Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
In New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 5th edition of the Economic Times (ET) Global Business Summit 2019 on Feb 23 to offer insights into the direction of future policy. The two-day summit hosted business leaders and technology entrepreneurs from some of the most talked about and disruptive companies across the globe including Nathan Blecharczyk, co-founder of AirBnB, Martin Eberhard co-founder of Tesla, Sebastian Thrun CEO of KittyHawk and many more. The summit is a flagship initiative of the Times Group that envisions to bring together visionaries, thought leaders, heads of state, policy makers, academicians and corporate heads cohesively driving a singular agenda for Scripting Economic Change, by connecting the building blocks of Economics for India and the Globe.

Notes:
Acclaimed actress Kareena Kapoor Khan has become the brand ambassador of the Swasth Immunised India campaign to spread awareness among parents about child vaccination to help prevent the future generation from life-threatening diseases. The nation-wide vaccination and immunisation campaign has been launched by Serum Institute of India (SII) in association with Network18. The primary aim of the campaign is to raise awareness about the importance and benefits of vaccine administration, advocating its acceptance and building a strong immunization outreach in the country. Working alongside the government, the campaign will strive to reach full immunization coverage through continuous education and awareness.

Notes:
Indian Hockey Captain Manpreet Singh has been honoured with the 2018 Player of the Year award by the Asian Hockey Federation while women’s team striker Lalremsiami bagged the Rising Player of The Year prize. Manpreet led the Indian team to an unbeaten streak at the Asian Champions Trophy in Muscat where the team was declared joint winners with Pakistan. He also contributed to the team’s silver medal win at the FIH Champions Trophy in Breda and continues to remain instrumental in the Indian midfield. The 18-year-old Lalremsiami put up an impressive performance as a striker at the 2018 World Cup. She was also a part of the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires where the under-18 team won a silver medal. The Indian men’s team was awarded the 2018 Best Performance of The Year for being the only Asian side to have reached the top eight at the World Cup in Bhubaneswar.

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:
On 25th February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National War Memorial to the nation in the vicinity of the India Gate in New Delhi to honour Indian Armed Forces. The Memorial is a fitting tribute to our soldiers who laid down their lives defending the nation, post-independence. It also commemorates the soldiers who participated and made the supreme sacrifice in Peace Keeping Missions, and Counter Insurgency Operations. The layout of the National War Memorial comprises four concentric circles, namely, the ‘Amar Chakra’( or Circle of Immortality), the ‘Veerta Chakra’ (or Circle of Bravery), the ‘Tyag Chakra’ (or Circle of Sacrifice), and the ‘Rakshak Chakra’ (or Circle of Protection). The National War Memorial complex includes a central obelisk, an eternal flame, and six bronze murals depicting famous battles fought by Indian Army, Air Force and Navy. The Memorial represents the culmination of the collective aspiration of a grateful nation to pay a fitting tribute to the martyrs. The Chief Architect of the National War Memorial is Ar. Yogesh Chandrahasan of Chennai-based WeBe Design Lab.

Notes:
An American biographical comedy-drama film “Green Book” has won the Best Picture at 91st Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on 25th February 2019. Green Book also won best supporting actor for Mahershala Ali and best original screenplay. In it, British actress Olivia Colman won the best actress award for “The Favourite” for her performance as Queen Anne in the period comedy-drama. Rami Malek won the best actor for a biographical film “Bohemian Rhapsody”. Filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron won Best Director Oscar for ‘Roma’, which is an American and Mexican drama. ‘Roma’ also won Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography category. Pop diva Lady Gaga got the Best Original Song Academy Award for “Shallow” from her feature debut “A Star is Born”. Marvel’s Black Panther too won 3 Oscars – Best Original Music, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.

Notes:
The horrific forest fire has recently broken out in the Bandipur Tiger Reserve (BTR) in Chamarajanagar district of Karnataka. The fire is estimated to have gutted 2,000 hectares of the forest. Hundreds of forest department officials along with local volunteers have been trying to douse the fire. However, strong winds and dry grass have aided the fire to spread towards the roads on National Highway 67. As a result, NH 67 (which connects Ooty to Mysore) had to be closed for vehicles. There have been reports of loss of wildlife, but nothing has been confirmed so far. The Bandipur reserve is one of the first national parks in India and has the highest tiger density anywhere in the world. It has also been declared as an important area for elephant conservation. The reserve covers an area of 87,400 hectares and along with the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and the Nagarahole National Park form one of India’s ecologically diverse regions. It is home to vulnerable species like elephants, gaurs, tigers and Indian rock pythons.

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:
India has been invited to attend a meeting of foreign ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Abu Dhabi, UAE on the 1st and 2nd March of 2019. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will be the Guest of Honour and address the inaugural plenary of the 46th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of OIC at the invitation of UAE Foreign Minister. This is the first time that a leader of the non-Muslim country has been invited to the OIC conference. The move will boost relations with West Asian and Muslim-majority nations. New Delhi sees the invitation as a milestone in the comprehensive strategic partnership with the UAE. It is also a welcome recognition of the presence of 185 million Muslims in India and of India’s contribution to the Islamic world.The official languages of the OIC are Arabic, English, and French.

Notes:
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, a member of the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party, has been re-elected for a second four year term. The 76-year-old Buhari defeated his main rival, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar with a margin of around 4 million votes. Buhari has been lauded for his progress against the insurgent group Boko Haram, which has killed more than 10,000 and displaced millions.