Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
Darryl D’Monte (74), the senior journalist and environmental activist, has passed away in Mumbai on March 16, 2019. During his long career, D’Monte worked as the resident editor with leading media organisations such as ‘The Times of India’ and ‘Indian Express’ in Mumbai. He also wrote for websites and penned the book ‘Ripping the Fabric’ on the decline of cotton mills in Mumbai and the resulting challenges. He had also served as the chairperson of the Forum of Environmental Journalists of India (FEJI) and was the founder-president of the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ) in Dresden, Germany, in 1993.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank would have to comply with additional capital requirement norms by 1st April 2019 as the banks continue to be in the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)’s list of Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs) for 2018. D-SIBs are required to maintain higher capital as compared to other banks. It means that these banks are too big to fail and failure of any of these banks will have cascading effect on Indian financial system. The D-SIB framework requires the RBI to disclose the names of banks designated as D-SIBs starting from 2015 and place these banks in appropriate buckets depending upon their Systemic Importance Scores (SISs). SIBs are subjected to higher levels of supervision so as to prevent disruption in financial services in the event of any failure.

Notes:
Indian psychologist, psychoanalyst and co-founder of the postcolonial theory, Prof. Ashis Nandy has been chosen for the prestigious 2019 Hans Kilian award for his efforts to adapt western traditions of thought such as psychoanalysis to non-western context. With this, he will become the first Asian to receive the prestigious award on May 9 at the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany. The award is given to researchers whose outstanding scientific achievements provide insight into the historical and cultural existence of humankind and the constantly evolving human psyche. It was instituted by the Kohler Foundation in Germany and named after social psychologist and psychoanalyst Hans Kilian. It is awarded every two years and was first awarded in 2011. The prize includes 80,000 euros.

Notes:
IIT Roorkee has signed a pact with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up an ISRO-IITR Space Technology Cell (STC). The ISRO – IITR Cell shall pursue advanced research in the areas of relevance to the future technological and programmatic needs of the Indian Space Programme and shall devote its resources including human resources to this effect. The activities of STC shall be directed to maximise the use of the research potential, infrastructure, expertise and experience that already exist in ISRO and IIT Roorkee. Its research facility will consist of faculty members, visiting scientists and experts, research personnel, technical, administrative and support staff. IIT Roorkee will be responsible for overall management of STC by providing required infrastructure, administrative and other support.

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.

Notes:
The first-ever joint military exercise of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) titled “Sary Arka Antiterror 2019” is scheduled to be held in grasslands of Kazakhstan in the Sary Arka region. The decision to hold the joint exercise ‘Sary-Arka-Antiterror 2019’ was announced during the 34th meeting of the SCO’s Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) council held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The SCO, in which China plays an influential role, is also comprised of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. India and Pakistan were admitted into the bloc in 2017. Delegations of the competent authorities of India, Kazakhstan, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and the RATS Executive Committee attended the meeting. RATS is a permanent organ of the SCO which serves to promote cooperation of member states against the three evils of terrorism, separatism and extremism. It is headquartered in Tashkent. The next meeting of the Council of the RATS SCO is scheduled to be held in Russia in September 2019.

Notes:
Prof. Karen Uhlenbeck of the University of Texas at Austin has become first woman to win the Abel Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious international mathematics awards. The award is sometimes called the Nobel Prize of mathematics. She has been awarded the 6 million Norwegian kroner ($700,000) prize for her work in the fields of geometric partial differential equations, gauge theory and integrable systems and for the fundamental impact of her work on analysis, geometry and mathematical physics. The prize was first awarded in 2003 to honor the 19th-century Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel.

Notes:
The International Day of Forests is observed every year on 21st of March to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. It also seeks to highlight vital role played by forests in poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and food security. The 2019 theme is “Forests and Education”. This year, the International Day of Forests promotes education to Learn to Love Forests. It underscores the importance of education at all levels in achieving sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation. Healthy forests mean healthy, resilient communities and prosperous economies.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently appointed 5-member committee under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani to further deepen digital payments and enhance financial inclusion through Fintech. The panel would assess the current levels of digital payments in financial inclusion, suggest measures to strengthen the safety and security of digital payments, provide a road map for increasing customer confidence to use digital transactions, and suggest a medium-term strategy for deepening of digital payments. Financial technology (often shortened to Fintech) is computer programs and a new technology innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in the delivery of financial services. The committee will submit its report in 90 days from its first meeting.