Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister had unveiled a Rs. 102 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline. To create a road map for the national infrastructure pipeline from 2019-2020 to 2024-25, finance ministry had set up a task force. It is to be headed by the Economic Affairs Secretary.

Notes:
The light utility aircraft Dornier was recently inducted into the No.41 “Otters” Squadron during a ceremony at the Palam Air Force Station. the Dornier-228 aircraft is a multi-purpose, fuel efficient, rugged, lightweight twin turboprop aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear.

Notes:
These terms were mentioned in the news recently to indicate the different the cricket bats used. “The Camel” bat was recently used by Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan. Mangoose, Kaboom and Aluminium are some of the other names used to describe different cricket bats.

Notes:
Tony Whitten was a British conservationist who documented biodiversity in Asia before he died due to cycling crash. A prize fund was set up in his name after his death. One of the recent winners of this prize named a snail in Indonesia after him. These species live in a limestone habitat and are threatened due to quarrying for the cement industry.

Notes:
The US Congress has demanded the Department of energy to investigate the concrete dome full of nuclear wastes due to the threat posed by the rising sea levels in the Marshall Islands. The Runit Dome holds tonnes of radioactive wastes from dozens of US atomic bomb tests that were carried out during the Cold War.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a ₹102 lakh crore national infrastructure pipeline. The Ministry of Finance had set up a committee headed by Atanu Chakraborty to prepare a road map for the the ₹100 lakh crore ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline’ (NIP) from 2019-20 to 2024-25. In the plan which involves spending in various sectors, the central government and state governments would have an equal share of 39% each and the private sector would have 22% share.

Notes:
The 28th edition of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2020 is to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from January 4 to 12, 2020. To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the theme of the fair is chosen as, ‘Gandhi: The Writers’ Writer’. Union Human Resources Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will inaugurate the annual fair, which is organised by the National Book Trust (NBT). The Chief Guest of the inaugural event is Gandhian scholar Girishwar Mishra.  

Notes:
The ancient ritualistic festival observed by the people of ‘Meiti’ community of Manipur is recently celebrated in the capital city of Tripura, Agartala. Department of Information and Cultural Affairs of the Tripura state Government jointly organised this festival along with the cultural committees of the state. The festival is celebrated for five days, hosting many cultural events that include folk dance, oral literature and music.

Notes:
The second tallest statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the world is recently unveiled at Ahmedabad, Gujarat by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani. This 50 feet tall bronze statue is the second tallest statue of Patel only after the ‘Statue of Unity’, located in the Narmada district of Gujarat. Ram Vanji Sutar, the famous sculptor and designer who designed the 182 feet tall statue of unity has also designed this statue.

Notes:
The World Braille Day is celebrated across the world on the 4th day of January. The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in November 2018, to announce January 4 as World Braille Day. Following the proclamation, the day has been observed since 2019. According to the  World Health Organization, there are 36 million blind people and 216 million people with moderate to severe visual impairment. Invented by Louis Braille, Braille is a representation of letters and number using six dots, which could be interpreted by the visually impaired.