Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2018

Notes:
Nageswara Rao, a 1986 batch officer of the Odisha cadre, has been appointed the additional Director of Central Bureau Investigation (CBI). Prior to this post, Rao was holding post of interim CBI Director after the government stepped in between Director CBI Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana fight on 24th October 2018. The Centre had sent both top two officers of the CBI – Verma and Asthana – on “compulsory leave” as the spat between them reached the Delhi High Court.

Notes:
As per latest report of Reporters without Borders (RSF), Afghanistan is the most deadliest country for journalists in 2018, with 13 deaths, followed by Syria (11) and Yemen (8). India has emerged among the world’s fifth-most deadliest place for journalists alongside a first-time entrant in the list – the United States. The report titled ‘Worldwide Round-up of Journalists Killed, Detained, Held Hostage’, highlighted that the risk journalists face even in countries like India which are not even at war. It observed that the killing of journalists were carried out using barbaric methods. In India, six journalists have been murdered in 2018 and many others were the targets of murder attempts, physical attacks, and threats. In addition, the journalists witnessed hate campaigns against them, including incitement to murder, which is a common thing on social networks. However, the RSF highlighted some positive news from Iraq, where no journalist was killed for the first time since the US-led invasion of 2003.

Notes:
Ten monuments have been adopted under the ‘Adopt A Heritage: Apni Dharohar, Apni Pehchaan’ scheme, which is a collaborative effort by Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Culture and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and State/UTs Governments . The project primarily focuses on providing basic amenities that include cleanliness, public conveniences, safe drinking water, ease of access for tourists, signages, illumination, Wi-fi etc. No fund is given by Ministry of Tourism. The 10 sites include Red Fort (Delhi) and Gandikota Fort (Andhra Pradesh) adopted by Dalmia Bharat Limited; area surrounding Gangotri Temple, Trail to Gaumukh in Uttarakhand and Mt Stok Kangri Trek (Ladakh) adopted by Adventure Tour Operators Association of India; Jantar Mantar (Delhi) by Apeejay Park Hotels; Surajkund in Haryana by Bliss Resorts; and Qutub Minar (Delhi), Ajanta Caves (Maharashtra), Leh Palace of Leh (Jammu & Kashmir) and Hampi (Hazara Rama Temple) of Karnataka adopted by Yatra Online.

Notes:
Indian woman Vedangi Kulkarni has become the fastest Asian to cycle the globe. Hailing from a suburb of Pune, Vedangi cycled into Kolkata in the wee hours on 23rd December 2018, completing the 29,000 kilometers’ distance required to qualify as bicycling across the globe. She spent 159 days peddling up to 300km a day in 14 countries. Starting off from Perth in July 2018, she will now be flying back to the Australian city to complete the record by cycling a 15km distance to reach the same place from where she started. Vedangi is a student of the University of Bournemouth in the United Kingdom pursuing a degree in sports management. Earlier, British adventurer Jenny Graham (38) is the fastest woman to have cycled the globe in 124 days in 2018.

Notes:
The federal government of Burundi has declared Gitega as the country’s new political capital on 22nd December 2018. As per officials, Bujumbura will remain the economic capital as many of country’s business activities’ are based there. Burundi is a landlocked country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa, bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has won 17 awards at the National Energy Conservation Awards (NECA) 2018. This is the highest number of awards bagged by a single organisation. These awards are given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) of the Ministry of Power to various institutions for adopting measures for reducing energy consumption and cost. Under ‘transport’ category, Indian Railways obtained 10 awards for the subsector railway station. In it, Vidisha railway station in Madhya Pradesh won the first prize. Under ‘building’ category, Indian Railways got three awards for subsector Railway hospitals. Here, Railway hospitals of Izzatnagar division won the first prize. Under ‘institution’ category, Indian Railways bagged four awards for subsector state PWD, CPWD and PHED. Passenger reservation system complex building of Secunderabad division won the first prize.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has announced the institution of a new award named after freedom fighter Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which would be given every year for “outstanding efforts” in the field of furthering national integration. The award was announced by Narendra Modi at the DGPs/IGPs Conference at Kevadia , Gujarat on December 22, 2018. The annual award would be given to any Indian who has contributed to national unity in any manner. Sardar Patel, who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India, is called the “Unifier of India”. He is also remembered as the “patron saint of India’s civil servants” for having established the modern all-India services system. He was appointed as the 49th President of Indian National Congress (INC) in Karachi session of 1931. This session became memorable for its resolution on Fundamental Rights and Economic Policy.

Notes:
On the occasion of Good Governance Day (GGD-2018 ), Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India’s longest rail-cum-road bridge “Bogibeel” over the Brahmaputra in the Dibrugarh district of Assam. The 4.94km long double-decker bridge, which begins at Dibrugarh and ends at Dhemaji districts of Assam, will connect parts of Arunachal Pradesh by road as well as railway. The Bogibeel Bridge will play a crucial role in defence movement along the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh. The bridge, constructed at an estimated cost of around Rs.5,900 crore, has a serviceable period of around 120 years. The rail link connects two existing railway networks running at south bank and north bank of the river.

Notes:
On December 23, Bala Rafique Shaikh clinched the 62nd Maharashtra Kesari 2018 title by defeating Abhijeet Katke of Pune in the wrestling duel held at Azad ground, Jalna, Maharashtra. He defeated his opponent 11-3 in the one-sided match. Shaikh was honoured with a silver mace and cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Maharashtra Kesari is an Indian-style prestigious wrestling championship, established in 1961. ‘Kesari’ is a Sanskrit word for ‘Lion’.

Notes:
Japan has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and will resume commercial whaling in July 2019. As per officials, leaving the IWC means Japanese whalers will be able to resume hunting in Japanese coastal waters of minke and other whales currently protected by the IWC. However, Japan will not be able to continue the so-called scientific research hunts in the Antarctic that it has been exceptionally allowed as an IWC member under the Antarctic Treaty. The withdrawal also means Japan joins Iceland and Norway in openly defying the IWC’s ban on commercial whale hunting. Tokyo argues that whaling is an important part of Japan’s traditions, and the withdrawal would allow fishermen to pass country’s rich whaling culture onto the next generation. The IWC, established in 1946 to conserve and manage the world’s whale and cetacean population, introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986.