Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

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).

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The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has made an unexpected discovery of a new dwarf galaxy in our cosmic neighborhood. Named Bedin 1, the galaxy is approximately 30 million light-years away and 2 million light-years from the nearest plausible large galaxy host ‘NGC 6744’. The object is classified as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy because it measures only around 3,000 light-years at its greatest extent, and it is roughly a thousand times dimmer than our own Milky Way Galaxy. The galaxy is named after discovery team leader Dr. L. R. Bedin of the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova in Italy. The dwarf spheroidal galaxies are not uncommon, Bedin 1 has some notable features. Not only is it one of just a few dwarf spheroidals that have a well established distance but it is also extremely isolated. This makes it possibly the most isolated small dwarf galaxy discovered to date. The Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are defined by their small size, low-luminosity, lack of dust and old stellar populations. 36 galaxies of this type are already known to exist in the Local Group, 22 of which are satellite galaxies of the Milky Way. The researchers used the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to study white dwarf stars within the globular cluster NGC 6752. The aim of their observations was to use these stars to measure the age of the globular cluster, but in the process they made an unexpected discovery of Bedin 1.

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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.

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Ladu Kishore Swain (71), the senior Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader, has passed away in Bhubaneswar on 5 February 2019. He was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014 from Aska constituency of Odisha.

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On 4th February, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways launched the 30th National Road Safety Week (NRSW-2019) in New Delhi to raise public awareness about traffic rules and ultimately to reduce casualties due to road accidents. The 2019 theme is “Sadak Suraksha-Jeevan Raksha”. In an event at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in Rajghat, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari also flagged off a motor car rally to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The motor rally will cover around 7250 km and will travel through those places in India, Bangladesh and Myanmar which are historically associated with Gandhiji. The conclusion of the rally will take place at Yangon in Myanmar on the 24th February 2019.

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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.

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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.

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On 6th February, Macedonia signed an accord to join NATO to become the 30th member of the US-led alliance. The admittance of a new member highlighted that all European nations who meet the entrance criteria could join the regional alliance. However, Moscow has continually rejected NATO’s position, saying that by taking in Balkan members, the alliance is undermining security in the region.The Macedonia-NATO accord follows a deal with Greece ending a 27-year-old dispute over Macedonia’s name. The accord must now be ratified by allied governments. The move followed a deal between Macedonia and NATO-member Greece under which Macedonia agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia. North Macedonia will formally join the alliance in 2020.

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In Tamil Nadu, the 462nd annual Kandoori festival 2019 has started at nearby Nagore Dargah, a famous Muslim pilgrim centre in Nagore. The 14-day long festival began on 6th February after the holy flag was brought in a procession and hoisted. The Kandoori festival is held to commemorate the death anniversary of 16th century saint Hazrath Syed Shahul Hameed Quadir Wali, who migrated from his native Manickapur near Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh and lived in Nagore till his death. As per tradition, one of the five flags was brought from Singapore. The main event of the festival-‘Sandanakoodu'(sandal pot) procession- will be held on February 15. The Dargah of Saint Hazrath Syed Shahul Hameed in Nagore is more than 500 years old. Saint Hazrath Syed Shahul Hameed came to Thanjavur on a pilgrimage during the 16th century AD when he cured the illness of the then King of Thanjavur Achuthappa Naicken. The King gifted the saint lands in Nagore where the latter lived for the rest of his life serving the people, irrespective of religion, caste or creed.

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The Union Cabinet has recently approved establishment of a unified authority for regulating all financial services in International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India through IFSCs Authority Bill of 2019. The establishment of a unified financial regulator for IFSCs will result in providing world-class regulatory environment to market participants from an ease of doing business perspective. This will provide a stimulus for further development of IFSCs in India. Currently, the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors in IFSC are regulated by multiple regulators — the RBI, SEBI and IRDAI, respectively. An IFSC caters to customers outside the jurisdiction of the domestic economy. Such centres deal with flows of finance, financial products and services across borders. It provides business and regulatory environment that is comparable to other leading international financial centres in the world like London and Singapore. IFSC provides Indian companies easier access to global financial markets. The first IFSC in India was set up at GIFT City in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.