Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for merger of State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Patiala (SBP), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Travancore (SBT), and State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) with the parent, State Bank of India. This merger will create a banking giant, having 1/4 of market share in India’s banking sector (in terms of loans and deposits), with an asset base of about Rs 40 lakh crore from Rs 23 lakh crore.

Notes:
The world’s highest railway bridge will come up over Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir (J& K), which is expected to be completed in 2019. The bridge will form a crucial link in the 111-km stretch between Katra and Banihal, which is part of the Udhampur- Srinagar-Baramu rail link project. It will be constructed at a cost of around Rs 1,100 crore in hostile terrain, will use over 24,000 tonnes of steel and will rise 359 m above the river bed. It will be designed to withstand wind speeds of upto 260 km per hour, the 1.315 km long engineering marvel” will connect Bakkal (Katra) and Kauri (Srinagar). Once completed, it will surpass the record of the Beipan river Shuibai railway bridge (275 m) in China.

Notes:
Under the Part XXI of the Constitution of India, which deals with “Temporary, Transitional and Special provisions”, Article 370 is a temporary provision granting special autonomous status to Jammu and Kashmir. However, all sections of article 370 except article 370(1) have been abrogated in 2019.

Notes:
Based on the given information, the fauna in question is the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Explanation for each point:

1. Recently declared vermin in Himachal Pradesh: In some regions of Himachal Pradesh, India, the Rhesus Macaque has been declared vermin, meaning it is considered a pest and can be hunted or killed to control its population.
2. Listed as least concern in the IUCN Red List: The Rhesus Macaque is listed as “Least Concern” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, indicating that its overall population is stable and it is not at significant risk of extinction.
3. Regular swimmer: Rhesus Macaques are known to be good swimmers and are often observed swimming in rivers or crossing water bodies.
4. Native to Asia: The Rhesus Macaque is native to various countries in South and Southeast Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, and China.
5. Diurnal: Rhesus Macaques are diurnal animals, which means they are primarily active during the day and rest during the night.

Taking all these characteristics into account, the fauna being described is the Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

Notes:
Nanaji Deshmukh was born in a Marathi-speaking Deshastha Brahmin family on 11 October 1916 in Kadoli, a small town in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra. Recently, on 11^th October, 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the birth centenary celebration of Nanaji Deshmukh at IARI at Pusa in New Delhi. Prime Minister launched the Gram Samvad App which will carry information on the progress of rural development works at the Gram Panchayat level and released a commemorative postage stamp on Nanaji Deshmukh. Nanaji Deshmukh established Chitrakoot Gramodya Vishwavidyalaya, India’s first rural university. He also established Bharat’s first Saraswati Shishu Mandir at Gorakhpur in 1950. He established Deendayal Research Institute (DRI) in 1972 to validate the philosophy of Integral Humanism propounded by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya. He launched the “Campaign for Self-Reliance” thereby carrying out a social restructuring programme in over 500 villages in the country. He passed away in 2010.

Notes:
World’s One of the most powerful X-ray machines called European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL has officially opened at Hamburg, Germany. It is capable of firing powerful X-rays in bursts in less than seconds: so short that, like strobe lights, they can capture snapshots of jittery molecules frozen in time, and with a wavelength small enough to provide pictures at atomic resolution. The Hamburg machine is one of a few such X-ray lasers worldwide, but boasts a unique rapid-fire feature: it can rattle off 27,000 pulses every second, a firing rate more than 200 times greater than the next-fastest facility.

Notes:
Darfur is a region in Sudan also known as North Sudan. The War in Darfur is a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting the government of Sudan

Notes:
“Khapli” wheat is traditionally cultivated on a limited scale in Karnataka, southern Maharashtra, Saurashtra region of coastal Gujarat, parts of Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh. Khapli wheat forms only 1% of all wheat grown in India.

Notes:
Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by a type of bacteria called Brucella. The bacteria can spread from animals to humans. The bacteria cause the disease mainly due to ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat.

Notes:
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi released a book titled “The Birds of Banni Grassland”. The Book is a compilation of the research work, relating to more than 250 species of birds found in the Banni area of Kutch, Gujarat.