercise MITRA SHAKTI is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy and interaction between armies of India & Sri Lanka. The joint exercise for the year 2018-19 will be conducted from 26 March to 08 April 2019 in Sri Lanka. Troops from 1st Battalion the BIHAR Regiment of the Indian Army and Gemunu Watch Battalion of Sri Lankan Army would be jointly undertaking the exercise. The aim of the exercise is to build and promote close relations between armies of both the countries and to enhance ability of joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command. The exercise will involve tactical level operations in an international Counter Insurgency and Counter Terrorist environment under United Nations mandate.

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The Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has launched smart garbage bins made of stainless steel. These smart garbage bins will be able to send a signal to the garbage collection vehicle about the ‘fill-up’ position of the bin, aiding better cleaning and lower human intervention. The environment-friendly garbage bins will be made of SAIL SALEM stainless steel. These will be installed in underground Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) pits at the Smart Garbage Station. This will help prevent the spread of stink and diseases. There will be separate bins for recyclable and non-recyclable wastes. The pits in which the bins will be placed, will be covered with a pit cover fabricated out of stainless steel slip-free sheets. Suitable openings on the pit cover will allow the sanitation crew to dump the collected garbage into the stainless steel bins placed underground. SAIL will supply stainless steel garbage bins to Smart Garbage Stations at Bhikaji Cama Place in Delhi, which is being developed by the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC).

Notes:
The World Water Day (WWD) is observed every year on 22nd March to tackle the global water crisis in households, schools, workplaces and farms. This day is also celebrated as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. an opportunity to learn more about water related issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference. Water is an essential building block of life. It is more than just essential to quench thirst or protect health; water is vital for creating jobs and supporting economic, social, and human development. The 2019 theme ‘Leaving no one behind’ is the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The aim of Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) is to ensure availability and sustainable management of water for all by 2030. By definition, this means leaving no one behind.

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Former India hockey captain Sardar Singh has been elected in the athletes standing committee of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) at its 38th General Assembly in Bangkok . Apart from him, IOA secretary general Rajeev Mehta was named in the culture standing committee. Hockey India secretary general Mohd Mustaque Ahmad is in the media standing committee, while Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwala and Lalit Bhanot have been elected in the sports for environment and sports standing committees respectively. All the members have been elected for a four-year term from 2019 to 2023. The OCA General Assembly was held in Bangkok on March 2 and 3.

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Researchers at Purdue University in the US, including one of Indian origin, have developed a new process to remove nearly all traces of oil in produced water — a byproduct from the oil refinery and extraction process. The process uses activated charcoal foam and subjects it to solar light to produce heat and purify the water. The foam absorbs the oil contaminants from the water. Ashreet Mishra, a graduate research assistant at the Purdue University, said that this is a simple, clean and inexpensive treatment process. The process meets all environmental standards for clean water from industrial sources and had a total organic carbon of 7.5 milligrams per litre. Another advantage is that the oil absorbed by the foam can be recovered efficiently. The researchers were able to recover up to 95% of the oil that was absorbed. The process could be integrated with existing disposal systems to purify a large amount of water and reduce the current stress on water grids.

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The World Poetry Day (WPD) is celebrated every year on 21st of March across the world to recognize the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind. . The day was adopted in 1999 during UNESCO’s 30th session held in Paris. The observance of the day is also meant to encourage a return to the oral tradition of poetry recitals, to promote the teaching of poetry, to restore a dialogue between poetry and the other arts such as theatre, dance, music and painting, and to support small publishers and create an attractive image of poetry in the media, so that the art of poetry will no longer be considered an outdated form of art, but one which enables society as a whole to regain and assert its identity.

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The Financial Technology (Fintech) Conclave has been organized by NITI Aayog in New Delhi and was inaugurated by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das. The objective of the conclave is to shape India’s continued ascendancy in FinTech, build the narrative for future strategy and policy efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive financial inclusion. Nearly 300 Representatives from across the financial space – central ministries, regulators, bankers, startups, service providers and entrepreneurs are participating in the conclave. India is one of the fastest growing FinTech markets globally and industry research has projected that USD 1 Trillion or 60% of retail and SME credit, will be digitally disbursed by 2029. The Indian FinTech ecosystem is the third largest in the globe, attracting nearly USD 6 billion in investments since 2014.

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government has launched a programme, titled “Lose to Win”, to help overweight employers to shed extra kilos and adopt a healthy lifestyle. The programme involves adopting a healthy diet and engaging in physical activity, helping employees lose excessive weight within 8 weeks. The programme team comprises nutritionists and health educators from Health and Education Department of the ministry. Apart from awareness sessions, the programme includes a workshop on healthy nutrition where the participants are briefed on essential topics, including how to read food labels as well as explaining the make-up of balanced diets.