Current Affairs Quiz - 16th May, 2018 - Current Affairs MCQ

President Ram Nath Kovind authorities must be mindful of the human side of mining. Addressing the gathering after presenting National Geosciences Awards for 2017 in New Delhi, local communities must benefit from the exploration, extraction, and development of mineral resources. The mineral resources in India are found in regions that have been home of tribal communities since generations. It is important that these communities are part of prosperity that the mining economy creates. The President application of geoscience is extremely diverse which will lead to an expansion of economic activities. India must mine more but mine better in a sustainable manner. India's per capita consumption of many resources and commodities is still very low by global standards and there is room to grow high-quality research initiatives are required for sustainable and ecological friendly resource generation. The President also stressed on meaningful investment in technological innovation in the mining sector. The exploration of mineral blocks and auction will go a long way in enhancing financial health of states. The geoscientists have an important role to play in enhancing agricultural productivity and farmer incomes in providing a bedrock to the Smart Cities initiative and helping citizens fight the challenge of water scarcity, which has emerged as a pressing problem. The 36 mineral blocks have been auctioned generating an additional revenue of 1 lakh 11 thousand crore rupees. He informed that new blocks will be auctioned in the near future. Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana is providing welfare to areas and people affected by mining-related operations.

The World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated from now on twice a year, on the Second Saturday in May and in October. It will also be observed on 13th October 2018. World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) aims to create awareness on the need for conservation of migratory birds and their habitats. The theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2018 is: "Unifying our Voices for Bird Conservation". Also 2018 is the "Year of the Bird".

Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, the founder of Sulabh International, has been honoured with the 2018 Nikkei Asia Prize in Japan for his contribution to Asia's development. Pathak is among the three who have been conferred with the award. Others are Ma Jun (China) & Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem (Vietnam). Nikkei Inc., one of the largest media corporations in Japan, has been presenting the awards since 1996 to honour people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: Economic and Business Innovation, Science, Technology and Environment and Culture and Community. The prizes will be awarded on June 13 in Tokyo in Japan. Dr Pathak founded the Sulabh International in 1970. It is an NGO that works to promote human rights, environmental sanitation among other social services. The foundation has built Sulabh flush composting toilets throughout India, contributing to better sanitation, safety for rural women and freedom from the manual labour of removing human waste.

In a Cabinet reshuffle, Col Rajyavardhan Rathore has taken charge as the new Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) on May 15, 2018. He replaced Smriti Irani. Mrs Irani will now only hold the portfolio of Minister of Textiles. A communique from the office of President Ram Nath Kovind said, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has been given an additional charge of Ministry of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs till Arun Jaitley, who underwent a kidney surgery recently, recovers from treatment.

The Army has finalised a mega Rs. 15,000-crore project under which a range of ammunition for its critical weapons and tanks will be produced indigenously. The implementation of the project is being monitored by the top brass of the Army and the Defence Ministry. The immediate aim of the project is to create an inventory of all major weapons to enable the forces to fight a 30-day war.

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have reported progress in the development of an environment-friendly propellant to power satellites and spacecraft. The effort is to replace the conventional hydrazine rocket fuel, a highly toxic and carcinogenic chemical, with a greener propellant. ISRO has started working on propellant blend based on hydroxylammonium nitrate.

Saumya Saxena, an alumni of the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford has been presented 'Professional Achievement Award'for exemplary leadership in professional field. Ruchi Shah, a post graduate of the University of the Arts London has been presented 'Social Impact Award' for exceptional contribution to creating positive social change. Sushant Desai, a post graduate from the University of Edinburgh has been presented 'Entrepreneurial Award' for playing leading role in business innovation.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a comprehensive plan "REPLACE" to eliminate industrially-produced artificial trans fats from the global food supply by 2023. The elimination of trans fats is key to protecting the health and saving lives. The global health body estimates that every year, trans fat intake leads to over 5,00,000 deaths worldwide from cardiovascular diseases. Industrially-produced trans fats are contained in hardened vegetable fats such as margarine and ghee, and are often present in snack, baked, and fried foods. Manufacturers often use them as they have a longer shelf life than other fats.

The Union government has decided to boost the manpower and infrastructure of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). Nine new battalions, a strategic sector headquarters on the front, a dozen patrol camps and 47 new border outposts along the China border over the next few years will be created. The Ministry of Home Affairs has given its in-principle approval.

Former BCCI President Shashank Manohar will serve a second two-year term as the independent chairman of the International Cricket Council after he was elected unopposed by the governing body's Board. Mr. Manohar became the first independent ICC Chairman in 2016. According to the election process, ICC Directors were each allowed to nominate one candidate, who had to be either a present or a past ICC Director.

Barclays has filed two patent applications relating to the transfer of digital currency and data storage with the Indian Patent Office. The bank has filed a patent application titled 'secure digital data operations' & it is a method and system for transferring digital currency from a payer to the recipient. The other patent filed is 'data validation and storage' & is about cryptography.

IIM-Ahmedabad's Centre for Innovation, Incubation, and Entrepreneurship (CIIE) launched a Bharat Inclusion Initiative to build knowledge and foster innovation and entrepreneurial activity across areas such as financial inclusion, livelihood, education and health. CIIE at IIM Ahmedabad helps entrepreneurs turn ideas into viable businesses. The initiative will aim at channelizing approximately $25 million over the next 3-4 years towards backing game-changing start-ups leveraging the ongoing digital transformation in India, to create access to services that were hitherto inaccessible for a large segment of Indians.

The Carbon Monitoring System (CMS) programme tracked sources and sinks for carbon and developed high-resolution models of earth's flows of carbon. NASA said that, United States has cancelled the CMS project due to budget constraints and higher priorities within the science budget.

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will be giving Rs 10 crore out of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to the Uttarakhand government for the widening of Gaurikund-Kedarnath trek route. An assurance to this effect was given by Union Petroleum & Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat. It was at the chief minister's request that the union minister agreed to raise the amount to be given by the ONGC for the purpose from Rs 4.5 crore to Rs 10 crore.

From January 2019, low-risk foreign travellers will not have to wait in long queues at airport immigration counters. The Indian government plans to install special automated kiosks - e-Gates - for speedy document and identity verification. At the e-Gates, foreigners can present their machine-readable passports, place their fingerprints on the scanner and complete a customs declaration.