Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
On 15th February, the Government of India (GoI), Government of Himachal Pradesh (GoHP) and the World Bank signed a $40 Million Loan Agreement to help bring clean and reliable drinking water to the citizens of the Greater Shimla area, who have been facing severe water shortages and water-borne epidemics over the last few years. The Shimla Water Supply and Sewerage Service Delivery Reform Programmatic Development Policy Loan 1 is expected to improve water supply and sanitation (WSS) services in and around the iconic hill city of Shimla. The $40 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 4-year grace period and a maturity of 15.5 years.

Notes:
On 13th Feb, Minister of State (IC) for AYUSH, Shripad Yesso Naik launched the e-AUSHADHI portal for online licensing of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy drugs and related matters at New Delhi. The portal is aimed at increasing transparency, and improving information management, data usability and accountability. The acronym for new e-portal is ‘Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy Automated Drug Help Initiative’. The timelines would be fixed for processing of applications through the portal with text message and e-mail status updates at each step of the process. This portal will not only aid the licensing authority , manufactures and consumers, as it will provide real time information of the licensed manufactures and their products, cancelled and spurious drugs, contact details of the concerned authority for specific grievances.

Notes:
Pramod Chandra Mody, a 1982 batch Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre), has been appointed as the new chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the top policy making body of income tax department,. He succeeded Sushil Chandra, who was named as an new Election Commissioner (EC) of India. The CBDT Chairperson is ex-officio special secretary and is under the direct charge of the revenue secretary of India. He is placed above the officers of the rank of Lieutenant-General, Vice-Admiral or Air Marshal, CBI Director and Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the Order of Precedence.

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:
The researchers from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have developed the first ant-like walking robot ‘AntBot’ that can explore its environment and find its way home without Global Positioning System (GPS). The scientists took inspiration from desert ants, which are extraordinary solitary navigators, to design the AntBot. Ants use polarised light and ultraviolet radiation to locate themselves in space. Cataglyphis desert ants in particular can cover several hundreds of metres in direct sunlight in the desert to find food, then return in a straight line to the nest, without getting lost. AntBot copies the desert ants’ exceptional navigation capacities, allowing it to explore without using GPS. The six-legged robot has an optical compass that uses polarised light to determine its direction, and an optical movement sensor directed to the sun to measure covered distance.

Notes:
The railway workers union — National Federation of Indian Railwaymen (NFIR) has recently opposed the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project. They asked the government to first prioritize work on existing train routes instead of focusing on the bullet train. Before the bullet train starts running, it is important to undertake repairs and maintenance work of the tracks across the country. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe had launched the bullet train project in Ahmedabad in September 2017. The ambitious project is expected to be completed by 2022 and will cut travel time between the two cities from 7 hours to less than three. The bullet train between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will run a total length of 508 km, of which 21 km will be covered in a tunnel under the sea. The cost of the tunnel is estimated at Rs 3,500 crores. The cost of the total train project is Rs 1.08 lakh crore. The headquarters of NFIR is located at New Delhi.

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:
Chandramouli Ramanathan from India has been appointed by the United Nations as Controller & Assistant Secretary-General (ASG) for Programme Planning, Budget and Finance in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance (DMSPC). He succeeded Bettina Tucci Bartsiotas of Uruguay. DMSPC, launched on 1st January 2019, provides strategic policy leadership in all areas of management through a clear, integrated global management strategy and policy framework. It will champion, drive and support a results-oriented and risk-aware culture of continuous learning and accountability and promote innovation in business models throughout the Secretariat, with a strong focus on the field.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has launched a pan-India service of the single emergency helpline number ‘112’ for immediate assistance services from police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090). The response time for the emergency helpline is said to be around 10 to 12 minutes. This is expected to come down to 8 minutes within the next 6-8 months. The Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) is now available in 16 states and union territories across India. These are as follows: Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshwadeep, Andaman, Dadar Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and Jammu and Kashmir. Apart from emergency response service, the government also launched Investigation Tracking System for Sexual Offences (ITSSO) and the safe city implementation monitoring portal to improve women safety situation in the country.

Notes:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has recently launched the country’s first semi-heavy missile-equipped submarine, dubbed as Fateh (‘Conqueror’ in Persian). The new submarine will fill a gap between the light Ghadir class and the heavy Kilo-class submarines that the country possesses. The Fateh has subsurface-to-surface missiles with a range of about 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles), capable of reaching Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.