Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The Vishakhapatnam railway station in Andhra Pradesh has been adjudged as the cleanest railway station among the 75 busiest stations in the country in category A1, followed by Secunderabad, Jammu Tawi, Vijayawada and Anand Vihar railway stations. This was revealed by Third Party Audit Report on Station Cleanliness i.e. released by Ministry of Railway in New Delhi on May 17, 2017. The railway stations are categorised — A1, A, B, C, D, E and F — based on their annual passenger revenue by the ministry. Among the ‘A’ category stations, Beas railway station in Punjab was rated the cleanest station followed by Khammam station in Telangana and Ahmednagar station in Maharashtra. Zone wise South-East Central railway has been ranked first followed by East Coast railway and Central Railway. The survey was carried out by the Quality Council of India (QCI) and was based on criteria such as toilets on platforms, management of tracks and dustbins.

Notes:
On 25-12-2017, India’s top 10 trade partners are China, USA, UAE, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, Indonesia and Singapore.

Notes:
Before April 2019, National Housing Bank (NHB) was a wholly-owned subsidiary of RBI. RBI sold its 100% equity to government in 2019 and now its owner is Government of India. This was done to end the cross-holding in the regulatory institutions as per the Narasimham-II committee report’s recommendations.

Notes:
22nd March is celebrated as the World Water Day. It is celebrated to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. A theme related to the focus is selected every year by the UN organizations. The theme for 2020 was “Water and Climate Change”.

Notes:
Kuno Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the state of Madhya Pradesh. In the year 2018, it received the status of national park. It was selected as a probable location to implement the Asiatic Lion Reintroduction Project, with an objective of establishing a second lion population in India.

Notes:
Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve became part of World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2016. ABR includes the Indian Ecoregions of South Western Ghats moist deciduous forests, South Western Ghats montane rain forests and Shola. It is the habitat for 2,000 varieties of medicinal plants, of which at least 50 are rare and endangered species. Rare animals include the tiger, Asian Elephant, and Nilgiri tahr. 

Notes:
Second option is the correct answer. The pollen seeds of this tree are said to cause respiratory problems.

Notes:
SwachhSwasthSarvatra is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. The scheme aims to achieve open defecation free India by 2019, and create a deep impact on the health outcome of the country. The three key components of SwachhSwasthSarvatra are:

• Community Health Centers (CHCs) in ODF blocks supported to achieve Kayakalp certification
• Gram Panchayat of Kayakalp Primary Health Centers prioritized to become ODF
• Training in WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) of CHC/PHC nominees

Notes:
The Luc Hoffman award is given in the field of environment. Dr. Dhrubajyoti Ghosh became the first Indian environmental activist to receive the Luc Hoffman award.

Notes:
The First International Agro biodiversity Congress– IAC 2016 was held at New Delhi. It consisted of 900 delegates from 60 countries, who encouraged a dialogue to better understand everyone’s role in agro biodiversity management and the conservation of genetic resources.