Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
The Telangana government has decided to set up an armed “State Tiger Protection Force” (STPF) to save the Big Cat population in the State. The 112-member-armed STPF will be headed by anAssistant Conservator of Forests to protect tiger populationin Amarabad and Kawal Tiger Reserves. The State and Central government will share the cost of the force on 40:60 basis. The cases under the Preventive Detention Act would be registered against violators.

Notes:
The National Voters Day (NVD) is celebrated every year in India on January 25 since 2011 to enhance participation of citizens in the electoral process. The day also marked the Foundation day of Election Commission of India (ECI), which was established on 25th January 1950. The main purpose of the celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrollment, especially for the new voters. In view of the upcoming Lok Sabha Elections, ‘No Voter to be Left Behind’ has been selected as the theme for the 9th National Voters’ Day. During the 9th NVD 2019, the National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices were conferred on Officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections. President Ram Nath Kovind was the Chief Guest at the main function being organized by Election Commission in New Delhi.

Notes:
On 27th January 2019, Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal won her first Indonesia Masters title after three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain limped out of the final due to a leg injury in Jakarta. Marin was leading 10-4 in the first game when she developed an injury in the knee.

Notes:
In New Delhi, the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for India’s Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment- PISA 2021. The student assessment by PISA will ensure learning outcome through education. Students will be selected by PISA through random sampling. The format for the student assessment will be offline and the question to Indian students will be related to India’s perspective only. The PISA test will help reveal where they stand globally as far as learning outcomes are concerned. PISA is a triennial international survey in which students are assessed in reading, mathematics, science and collaborative problem-solving. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the education system worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. The CBSE and NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

Notes:
On the occasion of 70th Republic Day 2019, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced the launch of the ‘Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) in urban areas. The purpose of the scheme is to empower the unemployed youth candidates. Under this scheme, 100 days of employment will be provided to youngsters from economically weaker sections of the society in urban areas. Apart from this, they will also be given skill training by the government.

Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has recently announced to launch “Jiban Sampark” project in partnership with UNICEF India to generate awareness about the development and welfare initiatives of state government among the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) of the state. The announcement was made at the annual tribal fair popularly known as “Adivasi Mela” on 70th Republic Day 2019. The focus areas of the Project will include skill development, empowering communities, cooperation and innovation among the groups. Of 75 tribal communities in the country, 13 PVTGs reside in remote and far-off areas of 12 districts in Odisha.

Notes:
As per latest report of the World Steel Association (WSA), China is the largest producer of crude steel accounting for more than 51% of production. While, India has replaced Japan as world’s second largest steel producing country. The crude steel production of India in 2018 was at 106.5 MT. It went up by 4.9% from 101.5 MT in 2017. Japan produced 104.3 MT in 2018, down 0.3% compared to 2017. Global crude steel production reached 1,808.6 MT for the year 2018 from 1,729.8 MT in 2017, a rise of 4.6%. The WSA is the international trade body for the iron and steel industry. Its members represent around 85% of the world’s steel production, including over 160 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.

Notes:
On 26th January 2019, Nepalese batsman Rohit Paudel created history by becoming the youngest player in men’s international cricket to hit a half-century surpassing the likes of batting legends Sachin Tendulkar (in Tests) and Shahid Afridi (in ODIs). He accomplished the feat in the 2nd ODI against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai at the age of 16 years and 146 days. Hence, Paudel overtook the long-standing record held by Tendulkar, who achieved the feat in a Test against Pakistan at the age of 16 years and 213 days. In ODI cricket, the record was held by Shahid Afridi who creamed a maiden 50-over century aged 16 years and 217 days in his maiden international innings against Sri Lanka. Though, the overall record for the youngest player to hit a half-century in international cricket is held by South African female player Johmari Logtenburg who recorded Test and ODI half-centuries at the age of 14.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has launched a special scheme to curb infant deaths. The scheme is applicable only for the first child and will benefit around four lakh women across the state, Women. Each kit contains a blanket, a small mattress, a towel, a thermometer, baby oil, shampoo, toys, nail-cutter, gloves, socks, among other things. The cost of the kit is around Rs 2,000. For this cause, Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde distributed baby-care kits to the children born in primary health centres and government hospitals.

Notes:
First time in the history of Kumbh, UP State government’s cabinet meeting was held at Prayagraj Kumbh on 29th of January 2019. It is also 2nd time in the history of UP that cabinet meeting held outside the state capital. Here, the State cabinet decided to construct 600 km long Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj with a cost of Rs. 36000 crores to provide better connectivity from Western districts to Prayagraj. The expressway is being touted as the world’s longest highway. It will be built on a stretch of 6,556 hectares of land. The proposed Ganga Expressway will weave through Meerut-Amroha-Bulandshahr-Budaun-Shahjahanpur-Kannauj-Unnao-Rae Bareli-Pratapgarh and end at Prayagraj, earlier known as Allahabad. Yogi Adityanath-led cabinet also approved proposal of Gorakhpur link road project connecting Azamgarh and Ambedkarnagar with Purvanchal expressway. UP Cabinet has also decided to set up statue of Nishadraj at Sringverpur at Prayagraj and develop Ashram of Maharshi Valmiki at Chitrakoot. The Cabinet has also decided to exempt film URI from State GST as film is based on patriotism and sacrifice of soldiers. The first meeting of the Uttar Pradesh cabinet away from Lucknow was held in 1962 in Nainital when Govind Vallabh Pant was the Chief Minister.