Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2020

Notes:
India’s first floating jetty has been inaugurated in Panaji, Goa on the banks of Mandovi River. The jetty is located in the premises of the state port department.
The jetty, which is made of cement concrete, can be built in a short time. Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the jetty as well as the immigration facility at a cruise terminal in Mormugao Port.

Notes:
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai recently announced the launch of an exclusive terminal for processing and storage of agro and pharma products.
The airport is operated by GVK led consortium and Airports Authority of India. The terminal can hold over 700 tonnes of cargo at one time and is claimed as the largest airport-based temperature-controlled facility in the world.

Notes:
As per the survey conducted by Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN), Delhi topped the seven metro cities in added-fat consumption levels.
At 44.4 gram per person daily, Delhi is in the top closely followed by Ahmedabad. The survey also revealed that men consume more fat than women. The survey is conducted across seven cities namely Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Notes:
The 15th Finance Commission has established a high level expert group for looking into agricultural exports. The committee is to be headed by ITC Chairman and is to submit its report in 3 months. The Sanjiv Puri Expert Group was set up to look into ways of improving agriculture exports. To encourage exports, the panel is to come up with measurable performance incentives for states, look at import substitution opportunities, increase farm productivity, value addition, waste reduction, improve logistics infrastructure etc.

Notes:
Scientists have discovered a new soil bacteria, Paraburkholderia madseniana sp., that may help in controlling soil pollution and fight climate change. P. madseniana is a bacteria discovered by researchers at the Cornell University. It is a ‘phenolic acid degrading bacterium’ noted for its ability to significantly breakdown of organic matter, including those that are carcinogenic. Its role in the carbon cycle has attracted attention for its use in fighting climate change. P. madseniana is a soil bacteria that was discovered in acidic forest soil. The genus to which the bacteria belongs is known for their ability to form root nodules, fix nitrogen in the soil and also break down aromatic compounds. The new species has been found to degrade organic matter like those based on phenolic acids. They can degrade cancer causing compounds that are released by burning of oil, gas, coal and other refuse. They can breakdown a soil contaminant called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

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:
The Great Backyard Bird count exercise was recently carried out by the Wildlife Conservation and Birds Club of Ladakh. During the exercise, two new bird species namely ‘Red Throated Thrush and Plumbeous Water Redstart’ have been found for the first time in Ladakh Region.
Bird and wildlife experts have counted and recorded a total of 87 different species of birds in Ladakh.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that geo imaging satellite, GISAT-1 will be launched on March 5.
The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F10) will launch the satellite from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The 2275-kg world-class earth observation satellite GISAT-1 will be placed in the geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Notes:
Indian-origin minister Suella Braverman recently sworn in as the Attorney General of the United Kingdom. She was appointed by the new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, after he reshuffled his cabinet.
Suella is only the second female to be appointed in the crucial role and she is also the first female Attorney General to be appointed by a Conservative Party government.

Notes:
Maria Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former WTA World No.1 has recently announced her retirement from professional Tennis.
The 32-year-old Tennis icon from Russia has won 36 WTA titles and held WTA World No.1 rank for continuous 21 weeks. She won her first Grand Slam at the age of 17, when she won the Wimbledon title in 2004. She had also won her Career Grand Slam.