Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
Vijaya Bapineedu (83), the prominent Telugu film director-producer, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on February 12, 2019. Hails from West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, he was known for Telugu films like Gang Leader, Khiladi No. 786 and Magadheerudu. He is also credited for Chiranjeevi’s successful career in films today.

Notes:
On 9th February, the first-ever LAWASIA Human Rights Conference 2019 was held in New Delhi with theme “State Power, Business and Human Rights: Contemporary Challenges”. The 2-day conference was hosted by LAWASIA, in association with the Bar Association of India (BAI). The conference focussed on topics ranging from “Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights” to “Climate Change, Water Conflicts and Human Rights”. It provided a unique opportunity for lawyers and associated professional members to exchange insights and expertise on topics of significance. LAWASIA is a regional association of lawyers, judges, jurists and legal organisations, which advocates for the interests and concerns of the Asia Pacific legal profession.

Notes:
On 13th Feb, the 3rd Indo-German Environment Forum was held in New Delhi with the theme “Cleaner Air, Greener Economy”. The one-day event focuses on challenges, solutions and necessary framework conditions of air pollution control, waste management and circular economy as well as implementation of NDCs and SDGs based on Paris Agreement and Agenda 2030 of UN respectively. Around 250 representatives of ministries, business and science as well as non-governmental organizations participated in the forum, which is organized by the two environment ministries in cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business and the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Forum provided a platform for the bilateral exchange of high-level policy-makers and other key players on international environmental and climate policy and cooperation between the two countries.

Notes:
The poem ‘Khooni Vaisakhi’ was written by acclaimed Punjabi writer Nanak Singh on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which was banned by the British after its publication in 1920. The poem was a scathing critique of the British Raj. Singh was present at Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919. He was 22 years old at the time. As the British troops opened fire on the unarmed gathering protesting against the Rowlatt Act, killing hundreds, Singh fainted and his unconscious body was piled up among the corpses. After going through the traumatic experience, he proceeded to write “Khooni Vaisakhi”, a long poem that narrates the political events in the run-up to the massacre and its immediate aftermath. Its manuscript was subsequently lost. After long years, the poem has been rediscovered and now translated into English by the author’s grandson and diplomat, Navdeep Suri. It will be published by HarperCollins India next month to mark the centenary of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Nanak Singh (1897-1971) is widely regarded as the father of the Punjabi novel. With little formal education beyond the fourth grade, he wrote an astounding 59 books and received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1962.

Notes:
India’s first engine-less Semi-High Speed Train (SHST), “Vande Bharat Express” has been flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route train from the New Delhi Railway Station on 15th February 2019. Vande Bharat Express can run up to a maximum speed of 160 kmph and has travel classes like Shatabdi Train but with better facilities. It aims to provide a totally new travel experience to passengers. The Train will cover the distance between New Delhi and Varanasi in 8 hours and will run on all days except Mondays and Thursdays. All coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS based audio-visual passenger information system, on-board hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and very comfortable seating. All toilets are bio-vacuum type. The lighting is dual mode, viz. diffused for general illumination and personal for every seat. Every coach has a pantry with facility to serve hot meals, hot and cold beverages. The insulation is meant to keep heat and noise to very low levels for additional passenger comfort. The train has 16 air-conditioned coaches of which 2 are executive class coaches. The total seating capacity is 1,128 passengers.

Notes:
India has recently signed a security protection agreement with Sweden that will enable both countries to share classified information with each other. The agreement was signed on during Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to the Nordic country. Sweden has had similar agreements with over 30 countries around the world, as well as with the EU and NATO. The Nordic countries are generally considered to refer to Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, including their associated territories (Greenland, the Faroe Islands and the Åland Islands).

Notes:
Chhattisgarh’s Raigarh municipal corporation has won the first prize at the “Swachhata Excellence awards 2019”. The municipal corporations of Ambikapur and Kumbakonam bagged the second and third prizes, respectively. While, Nagar Palika Parishad of Jashpur Nagar, Malappuram Municipality, and Nagar Palika Parishad Surajpur have claimed the prizes in the “Statutory Towns” category. Beside this, for million-plus cities, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation has won the award. For aspirational districts, Chas Municipal Corporation has been awarded with a consolation prize.

Notes:
In badminton, Sourabh Verma has won the Men’s Singles event at the Yonex-Sunrise 83rd Senior National Badminton Championships 2019 in Guwahati. In the final, he defeated Lakshya Sen in straight games of 21-18, 21-13. This is Verma’s 3rd nationals title. Earlier, the second seeded makeshift pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty clinched the men’s doubles title after beating top seeds Arjun M R and Shlok Ramchandran 21-13 22-20 in 33 minutes.

Notes:
In cricket, Ranji champions Vidarbha successfully retained their title and defeated Rest of India (RoI) on first-innings basis to win the 2019 Irani Cup tournament in Nagpur. Vidarbha has now become the third team after Mumbai and Karnataka to clinch two Irani Cup titles in a row. Hanuma Vihari from RoI has also become the first player to score 3 consecutive centuries in Irani Cup. Set to chase a target of 280, Vidarbha were well on course at 269 for five, needing only 11 runs for an outright victory. However, the two teams decided to shake hands and settle for a draw. And in a touching gesture, Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal announced that the entire prize money will be donated to the families of the CRPF personnel martyred in Pulwama terror attack.

Notes:
India’s second-largest IT services firm, Infosys has launched a digital platform ‘InfyTQ’ to offer learning and engagement experiences to engineering students in the country. InfyTQ is a free platform open to all engineering students in their 3rd and 4th years across India. The platform encourages holistic development by imparting technical as well as professional skills, helping them become industry-ready. InfyTQ, available on both mobile and desktop, includes content, courses, and news as well as online assessments and certification. Through app, students will benefit from the always-on, anytime, anywhere learning, catered through a continuous transfer of digital skills and expertise from the Infosys innovation ecosystem. In addition, the platform also offers courses on professional skills to help students navigate the art of effective contextual response, inter-personal relationships, communication and e-mail, and etiquette, among others.