Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Veteran Indian journalist Yusuf Jameel, was chosen for and awarded the ‘2019-2020 PEN-Gauri Lankesh Award for Democratic Idealism’. The award was presented to him, for his revolutionary journalism in Jammu and Kashmir, during the insurgency period.
PEN International is a global association of writers, which was founded in 1921. PEN South India and PEN Delhi have instituted the annual award to cherish and honour the assassinated journalist and activist Gauri Lankesh. The award is offered to an individual or organisation, whose work demonstrates courageous and democratic journalism, on birth anniversary of Gauri Lankesh.

Notes:
The Union minister Nitin Gadkari recently launched the unique Khadi wrist watches, which have been manufactured as part of a joint initiative by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission and leading Indian consumer goods firm, Titan. The watches have been launched on the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, also features the iconic charka.
The Minister also suggested to showcase the watches in international airports to attract buyers. As per the announcement from KVIC, 1 square meter of Khadi fabric is used for manufacturing 10 watches and 1,000 such watches are proposed to be sold.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, K Palaniswami recently announced a new initiative called ‘Direct CTO (Consent to Operate)’, which aims to provide faster clearance to companies which operate under ‘Green category industries’.
The companies are classified in red, orange, green and white categories based on the pollution index generated, according to Ministry of Environment. This scheme is expected to benefit micro, small and medium enterprises under ‘Green category’ to commence their operations with faster clearance from the government.

Notes:
Veteran Indian diplomat Gopal Baglay was recently appointed as the India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. Gopal Baglay, who is currently serving at the Prime Minister’s Office, is expected to assume charge in a short time.
He has succeeded Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who has recently been appointed as the Indian Ambassador to the United States. Gopal Baglay is a 1992-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service and has held several important positions during his career. He has served as the Deputy High Commissioner of India to Pakistan and Spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry.

Notes:
Famous Punjabi writer Jaswant Singh Kanwal recently passed away at his native village recently. His novels are loved by several readers across the country.
The novelist was a recipient of the country’s highest literary honor, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1977 for his famous novel ‘Taushali Di Hanso’. He has authored more than 100 novels, which mainly focus on agrarian crisis, caste barrier and women empowerment. He was also called as the ‘Writer of movements’.

Notes:
The Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu recently inaugurated the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) project between the twin cities of Karnataka, Hubbali to Dharwad.
The project cost of Rs 970 crore is jointly funded by the state and central governments and the World Bank. The BRTS established between the cities on a trial basis already serves more than 1 lakh passengers per day. It has now become fully operational and is expected to be a major boost in the state’s public transport.

Notes:
“Babenco: Tell Me When I Die” won the ‘Golden Conch Award for Best Documentary Film’ at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2020. It is a Brazilian documentary film, directed by the filmmaker Barbara Paz.
The award was presented at the 16th edition of the film festival, which was graced by the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Nagraj Manjule’s “Paavsacha Nibandh” received the Silver Conch award for Best Short Fiction Film. The Silver Conch Award for the Best Animation Film has been shared by the German film “Portrait of Suzanne” and the Indian film “Panangaatu Nari” by Divakar SK.

Notes:
The United Kingdom government has recently donated 20 million pounds, equivalent to nearly $25 million, for developing vaccine to combat the deadly coronavirus.
The country’s investment is set to be given to the global body named CEPI (the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations), which aims to develop the vaccine in six to eight months. The World Health Organisation has categorised the coronavirus outbreak as a global health emergency. The death toll in China due to the virus infection has crossed 400. Philippines and Hong Kong also reported their first deaths from the outbreak.

Notes:
The state government of Karnataka has recently launched a scheme called ‘Janasevaka’ to home-deliver various government services to citizens. The scheme ensures the delivery of ration cards, senior citizen identity and health cards at the door steps of citizens.
The newly launched scheme is a part of the ‘Sakala’ scheme of the state and will cover as many as 53 services of 11 state departments. The scheme was first implemented in Dasarahalli area on a pilot basis and will be extended to other regions. Subsequently, the scheme would be made operational in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru and Hubballi-Dharwad.

Notes:
Authorities from the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research have recently signed agreements with India in the fields of higher education and research, in New Delhi.
This agreement is a part of the visit of delegation of important educational institutions of Norway to India. Among the several agreements signed, the significant pact was between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), for co-operation in the fields of bio-photonics, health and diagnostic tools, nanotechnology.