Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
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:
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has recently signed agreements worth $93 million for providing Naval MRSAM (Medium Range Surface-to-Air Missile) systems to India. The contracts for the air defence system were entered with the Indian Navy and the Cochin Shipyard. Under the contracts, IAI will provide complementary systems for the air defense system (ADS). The MRSAM family is an operational air-defense system used by Israel’s navy as well as by India’s naval, air and ground forces. It provides broad as well as topical defense against a range of assault air, marine and ground threats. MRSAM comprises several key state-of-the-art systems, including a digital radar, command and control, launchers, and interceptors with advanced homing seekers.

Notes:
Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra has taken charge as new Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in New Delhi. Commissioned in the Madras Regiment in December 1980, Lt Gen Chopra is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The NCC is an Indian military cadet corps with its headquarters at New Delhi, It is the world’s largest uniformed youth organization. Its motto is ‘Unity and Discipline’.

Notes:
On 30th January2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Navsari district, Gujarat to the nation on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. At the memorial site, there are statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930 to make salt from sea water against the British law. The memorial also has 24-narrative murals depicting various events and stories from the historic 1930 Salt March. Solar trees are installed to meet the energy requirements of the memorial complex. The memorial project of the Union Ministry of Culture is advised by a High Level Dandi Memorial Committee (HLDMC), and is designed, coordinated and implemented by IIT Bombay in association with an international design team.

Notes:
On January 29, the 2-day International conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the participation of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference titled ‘Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava’, was organized by the Centre for Escalation of Peace (CEP). Scholars from both countries discussed the Guru who was born in India and moved towards Bhutan in the 8th century to spread Buddhism and Buddhist teachings all across the Himalayan region. The conference was dedicated to the 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan. In Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Padmasambhava is generally referred to as Guru Rinpoche, which means “precious master.” Guru Rinpoche is a totally enlightened being, a fully awakened one, a buddha.

Notes:
On January 30, ISRO launched the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at its headquarters in Bengaluru for the human spaceflight programme. The centre is the hub of ISRO’s future manned missions. HSFC shall be responsible for the implementation of Gaganyaan project — which involves mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew survival in space, crew selection and training and also pursue activities for sustained human space flight missions. HSFC will take the support of ISRO centres to implement the first developmental [crewed] flight. Under the Gaganyaan project, a 3-member crew will be sent to space for at least 7 days by 2022, the 75th year of Independence. Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair is the founder director of HSFC, while R Hutton is the project director of Gaganyaan.

Notes:
On 2nd February, the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival (KGAF-2019) has started in Mumbai to commemorate 20 years of its inception. The fest is the India’s largest multi-cultural street festival, which will celebrate two glorious decades of art and culture through cinema, theatre, dance, literature and sculpture through various spots on Mumbai’s map. The festival will also host exhibition at the historic Jehangir Art Gallery to celebrate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi and some rich history of Mumbai. Some of the festival highlights include screening of Khalil Mohammad’s documentary on Iranian cafes, performances by Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Shaan, Prakriti and Sukriti Kakar, panel discussion on 26/11 attacks and its survivors, a session on working of drones, heritage walks, dances and shopping at Rampart Row. The festival will end on 10th February.

Notes:
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).

Notes:
The Kurdish Iranian journalist, filmmaker and detained refugee, Behrouz Boochani has won the Victorian Prize for Literature for a book he reportedly wrote using the online messaging service WhatsApp. He was awarded the Aus$100,000 (US$72,600) prize for his book “No Friend But the Mountains: Writing from Manus Prison”. He will receive an additional Aus$25,000 after it also won the non-fiction category. The award was accepted by the book’s translator Omid Tofighian, who worked with Boochani over five years to bring the stories to life. It is the most valuable literary prize of Australia. Boochani is an Iranian asylum-seeker, who detained in Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s Manus Island since 2013 under Australian asylum laws when he was found attempting to enter mainland Australia without a valid visa. He is among 600 refugees who remain in camps on the island despite Australia having closed its “regional processing center” there in 2017. Under Australia’s hardline immigration policy, asylum seekers who try to reach the country by boat to Manus Island or Nauru in the Pacific for processing, with those found to be refugees barred from resettling in Australia. The harsh policy is meant to deter people embarking on treacherous sea journeys, but the United Nations and other rights groups have criticised the camps’ conditions and long detention periods.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has set up a 17-member committee to review various schemes being implemented for the welfare of tribals in the state. The committee will be headed by former MLA and Shramjeevi Sanghatna president Vivek Pandit. The panel will undertake the study of various works done for providing employment opportunities, minimum wages and proper livelihood to tribals. As per a recent government order, the committee will suggest measures to ensure that children in tribal regions were not deprived of education. The committee will hold its meetings every three months and submit its recommendations to the government.