Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently conducted its sixth bi-monthly Monetary policy committee (MPC) meeting and released the statement. The repo rate was left unchanged at 5.15%, as a unanimous decision taken by the MPC members.
The central bank also announced that it had no plans to monetise the government’s fiscal deficit, which means to print fresh currency notes to balance the deficit. A Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for digital payment system is also to be set up by April 2020. RBI also decided to extend the Cheque Truncation System (CTS) to all regions across India.

Notes:
The fifth edition of the India-Russia Military Industrial Conference was recently organised in the northern Indian city, Lucknow. The Conference was organised on the sidelines of the biennial Defence exhibition DefExpo 2020.
As many as 14 MoUs related to production of different defence equipment, radar systems, ASW Rocket launchers and 3D modeling were signed between the companies from India and Russia. Among several Indian companies, the prominent ones which signed the agreements were BHEL, Bharat Dynamics Limited and Vista control.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently released its statement on developmental and regulatory policies, along with the February 2020 Monetary policy statement.
In the statement, the central bank announced about the launch of Digital Payments Index (DPI), which will assess the digitalisation of payments in the country. The DPI will accurately measure the penetration of digital payment modes among the general public of the country. The index is proposed to be launched from July 2020.

Notes:
Pranash is the name of India’s 200-km strike range tactical ballistic missile which is currently under development by DRDO. This missile is advanced version of the 150-km strike range Prahar missile. Pranash will be a surface-to- surface ballistic missile and will be used by Air Force and Army.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) bagged the national award for e-Governance 2019-20 for its Real-Time Pollution-Monitoring System (RTPMS) project, during the 23rd National Conference on e-Governance held in Mumbai.
Under the RPTMS project, an alert is sent to the concerned officials if an industrial unit exceeds the desired pollution levels.

Notes:
The Great Indian Bustard is named the mascot of the UN Convention of Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) (COP 13). India has recently proposed to include three species- the Asian elephant, the Great Indian Bustard and the Bengal Florican in the list of ‘migratory species threatened with extinction’, under the CMS-COP 13.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has recently unveiled a draft Visionary Perspective Plan (2020-2030), for conserving the bird species and their eco-systems.

Notes:
The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the Union Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, releases the annual Public Sector Enterprises Survey, on the performance of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
Recently, the Public Enterprises Survey -2018-19 was tabled in both the Houses of Parliament, which stated that BSNL, Air India and MTNL are the top loss-making PSUs for the third consecutive year. The top three profit-making PSUs include Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation and NTPC.

Notes:
The ‘International Day of Women and Girls in Science’ is celebrated across the world on 11 February. The United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution in 2015 and declared 11 February as the day of Women and Girls in Science. Since then, the day is celebrated annually.
The day is aimed to achieve complete gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls and to encourage more women to take up their career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) field.

Notes:
The state government of Uttar Pradesh has recently launched toll-free helpline numbers for students. This initiative is aimed at solving queries of students ahead of the Board Examinations.
A senior officer of Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad is designated as Nodal Officer of the initiative. Several academicians and experts of different subjects will be made available on call, to resolve the doubts of students.

Notes:
The Australian team was presented with the ICC Women’s Championship trophy. The team has retained the trophy by topping in eight-team ODI competition played from 2017 to 2020.
Australia has scored 34 points from 18 matches with one more series to play. The ICC Women’s Championship qualified hosts New Zealand and four other top teams including Australia, England and South Africa, directly to the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2021.