Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Raad-500 is a short-range ballistic missile recently unveiled by Iran. It can be powered by a “new generation” of engines designed to put satellites into orbit.

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:
The South African country Botswana has the largest elephant population in the world. Recently, the country was seen in news as it auctioned licenses to hunt elephants, to tackle human-animal conflict.
In the capital city of the country Gaborone, the licenses to hunt 70 elephants were said to be auctioned. The government had lifted the ban on hunting, which was prevalent for five years.

Notes:
The 13th UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS) (COP 13) is scheduled to be hosted by India in 2020, at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The COP-13 (Conference of Parties) is to be held from February 15-22, 2020.
It was recently announced that the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the summit. The theme of this year’s summit is, ‘Migratory species connect the planet and we welcome them home’.

Notes:
Jiri Vesely of Czech Republic clinched the Tata Open Maharashtra 2020, held recently in Pune. He won the title after five years of his maiden ATP Tour title in Auckland.
He also become only the eighth player since 2013 to save six match points across two matches in a row, towards winning the ATP Tour crown. The tournament had been previously conducted at Chennai.

Notes:
The Ministry of health and family welfare recently said in a notification that all medical devices sold in the country would be treated as drugs and would be regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, from April 1, 2020.
As of now, only 23 medical devices are being categorised as drugs. Only a few of these including cardiac stents and intrauterine devices have been brought under price control. The decision was taken after discussing with the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB).

Notes:
Veteran Indian journalist Nandu R Kulkarni recently passed away at Mumbai. A resident of Mumbai, the 70-year-old journalist was the Mumbai bureau chief of the Daily newspaper, ‘The Statesman’.
He started his career with ‘The Indian Express’ in 1976 and worked with the group for nearly 16 years. Nandu then joined ‘The Statesman’ in 1992 as the bureau chief. He covered a wide range of fields including politics and business and was known for his reports on economic offences.

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:
BioAsia is an annual biotech and life sciences forum of the Telangana state government, which is scheduled to be held from February 17 to 19, 2020 at Hyderabad. Switzerland is the partner nation for the event.
Recently, the Genome Valley Excellence Award of BioAsia were announced to Carl H June, a scientist from the University of Pennsylvania, USA and Vasant Narasimham, CEO of multinational pharmaceutical company Novartis

Notes:
Corbett Tiger Reserve is located in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. The Jim Corbett National park is known for its rich flora and fauna, especially Bengal tigers.
Recently, the state cabinet of Uttarakhand approved an area of 377 sq km for the eco-sensitive zone (ESZ), which is proposed for the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR). As per the approval, the maximum area of the ESZ is 7.96 km. The proposal is set to be forwarded to the Central Government.