Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
On January 12, Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the 25th edition of Partnership Summit 2019 in Mumbai. This edition of the Summit will showcase India in the present landscape of an emerging “New India”, the “New Global Economic Address”. The 2-day summit is expected to build new partnerships and explore investment opportunities in sectors like Artificial Intelligence, big data, food processing, defense, aeronautics, renewable energy and tourism. It will see New India in active engagement and collaboration within the country and with the world. The summit is a global platform for dialogue, debate, deliberation and engagement among Indian and global leaders on economic policy and growth trends in India.

Notes:
Indian skipper Virat Kohli and coach Ravi Shastri has received the honorary membership of the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for their contribution to the sport of cricket. Recently, The Indian team defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match Test series, ending the country’s 71-year-old wait for a rare series win Down Under. Apart from Kohli and Shastri, the only other international cricketers to be granted the honorary membership of the SCG are Sachin Tendulkar and Brain Lara of the West Indies.

Notes:
Industrialist and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej for ‘Translating Excellence in Corporate Governance into Reality’. The awards were instituted by The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI), which is celebrating its golden jubilee. The 18th ICSI National Awards for Excellence in Corporate Governance were bagged jointly by Cipla Ltd and Dabur India Ltd and five others: ACC Ltd, Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Indian Oil Corp, Tata Metaliks Ltd and Indian Hotels Co Ltd. The 3rd CSR Excellence Awards went to GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd, Tata Power Co Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd in Emerging, Medium and Large categories respectively.

Notes:
The 2019 National Youth Day (NYD) has recently celebrated in India on January 12 to mark the 156th birth anniversary of social reformer, philosopher and thinker Swami Vivekananda. Born in Kolkata on 12th January 1863 as Narendra Nath Datta, he was one of India’s most revered spiritual leaders. He was considered a major force in the revival of Hinduism in India and bringing it to the status of a major world religion in the late 19th century. He became popular in the western world after his famous speech at the World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893. He was the chief disciple of the 19th-century Indian mystic Ramakrishna and founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. In 1984, the Government of India (GoI) declared the day as the National Youth Day (NYD) and since 1985 the event is celebrated in India every year.

Notes:
The Andaman and Nicobar Command is the first and only Tri-service theater command of the Indian Armed Forces, based at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The archipelago is straddled strategically near the mouth of the Malacca Straits which is an important Sea Lane of Communication used by the navies of several countries. Recently, it is in news because Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman witnessed a joint military drill involving the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force, the Navy and the Indian Coast Guard in the A&N Islands on January 14. In her 2-day visit to Islands, she will also witness three exercises – general survival exercise, amphibious drill and a joint drill.

Notes:
On 15th January 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the 13 km, 2 lane Kollam bypass on NH-66 in Kerala. Constructed at a cost of Rs 352 core, this highway has three major bridges over Ashtamudi Lake. The Kollam bypass project will ease traffic congestion around Kollam town and reduce the travel time between Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. The importance of the Kollam bypass is, it touches 3 major National Highways – NH 66, NH 183 and NH 744 – passing through the state of Kerala. Some of the landmark ongoing National Highways projects in the state include the Thiruvananthapuram Bypass, Thalassery-Mahe Bypass, Kuthiran Tunnel along Wadakkanchery –Thrissur section of NH-544, Alappuzha bypass on NH66. These projects, on completion, will create new socio- economic opportunities for the people and boost trade and tourism in this region.

Notes:
Prof. Sir Michael Atiyah (89), the noted British mathematician has passed away in United Kingdom on 11th January 2019. He was best known for his co-development of a branch of mathematics called topological K-theory and the Atiyah-Singer index theorem. His research also involved deep insights relating to mathematical concepts known as “vector bundles”. Sir Michael was also a recipient of the Abel Prize (2004) and Fields Medal (1966), and was the former president of the Royal Society in London. He was one of the foremost mathematicians whose work encompassed topology and geometry, and worked with several Indian mathematicians such as Indian-American mathematician Harish-Chandra and Vijay Kumar Patodi, during his career.

Notes:
Detained Chinese lawyer, Yu Wensheng has won the Franco-German Human Rights Award for his exceptional contribution to the protection and promotion of human rights. His wife, Madam Xu Yan, received the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law on her husband’s behalf from the French and German ambassadors to China at an event organised by the German embassy in Beijing on January 14, 2019. Wensheng is best known for suing the Beijing government over the city’s once chronic pollution – was detained in January 2018 and charged with “inciting subversion of state power”. Prior to his arrest, he had circulated an open letter calling for five reforms to China’s constitution, including the institution of multi-candidate presidential elections.

Notes:
Saksham 2019 is an annual high intensity one-month long people-centric mega campaign, which is organised by Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) under the aegis of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The purpose of the Saksham (Sanrakshan Kshamta Mahotsav) is to sensitize the masses about conservation and efficient use of petroleum products which will lead towards better health and environment. The campaign seeks to promote effective utilization of petroleum products, something that will lead to environmental protection.

Notes:
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar has announced a ‘Shaurya Award’ to students in the name of 71 martyrs of state police force who laid down their lives in the line of duty while protecting society and maintaining law and order in the state. It was announced by the state government while organizing the first state-level function at the National Police Memorial in New Delhi to honour the families of all 71 policemen who died in various attacks and encounters since the formation of the state in 1966. Under this award, a prize money of Rs 11,000 in memory of a police martyr will be given to a student for courageous deeds every year in a village block where the school is located and where a martyr studied during his childhood.