Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), the public transporter of Delhi, has been conferred with the Road Safety Award 2018-19 in the urban category for the lowest rate of accidents.
The Director of DTC received the award from the Union Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari. The award was presented during the 3rd Edition of International Conference and Exhibition on Public Transport Innovation (ICEPTI) 2020, which was organised at New Delhi. The award carries a trophy and a cheque of Rs. 1 Lakh.

Notes:
The United States recently launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance, which is aimed at protecting and preserving religious freedom across the world.
The U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the formal launch of the alliance. As many as 27 countries have joined the alliance and the prominent countries among them are Australia, Brazil, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Greece. He also announced that the next ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom will be hosted by Poland in Warsaw, in July 2020.

Notes:
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is observed annually on February 6, across the world. Genital Mutilation, or altering the female genitalia for non-medical reasons is prevalent in 30 countries in Africa the Middle East and other parts of the world.
In 2012, the UN General Assembly designated February 6th as the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation and the UN works for the complete eradication of the practice by 2030. United Nations Population Fund, jointly with UNICEF, holds a global programme to eliminate the practice.

Notes:
Belum cave system is the largest cave system open to the public on Indian subcontinent extending about 3,229 meters. It is located in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh. The recently concluded Belum Caves festival promoted the caves system.

Notes:
The City Police has recently launched ‘Operation Nakail’ in Ghaziabad, to verify the identity of auto-drivers of the city. Under the initiative, a unique four-digit number will be allotted to every auto-rickshaw of the city.
The owner of the vehicle has to paint the number, his name and mobile number on the auto, which would be easy to identify them. After many crimes were reported to be held in auto-rickshaws, this initiative was launched.

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:
The Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia recently ratified the North Atlantic Treaty, an agreement to make their country a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The country was earlier called Macedonia and was opposed by its neighbour Greece, as the historic place is present in their border. Greece asked the country to rename itself and it agreed to
drop its objections to the country in joining the NATO and the EU.

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.

Notes:
Scientists at the Rochester Institute of Technology Scientists recently discovered an exo-planet, which is closer to Earth than any other planet. The newly discovered planet named ‘2MASS 1155-7919 b’ is only 330 light years away from the earth.
It is spotted by the scientists beyond our solar system and the findings were published in Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society.

Notes:
Indian private firm Titagarh Wagons Ltd has recently commissioned the second coastal research vessel ‘Sagar Anveshika’, for Chennai-based National Institute of Ocean Technology.
The ship has been delivered four months ahead of the schedule. The firm had received the order for the ship in 2017. The first research ship named ‘Sagar Tara’ was delivered to the institute in the month of August 2019. By commissioning both the vessels, it has become the first and only private firm to build and deliver research ships in the country.