Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
Punit Goenka, MD and CEO of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), has been elected as the new chairman of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC). He succeeded Nakul Chopra. It may be recalled that Goenka was the founder chairman of BARC India and played an instrumental role in setting up of the TV Viewership measurement company. It was under his leadership that BARC India established its measurement system. BARC India is a joint industry company founded by stakeholder bodies that represent Broadcasters, Advertisers and Advertising & Media Agencies. Its headquarters is located in Mumbai.

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:
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:
Vani Kapoor has become the first Indian golfer to earn a card for the Australian Ladies PGA Tour (LPGA) after coming through its first-ever Qualifying Tournament at the Ballarat Golf Club. Vani shot rounds of 71, 78 and 69 to finish at two-over 218 and was tied-12th with three others. Vani has also qualified for Vic Open, co-sanctioned by the Australian LPGA and the US LPGA.

Notes:
In Iraq, a renowned novelist & critic Alaa Mashzoub (51) was shot dead by unknown assailants on 2nd of February in the city of Karbala. He was known as a bold writer who was not afraid to broach political and religious taboos in his writings. His research into the history of his hometown was published in two parts as ‘A Summary of Karbala Cultural History’. Mashzoub spoke out against sectarianism and militias. He was known as an outspoken writer who published in a variety of newspapers and wrote several novels, including The Chaos of the Nation (2014) Crime on Facebook (2015), and The Jewish Baths (2017). Mashzoub has 20 published books and has written extensively about Karbala’s history and culture. He has also written about Iraq’s once-thriving Jewish minority. He had been recognized by a number of filmmaking and writing prizes, including a Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction and a prize for his documentary film ‘Doors and Windows’. In recent times, Iraq has seen a number of political assassinations, particularly of outspoken activists. Karbala is about 100 kilometers southwest of Baghdad.

Notes:
The World Heritage Centre (WHC) housing ‘spiritual camps’ of 45 countries would be set up at Mayapur in Nadia district, Kolkata. The camp of each country would reflect its culture, dress, lifestyle, food and ambiance. The process for setting up the centre got momentum after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee inquired about the project at a recent administrative meeting in Nadia district. The proposed project would also showcase traditional Bengali handloom and craft as suggested by the chief minister. The estimated project cost of the proposed centre has been fixed at Rs. 3,000 crore. Mayapur is the global headquarters of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

Notes:
The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty is a Cold War-era missile treaty that was a signed in 1987 between the United States and the Soviet Union. Signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the treaty barred both countries from deploying land-launched cruise missiles in the 500- to 5,500-km range. It was a key to ending the arms race between the (then) two super powers and helped protect the U.S.’s NATO allies in Europe from Soviet missile attacks. The deal addressed Soviet nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles targeting Western capitals, but put no restrictions on other major military actors such as China. Recently, it is in news because the United States has suspended its obligations under the INF Treaty with Russia effective on 2nd February 2019 and will withdraw from the treaty in six months. Article XV of the treaty mandates a six-month notice period before withdrawal. The reasons for withdrawal are as follows: the Trump and Obama administrations have repeatedly alleged that Russia was violating the treaty by fielding a ground-based cruise missile, the Novator 9M729 (“SSC-8” in NATO terminology) that could strike Europe at a short notice, an allegation that Russia has repeatedly denied. The Russians have raised counter-allegations against the U.S., with regard to launchers for antiballistic missile systems in Europe.

Notes:
In a huge relief to a number of students who fail to qualify to enter into prestigious institutions like IITs due to negative marking, the Madras High Court ruled against negative marking in competitive examinations saying they are bad in law. The Court stated that the practice of awarding negative marks will eradicate intelligent guessing in competitive exams. The judgment was passed while disposing of a writ petition filed in 2013 by an IIT JEE aspirant S. Nelson Prabhakar (a Scheduled Caste student), who failed to clear the Mains due to negative marking.

Notes:
Thailand has official declared the Siamese fighting fish as its national aquatic animal to boost conservation efforts and commercial breeding in the country. Known in the West as a betta fish, the underwater brawler is popular in home aquariums for its iridescent body and many-hued tail. It brings up feelings of nostalgia for older generations in Thailand – which changed its name from Siam in 1939. They remember a time when the fish were traded and sparred in childhood games. The Siamese fighting fish is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Thailand’s official national animal is the elephant.

Notes:
The Robert Bosch Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (RBC-DSAI) has recently inaugurated at the IIT Madras with an objective of advance scientific innovation for societal benefit. The RBC-DSAI will undertake foundational research in many areas of AI and Data Science viz. deep learning, reinforcement learning, network analytics, interpretable machine learning, and domain aware AI. The centre is opened by Germany-based Bosch in collaboration with IIT-Madras. Bosch will invest around Rs 20 crore (2.5 million euros) over five years in the centre.