Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Norman Gimbel (91), the Oscar & Grammy-winning American lyricist has passed away in New York on December 17, 2018. His lyrics graced hit songs such as Roberta Flack’s “Killing me softly with his song” and Jim Croce’s “I got a name”. He also wrote the English lyrics to the Brazilian bossa nova melody ‘The Girl From Ipanema’.

Notes:
Rishabh Pant became the first Indian wicket-keeper to claim 20 catches in Test series, during the final day of the ‘Boxing Day Test’ in Melbourne against Australia on December 30. He surpassed former cricketers Naren Tamhane and Syed Kirmani who had recorded nineteen dismissals in 1954-55 and 1979-80 respectively. Brad Haddin from Australia holds the record for taking most catches in a Test series (29). In ‘Boxing Day Test’, India beat Australia by 137 runs to take an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series. India took a giant stride towards winning their first ever test series on Australian soil in seven decades.

Notes:
Justice (retd) H L Dattu, the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has recently launched a toll-free number — 14433 — and also a facility to file complaints through Common Service Centre (CSC) at the Manav Adhikar Bhawan, New Delhi. The toll-free number would be available only during the office hours of the NHRC. The commission has shortlisted 750 CSC with at least one each in a district. The service will be expanded to all the CSCs in a phased manner. The NHRC is an autonomous public body constituted on 12th October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Ordinance of 28 September 1993. It is responsible for the protection and promotion of human rights, defined by the Act as “rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution or embodied in the International Covenants”.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently launched Samwad with Students as part of its outreach programme. The Indian Space agency will engage youngsters across the country in activities concerning space science under this programme. The new conversation mission will inspire students cutting across schools and colleges. During the inauguration in Bengaluru, 40 students and 10 teachers from select schools interacted with ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan about the Indian Space Programme and their benefits to the common man.

Notes:
The United States and Israel officially quit the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the close of 2018. The countries had announced their decisions in 2017 of withdrawing from the agency, accusing it of bias against Israel. America has demanded fundamental reform in UNESCO, which was co-founded by it after World War II to foster peace UNESCO also works to improve education for girls, promote understanding of the Holocaust’s horrors, and to defend media freedom. The withdrawals will not greatly impact UNESCO financially since it has been dealing with a funding slash ever since 2011 when both Israel and the US stopped paying dues after Palestine was voted in as a member state. . Israel joined the agency in 1949. It is best known for its World Heritage program, which designates cultural sites and aims to preserve traditions.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind nominated Justice AK Sikri as the Executive Chairman of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) with effect from December 31, 2018. The post got vacant after the retirement of Justice Madan B Lokur. The NALSA was constituted on 5th December 1995 under the authority of the Legal Services Authorities Act 1987. Its purpose is to provide free legal services to the weaker sections of the society and to organise Lok Adalats for amicable settlement of disputes. The Chief Justice of India is the Patron-in-Chief, while second seniormost judge of Supreme Court of India (SCI) traditionally takes over as the Executive Chairman of the Authority. The prime objective of NALSA is speedy disposal of cases and reducing the burden of judiciary.

Notes:
Prof. Manoj Das, an eminent English and Odia Litterateur, received the Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. This ceremony was instituted by the Berhampur University, Odisha. During the 53rd foundation day ceremony, the university also honoured noted folk dance guru Nabaghana Parida with Dakshin Odisha Loksanakruti Samman.

Notes:
Saurabh Kumar, a 1982-batch Indian Ordnance Factory Service officer, has taken charge as new Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) in Kolkata. An expert in the manufacture of ordnance, Kumar was on deputation to the Ministry of Defense as the director of planning and coordination from 2002 to 2009. During this period, he was involved in drafting the Indian offset policy for defence purchases and the ‘Make’ procedure in the Defence Procurement Procedure of 2003-04. He was also instrumental in piloting the proposals and obtaining the approval of the government for setting up two new greenfield ordnance factories at Nalanda and Korwa in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh respectively.

Notes:
Prof. Jayanta Kumar Ghosh of IIT Roorkee was conferred with ISRS National Geospatial Award for Excellence-2017 (Life Time Achievement Award) at the Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad. He won the award for his contribution towards the development of geospatial science and applications. The award comprised a citation, a medal and Rs 1 lakh. The Indian Society for Remote Sensing (ISRS ) is an organization known in the area of space science, remote sensing and geo-spatial technology.

Notes:
On 2 January 2019, President Arif Alvi appointed Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). Khosa will succeed Mian Saqib Nisar on 18th January and will remain at seat till December 20, 2019. The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) is the head of the court system of Pakistan (the judicature branch of government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is responsible for supervising federal judicial policies, and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court.