LIC AAO 2019 Current Affairs Questions | 12th May

Ireland has declared a climate emergency in their country, to be the second country after Britain to do so. Britain’s parliament became the first in the world to declare a climate emergency, passing the largely symbolic motion on May 1. The step followed 11 days of street protests in London by the Extinction Rebellion environmental campaign group.

Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd has signed a contract agreement with Nepal’s Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP DEMU train sets. These trains will be used to operationalise railway link between Jayanagar in India and Kurtha in Nepal. The train sets will be manufactured by the Integrated Coach Factory, Chennai.

Noted Tamil novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran, passed away in Pettai, Tamil Nadu. Saaivu Naarkkaali (The Reclining Chair), released in 1995, bagged him the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 1997. In recognition, he received 8 awards including Tamil Nadu Kalai Ilakkiya Perumantram Award in 1992.

The Padma Bhushan awardee and ITC’s Non-Executive Chairman YC Deveshwar passed away at the age of 72. He spearheaded the diversification of ITC to an FMCG company. He stepped down as chief executive of ITC in 2017. Between 1991 and 1994, he led state-owned carrier Air India as the Chairman and Managing Director.

Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame in Los Angeles, US.

First AH-64E (I) – Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Arizona, USA. Air Marshal AS Butola, represented the Indian Air Force and accepted the first Apache.

Pune-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) team found a new species of reddish-brown pit viper snake with a unique heat-sensing system, the first in past 70 years in India. The species is named ‘Trimeresurus arunachalensis’ after Arunachal Pradesh, where it was discovered. This makes Arunachal Pradesh the only state to have a pit viper named after it.

National Technology Day is observed every year on 11th of May in India, acting as a reminder of the anniversary of Shakti. Shakti is the Pokhran nuclear test which was held on the 11th of May, 1998.

Indian actress Dia Mirza and Alibaba chief Jack Ma are among the 17 global public figures appointed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the new advocates to drive action and solidify global political will for the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

National Technology Day is celebrated annually on May 11, the day on which India successfully test fired its first nuclear bombs in 1998. During the nuclear tests in Rajasthan’s Pokhran, five explosives of the same nature were tested between May 11 and May 13, 1998.