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.

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Christina Koch has set the record for the longest stay in space by a woman. The U.S. astronaut landed in Kazakhstan on February 6 after 328 days on the International Space Station (ISS).

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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 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:
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:
European countries witnessed a devastating storm named ‘Ciara’, which caused huge damage and killed as many as six people. The hurricane-force winds and heavy rains damaged several thousand buildings in the region.
The storm moved on near Germany, after hitting Britain and Ireland. It was called as ‘Ciara’ by the Irish weather service and dubbed as ‘Sabine’ in Germany. Flood warnings are given and flight operations are suspended in the countries.

Notes:
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has recently approved the formation of Joint Venture (JV) between Mahindra & Mahindra and Ford Motor and the transfer of automotive business of Ford India to the JV.
The new venture to be formed would acquire the automotive business of Ford India Pvt Ltd (FIPL), which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor company. The automotive business includes manufacturing plants of Ford India in Chennai and Sanand (Gujarat).

Notes:
According to the latest study by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Maharashtra records the highest number of missing women in the last three years, followed by West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
NCRB compiled this data on missing children and women, on the directions of the Supreme Court. The study was based on the annual ‘Crime in India Report’ compiled by the agency for the years 2016, 2017 and 2018. The highest number of missing children was reported in Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Notes:
Ace Indian hockey player Lalremsiami has been named as the ‘2019 FIH Women’s Rising Star of the Year’, by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The 19-year-old player from the state of Mizoram, is the first Indian woman player to win the award.
In the men’s category, the Indian men’s team midfielder Vivek Sagar Prasad was named as the ‘2019 Rising Star of the year’ by FIH.

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.