Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
M R Kumar has been appointed the new Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and will hold the post for a period of five years. Prior to this post, he was Zonal Manager (in-charge) of North Zone. LIC is the largest insurance company in India headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded in 1956 when the Parliament of India passed the Life Insurance of India Act that nationalised the private insurance industry in India. Over 245 insurance companies and provident societies were merged to create the state owned Life Insurance Corporation.

Notes:
Indo-Oman joint military exercise titled “Al Nagah III 2019” has started at Jabel regiment headquarters, Nizwa, in the Arab country. The exercise is scheduled to end on March 25 at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains. The Omani contingent was represented by Jabel Regiment of the Royal Army of Oman (RAO) while the Indian side was represented by troops of the Garhwal Rifles Regiment. The Indian Army contingent is represented by four officers, nine junior commissioned officers and 47 other ranks. The aim of this exercise is to enhance interoperability in counter terrorist operations in semi urban mountainous terrain.

Notes:
Arecanut (also known as supari or betel nut) is the latest entrant in the list of agricultural produce with a Geographic Indication (GI) tag. The Registrar of Geographical Indications, under the Union government, accorded a GI tag to ‘Sirsi Supari’ grown in Sirsi, Siddpaur and Yellapur taluks of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka. The Totagars’ Cooperative Sale Society (TSS) Ltd, a Sirsi-based agri cooperative, is the registered proprietor of the GI ‘Sirsi Supari’. The GI tag will guarantee the authenticity of arecanut grown in these taluks, and ensure a better market for ‘Sirsi Supari’. The arecanut has unique features like a round and flattened coin shape, particular texture, taste. The total carbohydrates in ‘Sirsi Supari’ are 23% to 26%, total arecoline is 0.11% to 0.13%, total tannin content is 14.5% to 17.5%. ‘Sirsi Supari’ is used both as ‘chali’ (white arecanut) and red arecanut. The ‘chali’ variety is made by peeling the ripened nuts and sun drying them later. The red arecanut is produced by harvesting the tender nuts, then boiling and colouring them, then making them into different grades and finally sun drying them.

Notes:
The Austrian capital Vienna has topped the Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row, followed by Zurich in Switzerland. In joint third place are Auckland, Munich and Vancouver. Luxembourg was the safest city in the world. In 105th place, Chennai ranks as the Asia-Pacific region’s safest city, while Karachi (226) is the least safe. According to Mercer’s 21st annual Quality of Living Rankings, Hyderabad and Pune have been named the most liveable city in India with rank 143rd. New Delhi featured at the 162nd position on the list, Mumbai at 154 and Bengaluru at 149. The 21st edition of the annual survey evaluated 231 cities across the globe between September and November last year based on 39 factors including political stability, healthcare, education, crime, recreation and transport. This year, Mercer provided separate rankings for personal safety, analysing the cities’ internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement and limitations on personal freedom. The ranking influences cities’ abilities to attract business.

Notes:
In Maharashtra, the 10-day long Africa-India Joint Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX-19) between the Indian Army and 16 African nations will be conducted in Pune from March 18 to 27. The purpose of the exercise is to train the participating contingents in Humanitarian Mine Assistance (HMA) and Peace Keeping Operations (PKO) under the United Nations Charter. In addition to the participating nations from the African continent, officers from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Madagascar would attend the exercise as Observers. The joint exercise will cover the dynamics of raising a Mission headquarters, nuances of establishing military observer team sites in disturbed areas. The nuances of HMA being covered will include establishment and functioning of Mine Action Teams (MAC), identification and survey of contaminated areas and mechanical / manual demining techniques. The exercise is expected to greatly facilitate sharing of Indian Armed Forces experiences in United Nations Peace Keeping operations with countries in Africa and shall significantly enhance relations with the African continent.

Notes:
Former ISRO scientist, Nambi Narayanan has been conferred the 2019 Padma Bhushan by President Ram Nath Kovind. It is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India. He is best known for his role in developing the Vikas Engine which was used for the first PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) launched by India. The engine was used in the most historic missions of ISRO, such as the Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan. Narayanan, who was heading the cryogenic project at the ISRO, was falsely implicated in the ISRO spy scandal of 1994. He was accused of selling state secrets comprising confidential test data from rocket and satellite launches. He was arrested in December 1994 and charged with espionage. The Supreme Court later cleared him of all charges in 1998 and awarded him compensation in 2018. He had also played a critical role in the development of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and in the initial phase of making cryogenic engines.

Notes:
For the first time, Uttar Pradesh has undertaken census of otters in its protected areas. The exercise that began in the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) will be completed by the end of March 2019. Otters are an important part of the forest ecosystem. A thriving population of otters means a healthy river ecosystem. These mammals, listed in schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972, are rarely seen due to their extremely shy nature. They feed on fish, bird eggs and small creatures like frogs. The den of an otter is known as holt and it is close to water bodies. The PTR is in the foothills of the Himalayas, south of Nepal. Covering an area of approximately 800 square kilometres, the reserve sprawls across parts of Pilibhit, Lakhimpur Kheri and Bahraich districts. With the Sharda and Ghaghara rivers encircling a considerable part of the reserve, it is rich in water bodies. The forests of PTR are to home to tigers, leopards, elephants, different species of deer and monkeys and reptiles like snakes, mugger crocodiles and gharials.

Notes:
Bengaluru FC won the 5th edition of the Indian Super League (ISL-2019) by defeating FC Goa 1-0 in the final at the Mumbai Football arena on 17th March 2019. It’s their first-ever ISL title. The two teams were locked 0-0 after 90 minutes. Even the first extra time saw no goals but Bengaluru got better of a 10-men Goan team 1-0, 4 minutes from the end of the second extra half. In it, Bengaluru FC defender Rahul Bheke became the match winner for the team in the dying minutes of the final.

Notes:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed transgender social activist Gauri Sawant, as one of the 12 election ambassadors from Maharashtra. It’s the first time that a transgender has been appointed as an election ambassador in India. According to the Election Commission, Gauri Sawant’s appointment would help in more people from this category getting registered during the final phase of voters enrollment. It stated that in the next few days, Gauri Sawant would visit every transgender and inspire them about the need for voting. During 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections there was no record of transgender voters. Following the Supreme Court order, transgenders got the right to vote for the first time in 2014. In 2014, 918 voters were registered in this third category. This number has doubled in five years and now it is 2,086. There are 113, 184, and 123 registered transgenders in constituencies of Bhiwandi, Kalyan, and East Mumbai respectively. North Mumbai constituency has registered the maximum number of 324 transgender.

Notes:
The International Day of Happiness (IDH) is observed every year on 20th of March to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. The day is a good reminder that our world is changing. If we want to understand how we progress, why we sometimes fail & ultimately improve the quality of all our lives, then the pursuit of happiness may offer an answer. The 2019 theme “Happier Together” focuses on what we have in common, rather than what divides us. It is celebrated by all 193 UN Member States.