Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Stylish left-handed Indian opener, Smriti Mandhana has won the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Award for the ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and also been named as the ICC Women’s ODI Player of the Year. She scored 669 runs at an average of 66.90 in 12 ODIs and 622 runs at a strike-rate of 130.67 in 25 T20Is during the voting period, which ran from 1 January to 31 December 2018. Beside her, Australia’s wicketkeeper-batter Alyssa Healy voted ICC T20I Player of the Year. England’s Sophie Ecclestone named ICC Emerging Player of the Year. Mandhana is only the second Indian woman to win an ICC award after fast bowler Jhulan Goswami who was named the women’s player of the year in 2007.

Notes:
President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoye has recently announced 2019 as the ‘Year of Active Investment and Social Development’ in the backdrop of proposed investments from India to boost economy of this Central Asian country, in his annual address to the Parliament. The President stated that concrete measures will be taken on creating an open economy, radically improving the business environment and investment climate, reducing the state presence in the economy. Activities on improving the health of the population will continue at a new level. He further stressed that investment was the driver of economy, new technologies, advanced experience and highly qualified specialists come with investments into all sectors and regions.

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:
On 1st January 2019, Jair Bolsonaro has been sworn-in as new president of Brazil for a four-year term. He is a member of the Social Liberal Party (PSL) and succeeded Michel Temer. Bolsonaro won the presidential election by a wide margin against Fernando Haddad of the left-wing Workers Party on 28 October 2018.

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 has recently approved amendment to the Trade Unions Act of 1926 to make provisions regarding Recognition of Trade Unions. The amendment provides for insertion of section 10A in the principal Act to power centre and state governments to recognize trade unions and federation of Trade Unions at Central as well as State level. The proposed bill will also provides for insertion of clause (ba) in Section 29(2) of the Act, which empowers the centre and states to make regulations for manner of recognition of trade unions and deciding disputes in this regard. After the amendment Act is passed, the manner of recognition will be prescribed in the regulations. The present act provides for only registration of trade unions. Currently, there is no provision for recognition of unions in the Act.

Notes:
Prof. Manoj Das, an eminent English and Odia Litterateur, received the Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja National Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature. This ceremony was instituted by the Berhampur University, Odisha. During the 53rd foundation day ceremony, the university also honoured noted folk dance guru Nabaghana Parida with Dakshin Odisha Loksanakruti Samman.

Notes:
The Indian Panorama Film Festival (IPFF) has started at Siri Fort Auditorium II, New Delhi from 4th January. The 10-day Festival is being organized by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (I&B). The directors of the opening feature film ‘Olu’ and of the opening non-feature film ‘Kharvas’ viz. Shri Shaji N Karun and Shri Aditya Suhas Jambhale were presented at the inauguration of the fest. All the films selected under the Indian Panorama section in the 49th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2018) will be screened during the Festival. The entry for the Festival is free and seating is on the first-come-first-served basis.

Notes:
Parliament has passed the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (Amendment) Bill, 2018, with the Rajya Sabha approving it on 3rd January 2019. The bill seeks to amend a law to abolish the ‘no detention policy’ till Class VIII by enabling state governments to allow schools to fail students. The Lok Sabha had already passed the bill seeking to further amend the Right to Education (RTE) Act of 2009 to abolish the no-detention policy in schools on July 2018. Under the current provisions of the RTE Act, no student can be detained till class 8 and all students are promoted to the next grade. As per the amendment, it would be left to the States to decide whether to continue the no-detention policy. HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar assured the Rajya Sabha that no child will be excluded from school in case he or she fails. The Bill provides for a regular examination in classes V and VIII and if the child fails, he or she shall be given additional opportunity for re-examination in two months’ time.