Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
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.

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:
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:
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.

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:
P.S. Krishnan, former Secretary to Government of India (GoI), has been conferred prestigious K. Veeramani Award for Social Justice 2018 for his works in the field of social justice for SCs, STs, BCs for the last more than six-and-half decades. The Periyar International Inc., a Chicago-based voluntary organisation, gives an annual award for outstanding contributions to Social Justice at a function in New Delhi. The award carries a plaque and a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.

Notes:
Punjab has recently declared the endangered Indus river dolphin as the state’s aquatic animal. The decision was recently taken at a meeting of the state board for wildlife chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Indus Dolphin is an endangered freshwater aquatic mammal found only in Indian and Pakistan in the Beas river. These are brown/grey in colour, but blind and live for at least for 30 years. The Chief Minister also gave approval to declare Kanjli Wetland and holy Kali Bein River as a wildlife conservation reserve to mark the historic 550th Parkash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The sacred Kali Bein River was associated with the life of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, who got enlightenment while taking a dip in the holy river.

Notes:
In Keonjhar district, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the new ‘KALIA Chhatravritti Yojana’ to facilitate the children of the farmers, who are the beneficiaries of the Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme. Under this scholarship scheme, the beneficiaries will be provided scholarships for pursuing higher education in professional courses free of cost. Children of farmers who have taken admission at Government Professional colleges on merit basis will be eligible for the scholarship scheme. The state government has also launched drinking water projects worth Rs 1,050 crore to supply safe drinking water in the district. Patnaik also launched Mission Shakti Conclave dedicated the development projects worth Rs 45 crore.

Notes:
Kerala has become the first State to set up a Price Monitoring and Research Unit (PMRU) to track violation of prices of essential drugs and medical devices under the Drugs Price Control Order (DPCO). The move comes more than 5 years after the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) proposed such a system for the States and the Union Territories. The new watchdog will offer technical help to the State Drug Controllers and the NPPA to monitor notified prices of medicines, detect violation of the provisions of the DPCO, look at price compliance, collect test samples of medicines, and collect and compile market-based data of scheduled as well as non-scheduled formulations.

Notes:
India’s latest communication satellite GSAT-31 was successfully launched by European launch services provider- Arianespace’s rocket from Kourou Launch Base in French Guiana on February 6, 2019. The Ariane-5 vehicle (Flight VA247) also carried Saudi Geostationary Satellite 1/Hellas Sat 4 along with GSAT-31. After a 42-min flight, GSAT-31 separated from the Ariane-5 in an elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 250 km and an apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 35,850 km, inclined at an angle of 3.0 degree to the equator. After separation from Ariane-5, the two solar arrays of GSAT-31 were automatically deployed in quick succession and ISRO’s Master Control Facility at Hassan in Karnataka took over the command and control of GSAT-31 and found its health parameters normal. The GSAT-31 is a high power communication satellite with Ku-band and will provide communication services to Indian mainland and islands. It has an operational life of over 15 years & will offer seamless services by replacing the ageing INSAT-4CR satellite. GSAT-31 is India’s 40th communication satellite.