Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Alternaria brassicae is a fungus that causes blight in the Mustard and Rapeseed crops. Yield in a field infected by fungus Alternaria brassicae can come down by as much as by 47 per cent, if remedial measures are not taken.

Notes:
The state government of Kerala has recently unveiled a scheme to establish hotels to provide meals at subsidised rates called ‘Kudumbashree’ hotels. The announcement was made during the presentation of state’s budget.
The hotels are to be set up in in each of the 1034 local bodies and Kerala meals is to be available at a subsidised price of Rs 25. Kudumbashree is an initiative of the state government for poverty eradication and women empowerment.

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 Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) was established in 1972, by an act of Parliament, to act as the nodal agency for the development of Indian seafood industry. It is head-quartered at Kochi.
Recently, MPEDA announced that it is to start the upgradation and modernisation 25 fishing harbours in the country. The project is to be undertaken with the assistance from the Centre
at a proposed outlay of Rs 2500 crore.

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:
Recently, the Oscar award for best feature-length documentary was presented to ‘American Factory’. It was the first documentary released by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company named ‘Higher Ground’.
The documentary film was released in the Netflix, and it is about an Ohio auto glass factory that is run by a Chinese investor, who employs American and Chinese workers. Many global issues such as the rights of workers, globalization and automation are focussed in the film.

Notes:
The Indian government has recently announced that it has decided to rename the National Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad, as ‘Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management’ (AJNIFM).
NIFM, Faridabad was established in 1993 under the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance. The Union Finance Minister serves as the President of NIFM. It trains officers of finance and accounts services recruited by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Indian Cost Accounts Service (ICoAS) officers.

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:
Gulmarg is a popular skiing destination and a hill-station town located in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is situated in the Pir Panjal Range in the western Himalayas.
The town is set to host the five-day national winter games event under Khelo India, from March 7. As many as 30 events are scheduled to be organised under five major activities namely snowboarding, snow skiing, cross country and snow show.

Notes:
National Productivity Council (NPC) is an institution for propagating productivity movement in India, which functions under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
The formation of National Productivity Council is being celebrated annually as Productivity Day (12th February) and following seven days as Productivity Week (12th – 18th February). The organisation conducts various events throughout the week for promoting productivity.