Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
After Srinagar (J&K), India’s second Tulip Garden will come up at Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand over 50 hectares of forest land near Chandak hill top at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The proposed tulip garden will be developed by the ONGC under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme. Tulip is the flower from Holland that blooms from mid March to May. The site in Mad village near Chandak hilltop for the garden has been selected under the state Government’s ’13 districts, 13 new destinations’ scheme to attract more tourists to the district. According to the project officer of the scheme the land available for the project in Chandak hill top is ideal for the growth of the flower as it is situated at a height of 1,950 metres from the sea surface and remains sunny and cold throughout the year. Tulip is the flower from Holland that blooms from mid March to May.

Notes:
The 13th International Oil & Gas Conference & Exhibition ‘PETROTECH-2019’ is being organised under the aegis of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas in Greater Noida from 10th to 12th February, 2019. India’s flagship hydrocarbon international conference is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister of India. Over 95 Energy Ministers from partner countries have been invited by the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas to participate in the Conference. The 3-day mega event will showcase the recent market and investor friendly developments that have taken place in the India’s oil and gas sector. It is expected to see participation of over 86 eminent speakers and 7000 delegates from around 70 countries, including technologists, scientists, planners, policy-makers, management experts, entrepreneurs, service-providers and vendors.

Notes:
Indian captain Mithali Raj has scripted history by becoming the first female cricketer to play 200 ODIs when she played 3rd and final ODI against New Zealand on February 1. Though, she could not make a big impact in her 200th game, scoring nine off 28 balls as India were bowled out for 149 in the third and final ODI against New Zealand at Hamilton. Mithali is also the highest run-getter in ODIs with 6622 runs at an average of 51.33, including seven hundreds. She also holds the record for having captained the India Women team 123 times with England’s Charlotte Edwards again second on this list having captained the Three Lions for 117 matches. Mithali made her ODI debut way back in 1999 and has featured in 200 games out of the 263 ODIs India have played. She has also played 10 Tests and 85 T20.

Notes:
A team from INS Dronacharya has won the Regetta trophy (also called The Cock) in the Kochi Area Pulling Regatta 2019 of the Southern Naval Command (SNC) in the Ernakulam Channel on January 31. The Boat Pulling regatta is one of the most prestigious and traditional naval sporting activities conducted in the Navy. The boats used in the regatta are 27-feet-long ‘whalers’ — a type of seaboat — each having a crew of five ‘pullers’ (rowers) and one coxswain (helm). The boats are named as ‘whalers’ as they were used in ancient times for hunting whales at sea. Races during the regatta were held in four different categories – – junior sailors, senior sailors, officers and best whaler. The boats had to cover a distance of 1.6 km in the Ernakulam Channel, starting from the Venduruthy-Vikrant Bridge and finishing at the North Jetty of the navy. The regatta is considered a signature event of the Command, which requires the highest standards of physical and mental fitness and sustained hard work.

Notes:
Sana Mir, the former Pakistan captain, has become the first Asian woman cricketer to play hundred T20 Internationals (T20Is). She achieved the feat when she took the field against West Indies during the third T20I in Karachi on February 3, 2019. Overall, Mir is the only sixth woman from around the world to play 100 T20Is. Daendra Dottin of West Indies tops the list with a total of 109 T20Is to her name. In the Asian list, Sana is followed by fellow Pakistan cricketer Bismah Maroo (94 T20Is) and India’s Harmanpreet Kaur on third position (93 T20Is).

Notes:
The World Cancer Day (WCD) is observed every year on 4th of February to spread awareness about cancer, its treatment and to encourage methods of its prevention. The aim of the day is to save millions of preventable deaths each year through education, raising awareness and by pressing governments and individuals across the world to take action against the deadly disease. This year, in 2019, Union for International Cancer Control, which organizes WCD, has launched a new 3-year campaign with the theme: “I Am and I Will”. The campaign is an empowering call-to-action urging for personal commitment and represents the power of individual action taken now to impact the future. Over 9.6 million People die each year from cancer which is more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. India has around 2.25 million cases with over 1 lakh new cases being registered every year. In 2018, the disease led to nearly 7 lakh deaths. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimates that the country is likely to register over 17 lakh new cases and report over 8 lakh deaths by 2020.

Notes:
Manipur-based filmmaker and music composer Aribam Syam Sharma has decided to return his 2006 Padma Shri award in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 that the Centre wants to push through. The 83-year-old filmmaker made the decision after families of around 855 martyrs of the anti-foreigners Assam Agitation of 1979-85 returned the citation that the Sarbananda Sonowal government had given them in 2016. The government had also honored these families with Rs 5 lakh each for the sacrifice of the martyrs. The protests have rocked the entire northeast against the proposal to grant citizenship to non-Muslims from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries. The film fraternity of the region backed the decision of Manipur filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma to return his Padma Shri in protest against the bill. The Bill seeks to fast-track the process of granting citizenship to non-Muslims from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan who came to India till December 31, 2014, allegedly because of religious persecution.

Notes:
On 5th February, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) has launched Shehri Samridhi Utsav to extend the outreach of DAY-NULM (Deendayal Antyodaya Mission – National Urban Livelihoods Mission) to the most vulnerable. The event will also showcase its initiatives and facilitate access of Self-Help Group (SHG) members to the other government schemes. Through Shehri Samridhi Utsav, SHG members across cities are being linked to national government schemes viz. Swachchh Bharat Mission (U), Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (U), Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY), Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Yojana (PMJJY) and National Nutrition Mission (NNM). The major highlight of Utsav is theNational Exhibition cum sale of SHG products and National Street Food Festival being organized in New Delhi.

Notes:
In Rajasthan, the joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Exercise ‘RAHAT-2019’ will be conducted by Jaipur based Sapta Shakti Command on behalf of Indian Army from 11th February. The 2-day exercise will be conducted simultaneously in three places viz. Jaipur in the form of a table top exercise and at Kota and Alwar on-ground capability and coordination. The Joint exercise in coordination with NDMA is being conducted to synergise efforts for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. Representatives from Armed Forces, National Disaster Management Response Mechanism (NDMRM), SDMA Rajasthan and DLMAs will be participating in the exercise.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has approved the proposal for the establishment of Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog (RKA) for conservation, protection and development of cows and their progeny. It will lead to the development of the cattle population in the country including the development and conservation of indigenous breeds. It will result in the growth of the livestock sector which is more inclusive, benefit women, and small and marginal farmers. The Aayog will work in collaboration with Veterinary, Animal Sciences or Agriculture University or departments or organizations of the Central or State Government engaged in the task of research in the field of breeding and rearing of the cow, organic manure, biogas, etc. Rashtriya Kamdhenu Aayog was announced in the Union Budget 2019-20 on the 1st of this month.