GK & Current Affairs Quiz: February 04-05, 2018

Notes:
The first-ever International Kala Mela has been inaugurated by the Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. The aim of the event is to focus on direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur and also educating and raising awareness about art. The Art Festival, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, will continue till the 18th of this month wherein artists and groups will showcase their work. More than 800 artists from all over the country are expected to participate in the event. Many Embassies and Cultural Centres will also take part. Some the countries taking part in the event are China, Venezuela, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Poland, Mexico, Bangladesh, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Brazil. There are around 325 stalls for Indian artists and organisations including International representations.

Notes:
The World Cancer Day (WCD) is observed every year on 4th February to raise awareness about cancer, its treatment and to encourage methods of its prevention. The primary goal of the day is to reduce the illness and related deaths by 2020. The 2018 tagline “We can. I can” will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.

Notes:
Hukum Singh (79), the BJP MP from Kairana in Uttar Pradesh, has passed away in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on February 3, 2018. He belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a member of the Panel of Chairpersons of the 16th Lok Sabha and the Chairperson of the Standing Committee on Water Resources. He was 7-time MLA from UP and had also served as a Cabinet Minister in Uttar Pradesh governments under both BJP and the Congress.

Notes:
Syed Mahmud Hossain has been sworn-in as the 22nd chief justice Chief Justice of Bangladesh. He succeeded acting chief justice Abdul Wahab Mian. Mian was appointed as the acting chief justice after the Bangladesh’s first Hindu chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha resigned in November 2017 amid graft allegations. Juestice Sinha was at the centre stage of the dispute after the apex court delivered a verdict declaring void 16th constitutional amendment, scrapping Parliament’s authority in impeaching Supreme Court judges.

Notes:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has launched people-oriented campaign “Green Good Deeds” to sensitize the people and students, in particular, about climate change and global warming. Referring to the crucial role played by “Polio Sainiks” for Pulse Polio campaign, Dr Vardhan has underlined the need for “Green Sainiks” to broad-base the Green Good Deeds movement and to take it down to the grassroots level successfully. The Environment ministry has also appealed to the teaching community to join the campaign to make people aware about the cause of the campaign.

Notes:
The unique, first-of-its-kind, floating market has come up in Patuli in Kolkata, West Bengal. The market is similar to the ones on Dal Lake in Srinagar and in Bangkok. The project is being implemented by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). There are 228 stalls, set up on 114 boats, with zone-wise demarcations for fish, meat, vegetables, grocery, etc. Wooden ramps have been constructed, over which people will walk to reach the boat of their choice. Modern technology is being adopted to ensure proper oxidation of the water and thus maintain ecological balance. The surrounding path beside the water body, a canal, on which the market is being set up, is being decked up with paver blocks. The market will be run through a cooperative. The prices will be similar to those in normal markets.

Notes:
The 9-member committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, was constituted by the Union HRD Ministry to draft new National Education Policy (NEP) on June 2017. The committee will submit its report by March 31, 2018. After that, the HRD Ministry will deliberate on the report and thereafter suggestions of the committee will be presented to the Union Cabinet for its approval. The committee also includes former IAS officer KJ Alphonse and Ram Shanker Kureel, who has a wide experience in the field of agricultural sciences and management. The committee has been appointed keeping in mind that the members bring expertise related to the diverse areas of education. Significantly, the panel also reflects the diversity of the country as the members belong to different sections as well as regions. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992.

Notes:
The Central Government has announced a Rs 1.4 lakh-crore KUSUM Scheme to promote decentralised solar power production of up to 28,250 MW to help farmers. The acronym KUSUM stands for “Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthaan Maha Abhiyaan”. In the Union Budget 2018-19, the Centre has allocated Rs 48,000 crore on the 10-year KUSUM scheme. The scheme would provide an extra income to farmers by giving them an option to sell additional power to the grid through solar power projects set up on their barren lands. It would help in de-dieselising the sector as also the DISCOMS. Under the scheme, the Central Government will provide subsidy to farmers on setting up of solar power plants on their barren land. The 60% subsidy on the solar pumps provided to farmers will be shared between the Centre and the States while 30% would be provided through bank loans. The balance cost has to be borne by the farmers. As a result, Kusum Scheme will solarize agricultural pump sets to double the income of farmers by 2022.

Notes:
Dr. Dinesh Srivastava, the distinguished nuclear scientist, has taken charge as the new Chief Executive of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC). He succeeded G. Kalyanakrishnan. In this capacity Dr. Srivastava will also be Chairman of the NFC Board. Prior to this assignment, he was holding the position of Deputy Chief Executive in NFC. Previously , he had worked for 3 decades in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai and is a senior Professor in Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai.

Notes:
Sudha Karmarkar (83), the veteran theatre artist, director, and pioneer of Children’s Theatre in Maharashtra, has passed away in Mumbai on February 5, 2018. Karmarkar founded the children’s theatre in Mumbai which is known as ‘Bal Rangbhumi- Little Theatre’ and directed various plays for children. She not only directed the plays but also acted in the plays. She initiated the movement of Little Theatre in 1959 with Madhu Manjiri the first ever children’s drama and since then the children in more than three decades enjoyed the plays which were truly meant for them. Many stars in Marathi film and stage industry emerged through this movement.