Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

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:
Baltic Dry index tracking freight rates for world’s largest cargo ships recently plunged into negative territory due to coronovirus.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Telangana recently flagged off the stretch of Hyderabad Metro between Hyderabad and its sister city Secunderabad. With this, Hyderabad Metro has become the second largest operational metro rail network in the country, only after the Delhi Metro Rail.
Hyderabad Metro is also the biggest metro project in the world in Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode, with a total project cost of ₹20,000 crore, constructed by Larsen & Toubro.

Notes:
India and Nepal recently signed the financial closure of Arun-III, which is the largest hydropower project of Nepal. The 900 MW hydropower project is under construction in Nepal, with an estimated cost of $1.04 million.
The project, which is to be built with the financial assistance from India, is to be completed in 5 years. It is being built by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Arun-III Power Development Company (SAPDC), a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Himachal Pradesh.

Notes:
Indian cueist Aditya Mehta was seen in news recently as he won the National Snooker Championship, held at Pune. He represented the Petroleum Sports Promotion Board (PSPB) and defeated the 22-time-world champion Pankaj Advani 6-2 to win the title. Pankaj recently won the National Billiards Championship.
Vidya Pillai of Karnataka clinched the women’s snooker title, by beating Amee Kamani of Madhya Pradesh.

Notes:
The state government of Haryana has launched an initiative called ‘Reading Mission- Haryana’. The initiative was launched to encourage reading habit among the young students of the state.
The scheme is on the lines of the ‘Reading Mission 2022’, launched by the central government. Under the state’s initiative, monthly book review sessions and mass book reading are to be organised by students in educational institutions.

Notes:
Ministry of Coal (MoC) has recently launched a web portal for star rating of coal mines. Under the portal, all operational coal mines across the country will be enabled for self-rating. The mines will be subsequently validated by Coal Controller’s Organization (CCO), the subordinate office of Ministry of Coal.
The mechanism on the portal would award star rating to the mines with certain evaluation parameters under 7 modules.

Notes:
The United States Trade Representative’s (USTR’s) office has recently classified India as a developed economy and it is ineligible for GSP benefits from the US.
The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme offers a lower tariff to the exporters of a select group of developing countries. India is the largest beneficiary nation under the GSP, which enjoyed a tariff-free access to the US, till last June.

Notes:
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K. Palaniswami recently announced that the Cauvery delta region would be declared as a ‘Protected Special Agriculture Zone’.
This declaration would ensure the food security of the State. The Cauvery delta region in the central districts of Tamil Nadu would be converted into Protected Special Agriculture Zone. Special legislations are to be enacted in this regard.

Notes:
The Ministry of Tribal Affairs launched the ‘Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana’ in 2019, through TRIFED. It aims at creating livelihood for tribal people by using the forest produce. Van Dhan Kendras are set up to add branding and packaging their products.
Recently, Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda inaugurated the “Workshop on Van Dhan and Entrepreneurship Development” organized by TRIFED (Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India).