Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
India’s first commercial Liquified Compressed natural gas (LNG) bus, which was developed by Petronet, was recently launched in the city of Kochi, Kerala.
It is claimed that the bus will be able to travel up to 900 km in a single filling. Petronet also has plans to open 28 LNG dispensing stations in India and four stations in Kerala. LNG is both environment friendly and cost efficient compared to diesel.

Notes:
A national-level public health initiative, ‘Right To Protein’ has launched India’s first ‘Protein Day’ on February 27, 2020.
The day is observed to raise awareness about the nutritional benefits of protein. February 27 is celebrated as 1Protein Day by some other countries as well. This year, the theme of the day is selected as ‘Protein Mein Kya Hai?’, to create awareness about the protein consumption.

Notes:
International agency OECD recently lowered India’s GDP growth forecast to 5.1 per cent from the earlier projection of 6.2 per cent for 2020-21. For the financial year ending March 2019, OECD has projected a growth rate of 4.9%.
The main reason for the cut in rates was the concerns about the impact of coronavirus on the domestic and the global economy. However, the economy of India is to improve to 5.6 per cent in the following year (2021-22).

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu was recently seen in news as he claimed victory in the general elections held in the country. This edition of the election is the country’s third election in less than a year.
The main exit polls indicated that Mr Netanyahu is in a strong position to form the next government. Netanyahu belongs to right-wing Likud party of Israel. The previous elections held in April and September were inconclusive.

Notes:
Union Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs is the nodal ministry for implementing the ‘e-Vidhan’ project in all 31 states and Union Territories of the country.
The National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) creates a massive data depository and aims to bring all the legislatures of the country on a single platform. Recently the assembly of Arunachal Pradesh implemented the e-Vidhan project under which data can be accessed anywhere at any time by the legislators.

Notes:
Scientists at the Australian National University announced that they are designing the country’s first satellite to predict the bushfire danger zones.
Australia has witnessed devastating bushfires across the country especially in South Wales. The proposed bushfires measure forest cover and moisture levels using infrared detectors. The resultant data would be used to determine where bushfires will probably start and where they would be difficult to control.

Notes:
Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) is released by the data analytics firm IHS Markit. As per the survey, services sector of the country rose for the fifth consecutive month to 57.5 in February after 55.5 in January.
A figure more than 50 signifies expansion, while below-50 figure identifies contraction. The service sector dipped to a 19-month low in September 2019.

Notes:
The government has formed a committee under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare to work out the operational modalities of ‘Kisan Rail’.
In the recent budget, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman proposed to set up a ‘Kisan Rail’ through the public-private-partnership (PPP) mode to transport perishable goods. The proposed committee also includes representatives of the Indian Railways and some representatives from Ministry of Railways also.

Notes:
Union Minister of Women & Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani released a book titled “Chronicles of Change Champions”. It is a compilation of 25 innovative initiatives taken at the State and District levels under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) scheme.
The scheme was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 at Panipat, Haryana. It is a tri-ministerial initiative of the Union ministries of Women & Child Development, Human Resource Development and Health & Family Welfare.

Notes:
Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has developed an Artificial Intelligence-powered drone to counter the unregulated unmanned drones, also called as rogue drones.
This system would assist the armed forces and security services in ensuring safety at critical locations. The newly developed drones can hack into the GPS system of the unregulated drones, thereby directing it to change its flight path or make it land safely.