Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
On January 29, UNESCO official launched the International Year of the Period Table of Chemical Elements (IYPT-2019) at its headquarters in Paris to raise awareness of chemistry and its applications for sustainable development. The year 2019 also marks the 150th anniversary of its creation by Russian scientist Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev. The aim of the year-long celebration is to recognize the importance of the periodic table as one of the most important and influential achievements in modern science, reflecting the essence not only of chemistry, but also of physics, biology and other basic sciences disciplines. The Periodic Table of Chemical Elements is a unique tool that enables scientist to predict the appearance and properties of matter on the Earth and in the rest of the Universe.

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In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte has recently launched the new ‘Africa Centre for Climate and Sustainable Development’ in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and FAO to fight climate change and boost sustainable development in Africa. The centre will provide a fast-track, demand-driven mechanism for African countries to access grant resources that support policies, initiatives, and best practices on climate change, food security, access to water, clean energy, and accelerating progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa. The Africa Centre has its roots in a declaration endorsed by the G7 meeting of the Environment Ministers in 2017. The new centre is established to facilitate coordination among the G7 and African countries on common initiatives in Africa to develop and scale-up innovative solutions for sustainable development, and to achieve the goals set by the 2015 Paris Agreement and the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

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Global watchdog Transparency International (TI) has recently released 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. Here, India has improved its ranking and jumped three positions to 78th with a CPI score of 41 at the 2018 index. Denmark has topped the index with 88 points, followed by New Zealand (with 87 points) and Finland with 85. Sudan was the worst with a score of 10 points, while Somalia and Syria followed it up with 13 points each. Overall, more than two-thirds of countries score below 50 in the 2018 CPI, with an average score of only 43. The 2018 index revealed that the continued failure of most countries to significantly control corruption is contributing to a crisis in democracy around the world. While there are exceptions, the data shows that despite some progress, most countries are failing to make serious inroads against corruption.

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Former Indian umpire Dara Dotiwalla (85), who officiated in the famous tied Test match in Chennai between India and Australia in 1986, has passed away in Mumbai on January 30, 2019. Born on 30th October 1933, Dotiwalla had officiated in six Test matches from 1982 to 1987, including the tied Test between India and Australia at the M A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. He had also officiated in eight One Day Internationals (ODIs) from 1982 to 1988. He is best remembered for officiating the Chennai Tied Test of 1986 along with V Vikramraju. The match is the only the second tied Test in cricket history, and ended with Vikramraju controversially adjudging India’s No. 11 Maninder Singh lbw to Greg Matthews. Dotiwalla’s first ODI as an umpire was the fixture between India and Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 1982, while his last one was India versus New Zealand in 1988 in Cuttack. The Delhi Test between India and West Indies in 1987 was his last assignment as a Test umpire.

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Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot prize for his contribution towards sustainable energy solutions by the team of University of Pennsylvania on January 30. The award recognizes Goyal’s tenure as minister of power in which he is credited to have reformed the electricity sector and extended access to electricity to 18,000 villages, as documented by the International Energy Agency (IEA). He was to be awarded the prize by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Design in October 2018. But, he had to skip the event because of the Amritsar tragedy in which over 60 people died after being mowed down by a train.

Notes:
The World Wetland Day (WWD) is observed every year on 2nd of to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet. The day marks adoption of the Convention on Wetlands (also called as Ramsar Convention) on 2nd February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on shores of the Caspian Sea. The 2019 theme “Wetlands and Climate Change” highlights the importance of healthy and intact wetlands to one of the most pressing challenges of climate change.

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The 12th edition of the India’s premier air show – Aero India 2019 will be held at Air Force Station at Yelahanka in Bengaluru from February 20 to 24. The Ministry of Defence has lined up programmes for Start-Ups Day, Women’s Day, Daily Students’ Day, Drone Olympics and photography contests as sideshows to make it an interactive affair. More than 350 exhibitors will be accommodated in five hangers at the Air Force Station. This year, the aero show is themed ‘The Runway to a Billion Opportunities’, to communicate India’s value proposition in addressing the immense opportunities in the aerospace and aviation sectors in the country today. The logo for Aero India 2019 is inspired by the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

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Rishi Kumar Shukla, a 1983-batch IPS officer of Madhya Pradesh Cadre, has been appointed the new Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He will serve in the post for a period of two years. The High-Level Committee chaired by Prime Minister approved the appointment of Mr Shukla to the post. He succeeded M. Nageshwara Rao, who was working as Interim Chief of the Agency. The post of CBI Chief has been lying vacant since 10th of January 2019 after the exit of Alok Kumar Verma following accusations of corruption against him by former CBI Special Director Rakesh Asthana who is also allegedly accused of corruption charges. Prior to being appointed as the director of the CBI, Mr. Shukla has served as Madhya Pradesh DGP in 2016 and was presently the chairman of the Madhya Pradesh Police Housing Corporation (PHC) in Bhopal.

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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.

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In Tamil Nadu, the 37th edition of the ICT Academy Bridge 2019 conference was held in Chennai with theme “Fostering India for Industry 4.0″. The event brought together industry experts, academic leaders and government policy-makers to address the challenges faced by India Inc. in the era of Fourth Industrial Revolution & therefore creating a correlated education ecosystem and formulating a strategic regulatory framework. It is the largest Industry-Institute Interaction Event of Asia and is organized by ICT Academy. The city witnessed more than 1,000 participants from government, industry and academia.