Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the first-ever Khelo India University Games at Cuttack in Odisha, via video conferencing.
More than 3000 athletes from nearly 150 universities across the country will participate in 17 disciplines. The games are to be held in various venues of the state including Bhubaneswar and Cuttack from February 22 to March 1.

Notes:
United States has surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner. According to the Commerce Ministry data, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at nearly 88 billion dollars in 2018-19 fiscal. During the period, India’s trade with China was at 87.1 billion dollars. Similarly, during April-December 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the US and India stood at 68 billion dollars against a nearly 65 billion dollars trade with China in the same period. America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. On the other hand, India has a huge trade deficit with China. In 2018-19, India has a trade surplus of 16.9 billion dollars with America, while it has a deficit of 53.6 billion dollars with the neighboring country. The data showed that China was India’s top trading partner since 2013-14 till 2017-18.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government recently ordered the destruction of ‘Thai Magur’ fish breeding centres because of the threat posed to native fishes and the unhygienic conditions. Thai Magur is a type of catfish. It is also known as the exotic African Catfish. The fish species is known to survive in even poor conditions like wet mud and sludge. It is also reported to be unhealthy for human consumption. Thai Magur is not a native species of India. It is an invasive species from Africa. It is carnivorous and known for feeding on native fish species and decimating their populations. Studies reported that 70% of drop in native fish species’ population is because of these Magurs. The National Green Tribunal had banned the farming of Thai Magur in 2000. The central government had banned the transportation, breeding and sale of the invasive species the same year. However, the species continue to be cultivated for their adaptability, taste and high growth rates.

Notes:
After a lag of 5 years, the elections to the post of president of NRI Sabha Punjab is to be held. Only members of the NRI Sabha can vote in the election of the president. The NRI Sabha is an NGO controlled by the Punjab government. Any NRI can become its member by paying a fee of 10,500 INR. The body has about 23,000 members across the world. Only the members of the NRI Sabha have a right to contest in the elections. Participation in the voting is also reserved for the members. The upcoming elections have been due since 2017. The NRI Sabha was registered under the Societies Act in 1998. The president of the NRI Sabha does not have any legal authority. The office bearers of the Sabha also do not have legal authority. Their function is to take up issues concerning NRIs with ambassadors of different countries. They can also push for speeding up government works concerning NRIs.

Notes:
A Singapore based cybersecurity firm reported that 98% of credit card data being sold on the dark web are of Indian customers and highlighted the use of JS sniffers. JS sniffers or JavaScript sniffers are specialized malwares that are used by cybercriminals for stealing sensitive credit card information. A recent report by Singapore based Group IB highlighted the growing use of these softwares by cybercriminals. The stolen information is then being sold on the dark web.

Notes:
As of 2020, Vietnam is largest Cashew exporter of the world. That country mostly exports cheap Cashew to China and gives stiff competition to India. India mostly imports from African countries.

Notes:
India had threatened to boycott the Games after shooting and archery were initially dropped. However, final approval was recently given by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to include these sports. The Commonwealth archery and shooting championships will be held in Chandigarh in January 2022. Medals won will be added to the final tally of participating nations at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games to be held from July 27 to August 7 that year.

Notes:
Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to launch the unified vehicle registration card, CM Kamal Nath said in Bhopal on February 25, 2020. He also said that MP is only the second state to launch a unified driving license, after UP. The unified smart cards for driving license and vehicle registration will each have a QR code that will help in verifying authenticity of the data printed on the cards.

Notes:
A four-day ‘International Conference on Banana’ was recently organised by the National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB), an institution under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), in association with Bioversity International, during 22-25 February, 2020.
ICAR’s National Research Centre for Banana is based at Tiruchirappali, Tamil Nadu. The Conference is organised at Tiruchirappalli on the theme of ‘Innovations in sustainable production and value chain management in banana’.

Notes:
Sri Lanka recently notified the UN Human Right Council that it is to withdraw from the UN resolution on post-war accountability and reconciliation.
The UNHRC adopted a consensus resolution, asking Sri Lanka to probe allegations of human rights abuses in 2015, six years after the civil war with the Tamil separatists. The resolution was co-sponsored by Sri Lanka, which asked for an extension for two more years in 2017. Last year, the Council approved another two years for Sri Lanka to carry out a credible prob