Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

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:
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 Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act of 1989 was legislated to protect the scheduled communities from harassments and atrocities.
In March 2018, the Supreme court gave a judgement diluting the original act and it even granted anticipatory bail for those booked in the atrocity case. After huge protest, the government amended the original act and passed the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018. This amendment has been upheld by the apex court.

Notes:
The fifth edition of joint military exercise ‘Ajeya Warrior’ between India and the United Kingdom will be conducted at Salisbury Plains, United Kingdom. The exercise is scheduled from February 13 to 26, 2020.
120 soldiers each from Indian and United Kingdom Army would participate in the exercise. The joint military exercise has been conducted alternatively in United Kingdom and India. The training will be held with emphasis on counter-terror operations in urban and semi-urban areas.

Notes:
The birth anniversary of great Unani physician and social reformer Hakim Ajmal Khan is celebrated as the World Unani Day every year on 11th February.
He was a founder of scientific research in Unani System of Medicine and one of the founders of the Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi. Originated in Greece, the field of medicine was introduced in India by the Arabs and Persians. The day is celebrated to create awareness about health care through the Unani system.

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:
“Hunar Haat” is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs, Government of India. Under the initiative, stalls are set up, where master artisans, craftsmen and culinary experts from across the country participate, to show case their talents. It aims at providing employment opportunities to indigenous artisans and preserving the culture of our country.
Recently, the Ministry inaugurated ‘Hunar Haat’ in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on February 9 and at India Gate lawns, New Delhi on February 13.

Notes:
‘Apiary on wheels’ means ‘Collection of bees on wheels’. The ‘Apiary on Wheels’ initiative is designed by the Indian statutory body, ‘Khadi and Village Industries Commission’.
The initiative includes effective migration of Bee boxes with live bee colonies/ collection. It is a platform by which 20 Bee boxes can be carried from one place to another without any difficulty. The unique scheme of KVIC was recently inaugurated by the Union Minister of MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari.

Notes:
The subsidiary of Indian Railways, IRCTC is set to launch its third corporate passenger train Kashi Mahakal Express on the Varanasi-Indore Route. It is a premium train to be run by IRCTC, that will connect three temples namely Omkareshwar temple near Indore, Mahakaleshwar temple of Ujjain and Kashi Vishwanath temple of Varanasi.
After Tejas Express trains, which are being run on the Lucknow-Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai routes, this is the third private train which will be operated to connect religious places of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
India’s first inter-city electric bus service was recently inaugurated in the state of Maharashtra between Mumbai and Pune by the Union Transport minister Nitin Gadkari.
The luxury electric bus with 43-seater capacity has been manufactured by a private firm and being operated by another Maharashtra-based mobility firm. The bus would be operated twice daily between the two cities.