Current Affairs February 13, 2019
In this post, GKToday presents Current Affairs of February 13, 2019 in Short Notes form for preparation of IBPS, Banking, CLAT, SSC, Railway, UPSC, IAS/PCS, UPPSC, BPSC, MPPSC, RPSC, TNPSC, MPSC, KPSC and all other competitive examinations of India.
1. In February 2019, Jamie Chadwick from England has scripted history by becoming the first female motor racing driver to clinch the MRF Challenge Championship title after scoring a triple win in the final round of the season in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. She is best known for becoming the first ever female and youngest winner of the British GT Championship in 2015.
2. Acclaimed Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta will be given the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (ACCT). She is best known for her Elements Trilogy — Fire (1996), 1947 Earth (1999) and Water (2005). Mehta's "Earth" was submitted by India as its official entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and "Water" was Canada's official entry for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. "Earth" was the first to receive an Oscar nomination. The Canadian screen awards are presented annually by the ACCT to recognise excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media productions. In May 2012, Mehta received the governor general's Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement — Canada's highest honour in the performing arts.
3. On 10th of February, the 7th edition of World Government Summit (WGS-2019) was held at Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai, UAE to deliver a road map towards a more prosperous future for all nations. The 3-day event was held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. The focus of the summit was on 7 key topics: the future of technology, the future of health and quality of life, the environment and climate change, education and the labour market, trade and international co-operation, societies and politics and information and communication between governments and society. More than 4,000 decision-makers from 140 countries – including heads of state, ministers and business leaders – are participating the event. The summit is a knowledge exchange platform at the intersection of government, futurism, technology, and innovation. It functions as a thought leadership platform and networking hub for policymakers, experts and pioneers in human development. It is also showcases innovations, best practices, and smart solutions to inspire creativity to tackle these future challenges.
4. The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated every year on 11th of February to promote full and equal access to and participation in science for women and girls. The day is a reminder that women and girls play a critical role in science and technology communities and that their participation should be strengthened. The 2019 theme is "Investment in Women and Girls in Science for Inclusive Green Growth".
5. On February 8, the 5-day multinational maritime exercise ‘AMAN 19’ has commenced at Pakistan Navy Dockyard near the coastal city of Karachi with the slogan “Together for Peace”. The flags of 46 countries including Pakistan were hoisted and the contingents of Pakistan Navy presented a march-past. The principal purpose of the exercise is to provide a forum for understanding of each other’s maritime concepts and operational cultures and come up with ways and means to combat common threats at sea. The exercise is aimed at fostering maritime cooperation, promoting a safe and secure maritime environment for regional and global stability and for preserving oceans which is the common heritage of mankind.
6. The first-ever Annual Conference of Media Units will be organized by Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on 13th of February 2019. The purpose of the Conference is to give a unique platform to the officers of the Indian Information Service (IIS) working under different Media Units to converge at an All-India level where they can discuss and deliberate upon the emerging areas of the evolving communication paradigm. Through the Conference, the Ministry aims to strengthen synergy between the Media Units in order to ensure last mile delivery, while simultaneously brainstorm the use of new technology in communication. The participants will also discuss the ways of using Social Media to reach target audience groups and push the boundaries of communication outreach in terms of geographical and cultural barriers.
7. On 9th of February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated and dedicated to the Nation the Hollong Modular Gas Processing Plant (HMGPP) of Hindustan Oil Exploration Co. Ltd. (HOEC) at Dirok Field in Assam. Initially, the HMGPP will have a capacity to process 35 million standard cubic feet per day of gas equivalent to 15% of Assam gas production and 800 barrels of condensate. The plant is located in Margherita, Tinsukia district of Assam. The gas produced from this field will be supplied to consumers in the North-East region, including Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Ltd. Dirok Field is being developed in phases by HOEC along with its JV partners - Oil India Ltd. and Indian Oil Corporation.
8. The third edition of Swachh Shakti-2019 was held at Kurukshetra, Haryana on February 12, which was attended by woman sarpanches and women associated with the 'Swachhta' campaign from across the country. It is a national event to recognize the leadership role played by rural women in Swachh Bharat Mission towards achieving a Clean and Open Defecation Free (ODF) country by 2nd October 2019. Around 15,000 women participated in this year’s Swachh Shakti event aimed at empowering the women. Prime Minister Narendra Modi distributed the 'Swachh Shakti 2019' awards too. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in association with the Govt. of Haryana organized the Swachh Shakti-2019. Best practices from grass root level in the rural areas for Swachh Bharat will be shared by them. The event will showcase the achievements of Swachh Bharat and the recently conducted Swachh Sunder Shauchalay, (neat and clean toilet) - a unique and first of its kind in the world campaign.
9. The National Unani Day (NUD) is celebrated every year on 11th February to mark the birth anniversary of great Unani researcher Haqim Ajmal Khan. He was an eminent Indian Unani physician who was versatile genius, freedom fighter, educationist and founder of scientific research in Unani Medicine. As part of 3rd Unani Day 2019 celebration, the two-day National Conference on Unani Medicine was held at New Delhi with theme ‘Unani Medicine for Public Health’. It was organized by the Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM). The conference highlighted the important role played by Unani Medicine in public health especially in combating NCDs, lifestyle disorders and various chronic diseases by providing cost effective treatment and quality products for patient healthcare. About 1300 delegates, resource persons, academicians, researchers and industry representatives participated in the conference.
10. Renowned Indian historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam has been awarded the Israel's prestigious Dan David Prize 2019 for his work on inter-cultural encounters between Asians, Europeans and people of North and South America during the early modern era. He won the award in the category of ''past time dimension'' for his work in macro history. He will share the $1-million prize money with historian Prof. Kenneth Pomeranz of University of Chicago. The prize is named after philanthropist Dan David and administered by Israel’s Tel Aviv University. It is awarded annually to those who have made outstanding scientific, technological and humanistic accomplishments in fields representing the past, present and future of human achievement. The award ceremony will take place in Tel Aviv in May 2019.
