Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
The Administrative Council under the chairmanship of Lt Governor G C Murmu recently approved the renaming of the state’s Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control Department as the ‘Jal Shakti Department’.
The council also approved the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission and the strategy to achieve 100 per cent coverage of piped water supply across the UT, by December 2021. It was also proposed to set up a Mission Directorate of Jal Jeevan Mission for implementation of the scheme. Seven districts of the UT would be covered for 100 per cent piped water supply by June 2020, in the initial phase.

Notes:
Indian weight-lifter Pardeep Singh was seen in news recently, as he won the men’s 102kg gold medal in the National weightlifting championships, recently held in Kolkata.
He improved his performance than what he did in the Asian championships in China, last year. Another leading lifter Vikas Thakur won gold medal in the men’s 96kg category. Both the lifters are in the promising list for the upcoming Asian championships in Kazakhstan. Mirabai Chanu and Jeremy Lalrinnunga were named as ‘Best Lifters’ of the championships.

Notes:
The country’s first glass floor suspension bridge is to be built across the river Ganga in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand. The state government has recently approved the design of the glass-floor bridge.
This bridge is to be built as an alternative to the iconic Lakshman Jhula which was closed last year, citing safety reasons. The Public Works Department (PWD) is to construct the bridge, which would have a floor with toughened transparent glass, through which the pedestrians can see the surface of the river. The length of the proposed bridge will be 132.3 metres and it will have toughened glass railings on either side.

Notes:
M.J. Akbar’s new book “Gandhi’s Hinduism – The Struggle Against Jinnah’s Islam” chronicles the endgame that led to the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan.

Notes:
The Department of Agriculture of Andhra Pradesh recently signed Memoranda of understanding with 11 premier agricultural institutions of the country, in the presence of its Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.
Under the agreement, the institutions will provide technical assistance for increasing the farmers income sustainably, by following organic and natural farming practices. The Chief Minister also announced that more than 11000 Rythu Bharosa Kendras would be set up across the state.

Notes:
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is a global financial institution headquartered in Rome, Italy. It is a specialised agency of the United Nations, to address poverty and hunger.
The 43rd session of the Council of Governors of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) recently held in Rome, on the theme: Investing in sustainable food systems to end hunger by 2030. Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta presided over the opening ceremony.

Notes:
Union Minister of Health and Union Minister of HRD jointly launched the School Health and Wellness Ambassador initiative under Ayushman Bharat scheme. Under the initiative, two teachers in every school will be designated ‘Health and wellness ambassador’ to create awareness about health issues.
The programme will be implemented in 200 districts, initially and will be linked with other government schemes including Fit India movement, Eat Right campaign, Poshan Abhiyaan.

Notes:
Veteran Chartered Accountant Atul Kumar Gupta has been recently appointed as the new President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAI) for the year 2020-21. He was previously serving as the Vice President of the body during 2019-20.
Atul Kumar Gupta has assumed charge after the President Prafulla Chhajed’s place fell vacant. Nihar Niranjan Jambusaria has been elected as the Vice President of the ICAI for 2020-21.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu Minister for Culture, Pandiarajan and the Minister from the French province Center-Val de Loire, Olivier Frezot had a meeting in the state capital Chennai. During the meeting, they announced that Tamil Nadu and the French Province of Center-Val de Loire are set to make Tamil and French fusion music, which is to be performed in both the states.
The two states have already signed an MoU for mutual cooperation in culture studies. The Ministers also reviewed the progress made in the agreement.

Notes:
The New Zealand Police have recently unveiled their first Artificial Intelligence (AI) Police officer Ella. Ella stands for ‘Electronic Lifelike Assistant’, which will be configured at the digital kiosks, to resolve the queries of public and reduce queues in stations.
Ella will be made available in the headquarters building initially, and will be expanded to other parts of the country soon. The virtual assistant has been designed as a mix of 26 different people.