Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Norman Gimbel (91), the Oscar & Grammy-winning American lyricist has passed away in New York on December 17, 2018. His lyrics graced hit songs such as Roberta Flack’s “Killing me softly with his song” and Jim Croce’s “I got a name”. He also wrote the English lyrics to the Brazilian bossa nova melody ‘The Girl From Ipanema’.

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:
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:
France has recently introduced a new “GAFA tax” – named after the large internet and technology companies viz. Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon – to ensure the global giants pay a fair share of taxes on their massive businesses in Europe. The so-called GAFA tax targeting major digital firms comes into force on 1st January 2019. Some other EU member states such as Britain, Spain and Italy are also working on national versions of a digital tax, with Singapore and India also planning their own schemes.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has appointed an 8-member expert committee headed by former SEBI chairman U.K. Sinha to comprehensively review and propose long-term solutions for the economic and financial sustainability of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector. The MSME sector has been facing stress due to the demonetisation exercise and implementation of GST. The panel would review the current institutional framework in place to support the MSME sector, and examine the factors affecting the timely and adequate availability of finance to the sector. The panel will also review existing MSME-focussed policies and their impact, and study the global best practices with respect to MSMEs and recommend their adoption in India. The committee will submit its report by the end of June 2019.

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 Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) declared six structures to the list of monuments of national importance in 2018. These are – the 125-year-old Old High Court Building in Nagpur (Maharashtra), two Mughal-era monuments in Agra — Haveli of Agha Khan and Hathi Khana, the ancient Neemrana Baori in Rajasthan’s Alwar district; the Group of Temples at Ranipur Jharail in Odisha’s Bolangir district; and the Vishnu Temple in Kotali, Pithoragarh district, Uttarkhand. According to the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, an “Ancient Monument means any structure, erection or monument, or any tumulus or place of interment, or any cave, rock-sculpture, inscription or monolith which is of historical, archaeological or artistic interest and which has been in existence for not less than 100 years”. There were 3,686 centrally protected monuments/sites under the ASI in the country; the number has now increased to 3,693. Uttar Pradesh (745 monuments/sites), Karnataka (506) and Tamil Nadu (413) have the highest number of ASI-maintained sites.

Notes:
On 2 January 2019, President Arif Alvi appointed Justice Asif Saeed Khosa as the new Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP). Khosa will succeed Mian Saqib Nisar on 18th January and will remain at seat till December 20, 2019. The Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) is the head of the court system of Pakistan (the judicature branch of government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. He is responsible for supervising federal judicial policies, and conducting judicial business in the Supreme Court.

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:
The Malaysian King, Sultan Muhammad V has become the Malaysia’s first monarch to step down from the throne before completing his five-year tenure on 6th January 2019. No reason was given and palace officials did not respond to requests for comment. Malaysia is the only country in the world to have a rotational monarchy, in place since the country became independent from Britain in 1957. Here, the king assumes a largely ceremonial role, his assent is needed for the appointment of a prime minister and various other senior officials. The country has nine royal households, who typically take turns to sit on the throne. The selection of the next king can be decided by a vote in the Council of Rulers, made up of all nine royal households.