Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
An acclaimed cinematographer and screenwriter and filmmaker, Govind Nihalani will be honoured with the Kalamaharshi Baburao Painter Award for his contribution to the film industry at the 2019 Kolhapur International Film Festival (KIFF). The 7th edition of the film festival is scheduled to be held from February 7 to 14. The award is named after Painter, a native of Kolhapur who was a painter, sculptor and a filmmaker of the silent film era. More than 50 feature and short films, including those from Japan, South Korea, France and Iran, among others, will be screened at a well-known multiplex here as part of the 2019 KIFF. The country focus will be on Hungarian cinema.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The media-savvy former mayor of San Salvador, Nayib Bukele of the Grand Alliance for National Unity (GANA) has won a landslide victory in 2019 El Salvador presidential election by winning over 53% of the total vote. With this, he brought an end to a two-party system that has held sway over the violence-plagued Central American country for three decades. Bukele will succeed Salvador Sánchez Cerén , after whom the leadership chair was vacant for a period of time. He will assume office on 1 June 2019.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The National Film Development Corporation of India (NFDC) has been selected as winner under the Miniratna Category by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). This has been done as part of endeavor by Ministry of MSME to felicitate select Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) to recognize their exemplary work towards promotion of SC/ST entrepreneurs. As per data uploaded on Sambandh Portal , the performance parameters for the felicitation were procurement from SC/ST entrepreneurs, number of vendor development programmes for SC/ST and number of SC/ST entrepreneurs benefitting. The NFDC, incorporated in the year 1975, was formed by the Government of India (GoI) with the primary objective of planning and promoting an organised, efficient and integrated development of the Indian film industry.

Notes:
Dakshayani, an 88-year-old captive she-elephant in Kerala, has died at a care centre at nearby Pappanamcode in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on 5th February 2019. She was the oldest captive elephant in Asia and Guinness record holder. She was also called the ‘Gaja Muthassi’ (grandmother of elephants). In 2016, she was conferred the “Gaja Muthassi” (elephant granny) title and entered the Guinness book of records. The Postal department had also brought out a postal cover on the elephant. Dakshayini had been a resident at the Chengallur Mahadeva temple in Thiruvananthapuram for the last 70 years and was owned by Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

Notes:
The “Parmanu Tech 2019” Conference was organised by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) at New Delhi on February 6. The conference discussed issues related to Nuclear Energy and Radiation Technologies. Dr Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space, delivered the keynote address at the conference. During the conference sector specific sessions were held with Panel discussions on the following topics: 1) Health care: Nuclear Medicine and Radiation therapy – Care to cure, 2) Food Preservation, Agricultural & Industrial Applications: From farms to factories – Serving the National Cause and 3) Showcasing India’s capabilities in Nuclear Energy: Energy Security with environmental responsibility – the Onward March.

Notes:
The Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government has recently launched the ‘Zero Fatality Corridor’ (ZFC) to examine the cause for accidents and crashes on the stretch between Burari Chowk and Bhalswa chowk, located on the outer ring road. The aim of the pilot project is to reduce deaths to near zero levels on this particular stretch. The project will entail a scientific study to reduce the conflict involving pedestrians and cyclists on one hand and the cars and heavy vehicles on the other. The initiative is to be run in partnership with SaveLIFE Foundation, a leading road safety non-profit organization.

Notes:
The 52nd Boori Boot Yollo festival 2019 has recently celebrated by the Nyishi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh. The fest is observed in the month of February every year to welcome spring and a successful harvest. During this festival, the consecrated soul is summoned to sanctify the people. Apart from it, it is an occasion of mass prayer for prosperity eliminating the possibility of any fatal ailments. The striking feature here is the giant assemblage of people cutting across the barriers of cast, creed, age and sex. The young ones take the lead to be guided by the elders where Nibu (Priest) would perform the rituals. The festival has an anthem which speaks of the sun rising, planets, mighty rivers, flora and fauna. A portion of the lyric deals with the earth which keeps on rotating around the sun along with other heavenly bodies.