Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Sudhir Bhargava, a former Secretary to the Ministry of Social Justice, has taken charge as new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on January 1. Beside him, President Ram Nath Kovind has also appointed four new members as Information Commissioners – ex-IFS officer Yashwardhan Kumar Sinha, former IRS officer Vanaja N Sarna, former IAS Neeraj Kumar Gupta and former Law Secretary Suresh Chandra. Now,the only woman in the CIC will be ex-IRS officer Vanaja N. Sarna. The CIC is the highest appeal body under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The authority deals with grievances related to RTI requests, and has jurisdiction over all central public authorities.

Notes:
Recently, the Delhi High Court has ruled that Section 354A of Indian Penal Code (IPC) can be used by transgender persons to register complaints of sexual harassment. The Section 354A of the IPC deals with sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment. The development came after a transgender student’s complaint of sexual harassment was not entertained by the police. The Delhi University student wanted to lodge a complaint against male students who allegedly sexually harassed her on the college campus. According to the police, there was a lack of an appropriate penal section under which they could register such a complaint. In it, the HC bench also allowed the petitioner to maintain anonymity and directed that the cause title would read, Anamika versus Union of India & Ors. The bench also stated that the Supreme Court’s National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) judgment of 2014 was gender neutral.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently launched Samwad with Students as part of its outreach programme. The Indian Space agency will engage youngsters across the country in activities concerning space science under this programme. The new conversation mission will inspire students cutting across schools and colleges. During the inauguration in Bengaluru, 40 students and 10 teachers from select schools interacted with ISRO Chairman Dr. K Sivan about the Indian Space Programme and their benefits to the common man.

Notes:
In Kerala, around 50 lakhs of women assembled under the aegis of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to create an almost unbroken human wall that stretched 620 km from Kasaragod in north Kerala to Thiruvananthapuram in the south on 1st January 2019. Marshalled by the Kerala government and a section of Hindu organisations, the wall was organised against the backdrop of the Supreme Court verdict on Sabarimala. The programme ended with a joint pledge to harness the power of renaissance principles to insulate society against revanchist forces that sought to push Kerala back to the dark ages of casteism and discriminatory religious practices. The event was organised by the ruling CPI(M) along with over 176 other socio-political organisations, including the CPI, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and the Kerala Pulayar Maha Sabha.

Notes:
India has slashed import taxes on crude and refined palm oil sourced from Southeast Asian (ASEAN) countries after a request from suppliers. According to the official notification, the duty on crude palm oil was lowered to 40% from 44%, while the tax on refined palm oil was cut to 45% from 54% if imported from Malaysia and to 50%, if purchased from Indonesia or other member-nations of ASEAN. India imports 60% — 15.5 million tonnes annually — of its edible oil requirements, largely from Malaysia, Indonesia, Argentina and Ukraine. The reduction will lead to higher imports of palm oil by the world’s biggest edible oil buyer in coming months as it would narrow the difference between the tropical vegetable oil and competitors such as soyabean oil and sunflower oil.

Notes:
On January 2, US-based Kathak exponent Anindita Neogy Anaam has been honoured with the National Nritya Shiromani award for promoting the dance form across the world. The award was conferred on her in Cuttack at the 10th Cuttack Mahotsav : International Dance and Music festival in Odisha. The fest is organised by Utkal Yuva Sanskrutik Sangh (UYSS) in association with Cuttack district administration. Anindita Anaam is also recipient of prestigious national awards like Jayadev Rashtriya Puraskar and Bidagdha Nartaki Samman for her outstanding achievement in the preservation and promotion of Indian art in India and abroad.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the introduction of a Bill to modify the list of Scheduled Tribes (STs) of Arunachal Pradesh. Now, the bill – Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2018 – will be introduced in the Parliament for certain amendments in the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950. The bill proposes deletion of the Abor tribe from the state’s ST list “as it is the same as Adi” tribe. The bill seeks to include the Mishmi-Kaman (Miju Mishmi), Idu (Mishmi) and Taraon (Digaru Mishmi) tribes in the list. It also proposes inclusion of “Monpa, Memba, Sartang, Sajolong in lieu of the Momba” tribe. The Nocte, Tangsa, Tutsa and Wancho tribes would replace the words “any Naga tribe” in the state’s ST list. As there is no tribe called “Khampti”, the bill replaces it with “Tai Khamti” on the list.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has recently approved the establishment of a Centre for Classical Language at the Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University in Tirur, Kerala. The Ministry has communicated the decision to the Central Institute of Indian Languages, Mysuru. In view of this, the State government would be required to prepare a detailed project report and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry. The aim of the proposed centre is to study and research and other aspects of Malayalam language & will prove beneficial in implementing various projects for Malayalam language development. The centre would also assist the Malayalam University in its various initiatives.

Notes:
Dibyendu Palit (79), the renowned Bengali writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee, has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on 3rd January 2019. Born in Bhagalpur in Bihar in 1939, Palit had studied comparative literature in Jadavpur University and his first short story ‘Chhandopatan’ was published in 1955 in the Sunday edition of Anandabazar Patrika. It was followed by his first novel ‘Sindhu Baroan’ published in 1959. He was awarded the ‘Bankim Purashkar’ for ‘Dheu’ in 1990 and ‘Ananda Purashkar’ in 1984 for ‘Sahojoddha’. He was conferred the Sahitya Akademi for his novel ‘Anubhab’ in 1998.

Notes:
The North Central Railway (NCR) has launched a ‘Rail Kumbh Seva Mobile App’ to help people navigate through Prayagraj city during Kumbh Mela starting from January 15. The app will also provide information regarding all the ‘Mela special’ trains that will be run during the period. Additionally, the app will provide a link to the user to buy both unreserved and reserved train tickets. Mr Malviya said, through this app, the users will not only get to know their current location, but will also be able to reach to all railway stations, the mela zone, major hotels, bus stations and other facilities within Prayagraj. A photo gallery, containing pictures of previous Kumbh Melas can also be accessed through the app.