Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2019

Notes:
On 4th March 2019, the World Bank (WB) and the Government of India (GoI) has signed a 250 million loan agreement for the National Rural Economic Transformation Project (NRETP) to boost Rural Incomes across 13 States in India. The loan will help women in rural households develop viable enterprises for farm and non-farm products. The 250-million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has a 5-year grace period, and a final maturity of 20 years. The key focus of the NRETP will be to promote women-owned and women-led farm and non-farm enterprises across value chains; to enable them to build businesses that help them access finance, markets and networks; and to generate employment. The NRETP is an additional financing to the $500-million National Rural Livelihoods Project (NRLP) approved by the World Bank in July 2011. The NRLP, which is currently being implemented across 13 states, 162 districts and 575 blocks, has so far mobilised more than 8.8 million women from poor rural households into 7.5 lakh Self-Help Groups (SHGs).

Notes:
Indian-American television personality and internationally acclaimed food expert, Padma Lakshmi has been appointed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as its newest Goodwill Ambassador on the eve of International Women’s Day (IWD-2019). In this new role, Lakshmi will mobilise support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with a focus on fighting inequality, discrimination and empowering the disenfranchised.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved the “Flood Management and Border Areas Programme (FMBAP)” for Flood Management Works in entire country and River Management Activities and works related to Border Areas for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20 with a total outlay of Rs.3342.00 crores. The FMBAP Scheme will be implemented throughout the country for effective flood management, erosion control and anti-sea erosion. The proposal will benefit towns, villages, industrial establishments, communication links, agricultural fields, infrastructure etc. from floods and erosion in the country. The catchment area treatment works will help in reduction of sediment load into rivers. The funding pattern for FM Component for works in general category States will continue to be 50% (Centre) : 50% (State). For projects of North Eastern states, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Centre will bear 70% of the cost. The aim of the Scheme is to assist the State Governments to provide reasonable degree of protection against floods in critical areas by adopting optimum combination of structural and non-structural measures and enhancing capabilities of State / Central Government officials in related fields.

Notes:
A 116-year-old Japanese woman, Kane Tanaka has been honoured as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records. The global authority on records officially recognised Kane Tanaka in a ceremony at the nursing home where she lives in Fukuoka, in southwest Japan. Born in January 1903, Tanaka loves playing the board game ‘Othello’ and enjoys studying mathematics. The previous oldest living person was another Japanese woman, Chiyo Miyako, who passed away July 2018, aged 117.

Notes:
Krishna Kumari Kohli has become the first-ever Thari Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate of Pakistan in March 2018 and chaired the session of the Upper House of Parliament on the occasion of the International Women’s Day (IWD-2019). She is known for her campaigns for women’s rights, against bonded labour, and against sexual harassment in the workplace. Her election to Senate represented a major milestone for women and minority rights in Pakistan. Krishna belongs to the Kohli community from the remote village of Dhana Gam in Nagarparkar area of Sindh province where a sizeable number of Hindus live. Hence, Krishna became the first Hindu Dalit woman and the 2nd Hindu woman elected to the Senate after Ratna Bhagwandas Chawla.

Notes:
Subhash Chandra Garg , a 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, has been designated as the new Finance Secretary (FS) of India. He is also the current Union Economic Affairs Secretary. He succeeded Ajay Narayan Jha. As per the convention, the senior-most among the five secretaries in the Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary. Here, Ajay Bhushan Pandey is the Revenue Secretary, Rajiv Kumar is Secretary in Department of Financial Services, Atanu Chakraborty is Secretary in Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and Girish Chandra Murmu is the Expenditure Secretary. Pandey and Kumar are 1984 batch IAS officers of Maharshtra and Jharkhand cadre respectively. Chakraborty and Murmu are 1985 batch IAS officers of Gujarat cadre.

Notes:
The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has been set up under the Companies Act of 2013. It has provided an effective and time bound adjudication mechanism to deal with matters related to the Companies Act of 2013, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) of 2016 and the LLP Act of 2008. It is in news recently because the Government of India (GoI) has recently approved establishment of two new benches of NCLT, one at Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh and the other at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. This step has been taken keeping in view the increasing case load, especially under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code 2016. The jurisdiction of the Bench at Amaravati will be the state of Andhra Pradesh and that of Indore will be the state of Madhya Pradesh. At present Andhra Pradesh comes under the Jurisdiction of NCLT Bench at Hyderabad and Madhya Pradesh comes under the jurisdiction of NCLT Bench, Ahmedabad. It is expected that creation of new benches will enable faster disposal of cases. Presently, 14 numbers of NCLT Benches have been established, including the Principal Bench in New Delhi.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Tourism has won the First Prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019. The awards were given for the following promotional films and TV commercials produced under the Incredible India 2.0 Campaign: Yogi of the Racetrack, The Reincarnation of Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Sanctuary in Paris, Maharani of Manhattan and The Masala Master Chef. The Golden City Gate Tourism Multi-media Awards are given annually in various categories related to the Tourism and Hospitality sectors. The ‘Golden City Gate’ is a creative multi-media international competition for countries, cities, regions and hotels. The annual award ceremony takes place at ITB Berlin, the world’s leading tourism trade show. The Ministry of Tourism has launched the Incredible India 2.0 Campaign in September 2017. The 2.0 Campaign marks a shift from generic promotions across the world to market specific promotional plans and content creation.

Notes:
The book titled “Tiger Woman” has been authored by Bengali novelist Sirsho Bandopadhyay. It is translated by Arunava Sinha from the Bengali version “Shardulsundori” is set in the Calcutta of the 1880s. It’s a historical novel that places a tragic love triangle in an era of patriotism and the Great Bengal Circus became a metaphor for a frustrated social revolution.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has taken the ordinance route to increase reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14% to 27%. In this regard, Governor Anandiben Patel has recently signed the ordinance to amend the Madhya Pradesh Lok Seva (Anusuchit Jatiyon, Anusuchit Jan Jatioyon aur Anya Pichhade Vargon ke Liye Arakshan) Adhiniyam, 1994. With this, MP is possibly the only state in India to have 27% quota for OBCs. At present, the state provides 20% reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs), 16% to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 14% to OBCs. OBCs are estimate to constitute nearly 52% of the state’s population, and OBC groups have often demanded an increase in reservation to reflect their strength in the state. As per analysts, the move has been taken to woo OBC voters before the Lok Sabha elections 2019.