Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
The 7th National Photography Awards 2019 were presented by Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore at a function held at the National Media Centre on 19th Feb. In it, ace photographer Ashok Dilwali has been bestowed with the Life Time Achievement Award, who is known for his work on the Himalayas. A total of 13 awards carrying cash prizes were presented to the winners in professional and amateur categories. Shanth Kumar won the ‘Professional Photographer of the Year’ award, while Gurdeep Dhiman won award for ‘Amateur Photographer of the Year’. The theme for the Professional category was “Women-led Development” and theme for Amateur category was “Fairs and Festivals of India”.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to host the 79th session of Indian History Congress (IHC) at Barkatullah University in Bhopal from February 26 to 28, 2019. The 79th session was earlier supposed to be held at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) from December 28 but was cancelled due to financial reasons. Over 1,000 delegates including prominent historians are expected to participate in the IHC. This will be 2nd time Madhya Pradesh will host IHC after it was held earlier in 2011. IHC is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 10,000 members. It was established in 1935 and its first session was held at Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, Pune. Its primary objective is to promote and encourage scientific study of Indian history.

Notes:
The International Mother Language Day (IMLD) is observed every year on 21st of February to promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Since 2019 is also the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL19), the theme of this year’s IMLD is “Indigenous Languages as a factor in development, peace and reconciliation”. At least 43% of the estimated 6000 languages spoken in the world are endangered. Only a few hundred languages have genuinely been given a place in education systems and the public domain. According to UN data, a language disappears every two weeks taking with it an entire cultural and intellectual heritage. UNESCO has been celebrating IMLD for nearly 20 years with the aim of preserving this linguistic diversity and promoting mother tongue-based multilingual education. Progress is being made in this direction with a growing understanding of its importance, particularly in early schooling.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of “Words in the Garden” festival 2019 is scheduled to be held on February 22 in New Delhi and will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi with the theme — ‘Bapu ki Dilli’. The 3-day festival will celebrate the creativity, imagination and ideas that Delhi generates, sustains and embodies. Commemorating 150 years of Gandhi’s birth anniversary, the event will feature plays, recitals, readings, discussions honoring the life and ideology of Bapu. Highlights include M K Raina’s play “Stay Yet A While”, poems, recitals, acts and music by Gandhi Ambedkar Circle of St Stephen’s College, storytelling by Mahmood Farooqui on Gandhi’s final journey and Madhup Mudgal’s “Ashram Bhajanavali”. The fest is free and open to all, and will see participation by stalwarts from the fields of literature, art, and social sciences among others. The fest is the brain child of renowned Hindi writer Ashok Vajpeyi.

Notes:
Kodi Ramakrishna (69), the veteran Telugu film director, has passed away in Hyderabad on Feb 22. Born at Palakollu in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, Ramakrishna made his debut in 1992 with romantic comedy ‘Intlo Ramaiah- Veedhilo Krishnaiah’ starring Chiranjeevi. He was known for championing the use of visual effects (VFX) to enhance cinematic experience in Telugu cinema. His films like ‘Ammoru’ and ‘Arundhati’ were praised for their VFX work. Some of his other popular films include Gudachari No 1, Muddula Krishnaiah, Pelli Pelli Pandiri and Rikshavodu. In 2016, Ramakrishna also commenced work on a biopic on Sathya Sai Baba, and it features Malayalam actor Sreejith Vijay in the titular role. The project still remains incomplete.

Notes:
Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh has been elected third time unopposed as the President of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The elections of the office bearers and executive committee members of WFI for the next four-year term (2019-2023) were held at the Constitution Club of India (CCI). Along with Brij Bhushan, I.D. Nanavati has been elected as the Senior Vice President, V.N. Prasood as the Secretary General and Satyapal Singh Deshwal as the Treasurer. Singh, who is also a Member of Parliament (MP) from the Kaiserganj constituency of Uttar Pradesh, was the chef-de-mission of the Indian contingent for the Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta and Palembang.

Notes:
The first-ever Skill Saathi Youth Conclave has inaugurated by Union Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at Rail Auditorium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The program aims to create a mass movement around skill development in the state and inspire youth to make the most of various skill development opportunities in the country. The conclave was aired live across 427 locations in Odisha, where more than 2 lakh candidates were mobilized for career counseling under Skill Saathi initiative. The initiative provides information on vocational training programs under Skill India mission, conduct psychometric test and provide face-to-face counselling interventions to guide aspirants to make the right choice of based on their interest and aptitude.

Notes:
The book titled “ India in Distress” has been authored by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, which is scheduled to be launch in the National Capital on February 27. Banerjee has so far published 87 books. Among the seven books that Banerjee has penned this time, there are ones for children, of poems in Bengali, Urdu and English and a couple of books on politics – in Hindi and Bengali.

Notes:
In Kerala, the International Advertising Association (IAA) hosted the 44th edition of IAA World Congress 2019 at the Grand Hyatt Lulu International Convention Centre in Kochi from February 20 to 22. The theme of the IAA World Congress was ‘Brand Dharma’ which enlightened the delegates about the basic principles a brand has to follow to connect with its customers and society at large. Around 2,000 delegates from India and abroad participated in the event. The New York-based IAA has a presence in 55 countries, and consists of advertisers, advertising agencies and the media. The World Congress is held every alternate year in various destinations around the world.

Notes:
The Afghanistan cricket team has created history by posting the highest-ever T20 international score at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun, Uttarakhand on 23rd Feb 2019. They posted 278 runs from their 20 overs in the second T20I against Ireland.. Here, Afghan batsman Hazratullah Zazai scored the 2nd highest individual score (162 runs off 62 balls) in T20Is, behind Australian cricketer Aaron Finch’s 172. His innings also included a record 16 sixes and his first-wicket partnership with Usman Ghani was also a record for any wicket in a T20I, with 236 runs scored. With this feat, Afghanistan broke Australia’s record score of 263/3 which they achieved back in 2016 against Sri Lanka.