Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
Shivakumara Swami (111), a revered seer of the Lingayat-Veerashaiva faith, has passed away in Tumkur, Karnataka on January 21, 2019. He was affectionately referred to as Nadedaduva Devaru (Walking God) in the State. He was also the head of 5-centuries-old Sree Siddaganga Matha, which educated and hosted lakhs of students from economically deprived backgrounds. In recognition of his humanitarian work, the Swami was conferred with an honorary degree of Doctor of Literature by Karnataka University in 1965. On his centenary in 2007, the Government of Karnataka awarded Swamiji the prestigious Karnataka Ratna award, the highest civilian award of the state. In 2015 the Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan.

Notes:
India will host the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP-14) to address the issue of land degradation and desertification. The conference is scheduled to be held in October 2019, and will have participation from over 100 countries. The UNCCD, established in 1994, has 197 parties working towards maintaining and restoring land and soil productivity and mitigating the effects of drought.

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The Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB), the central bank of Nepal, has recently announced the ban of Indian currency notes with denominations above Rs.100. Under the new rule, Nepali citizens cannot carry these denominations to other countries except India. Similarly, Nepalis are also not allowed to bring such notes from other countries. The central bank has issued a circular prohibiting Nepali traveller, banks and financial institutions from holding or carrying and trading Indian bank notes higher than Rs. 100. The central bank said in its circular that Indian denominations of Rs 2,00, Rs 500 and Rs 2000 cannot be carried and used for trading. The decision to ban these notes has come at a time when the NRB has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow Nepal to use currency notes with all denominations. At present, only the notes with a denomination of Rs. 100 and below are freely exchangeable in Nepal.

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Eminent scientist and recipient of Bharat Ratna, C N R Rao has been chosen for the first Sheikh Saud International Prize for Materials Research, given by the Centre for Advanced Materials of the UAE. The award includes a plaque, a medal and a cash prize of $100000. The award will be presented to Rao at the International Workshop on Advanced Materials in Ras Al Khaima on February 25. Professor Rao is the National Research Professor, Linus Pauling Research Professor and Honorary President of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India in 2014.

Notes:
The Arab Economic and Social Development Summit held in the Lebanese capital Beirut, in which the Arab leaders and officials issued a joint statement called Beirut Declaration. The declaration calls for the establishment of an Arab free trade zone. It also urged the International community to support nations hosting Syrian refugees and take steps to minimise the impact of the refugee crisis. The declaration stated that the refugee crisis in Arab countries is the worst humanitarian problem since World War II. It points out that the crisis leads to an economic slowdown, increases the expenditure and deficit, imposes burdens on public sectors and infrastructure and poses risks to the society. At the conclusion of the 2019 summit, Arab leaders have agreed a 29-item economic agenda in addition to encouraging the safe return of Syrian refugees to their homeland.

Notes:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has recently announced the men’s Test and ODI teams of the year 2018. Three players, each from India and New Zealand, were named in Test team while four players, each from India and England, were named in ODI squad. Virat Kohli has been named captain of both sides following a remarkable 2018 as batsman and skipper. The Test team also features his compatriots, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who is the only player apart from Kohli to feature in both sides. The ODI team has opener Rohit Sharma, spinner Kuldeep Yadav and Bumrah from India side. The awards, which honour performances during a calendar year, saw the India captain Kohli walk into both sides which were selected by the ICC Voting Academy comprising former players, members of the media and broadcasters. In the last calender year, skipper Kohli scored more than 2,500 runs in both formats of the game combined with 11 centuries. Kohli also ended 2018 as the top-ranked Test and ODI batsman in the ICC Player Rankings while his side finished the year as the top-ranked side in Tests and number two in ODIs, behind England.

Notes:
The Indian Navy, in coordination with the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and other stakeholders, conducted the massive coastal defence exercise codenamed ‘SEA VIGIL-2019’off the Indian coast on January 22-23, 2019. The exercise, a first of its kind, covered the entire 7516.6 km coastline and Exclusive Economic Zone of India and involves all the 13 coastal States and Union Territories along with all maritime stakeholders, including the fishing and coastal communities. The main goal of the large-scale exercise is to comprehensively and holistically validate the efficacy of the measures taken since ’26/11′. The exercise also aims to test India’s preparedness to thwart any attempt by anti-national elements to carry out an attack on its territory or against its citizens by infiltrating through the sea route.

Notes:
The National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated every year on January 24 in India to raise awareness against the social stigma and discrimination faced by girl. The day also highlights the need to protect girl child who is prone to sex selective abortions, sexual abuse and trafficking in India. The 2019 theme “Empowering Girls for a Brighter Tomorrow” was celebrated with objectives of generating awareness on the issue of declining Child Sex Ratio (CSR) and create a positive environment around valuing the girl child. The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) celebrated the NGCD-2019 day at Pravasi Bharti Kendra in New Delhi. The programme also observed anniversary of Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP) Scheme. A booklet on “Innovations under BBBP” was also released on the occasion. The Ministry has compiled 38 Innovative Activities from Districts across the country to set an example for other Districts. These interventions have been categorized according to five themes, which are Survival, Protection, Education, Participation and Valuing Girls.

Notes:
IIT Ropar has launched an android app ‘Roshni’ to help the blind in recognizing the denomination of the currency notes, using image processing and analytics. At present, notes of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 2,000 are in circulation, which the blind people find it difficult to recognize due to their size and the tactile marks. The app can recognize both old and new notes and gives audio information as to which note you are holding in your hands. The user has to bring the currency note in front of phone camera and the app would provide audio notification intimating the currency notes denomination to the user. The app uses the patterns and features embedded on the notes to differentiate and determine the currency denomination. The app is developed by assistant professor Dr Puneet Goyal and his students — Mandhatya Singh, Joohi Chauhan, and R Ram.

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ISRO has successfully launched a military satellite ‘Microsat-R’ and a student satellite ‘Kalamsat-V2’ into their designated orbits from PSLV-C44 launch vehicle. The launch was the 46th flight of the PSLV which lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. PSLV-C44 is the first flight of PSLV-DL, a new variant of PSLV with two strap-on motors. With this launch, India also becomes the first country to use the fourth stage of a space rocket as an orbital platform for microgravity experiments. The PSLV is a four-stage launch vehicle with alternating solid and liquid stages.