Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The famous 11-day Dhanu Jatra, the annual drama-based open-air theatrical performance is conducted in and around the city of Bargarh in Western Odisha. It is based on mythological story of Lord Krishna and his Uncle, King Kansa. In November 2014, it was conferred with the National Festival Status.

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:
The United Nations called the Santiago river as Mexico’s most polluted waterway. According to the 2017 figures, less than a third of the country’s industrial wastewater is treated. Recently, Mexico has signed an expansive trade deal with the US and Canada in which it made an explicit promise to conserve its environment.

Notes:
The incumbent Chairman of Railway Board, Vinod Kumar Yadav recently assumed office as the Chairman after his reappointment has been approved by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet. He was appointed as the Chairman for the first term on January 2019. Recently the Cabinet approved the restructuring of the Railway board and the merger of several cadres in the administration. A new post of CEO was also created during the restructuring exercise.

Notes:
 D P Tripathi (Devisree Prasad Tripathi) was a senior political leader of Nationalist Congress Party and a former Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra. He also served as the General Secretary and chief spokesman of the Nationalist Congress Party. Though he was initially associated with the Congress (INC) party during his early life, he later moved to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). He was also an academic and the author of the journal titled “Think India”.

Notes:
A famous figure among the basketball Community David Stern passed away recently. He served as the Commissioner of National Basketball Association, NBA from 1984 to 2014. He also made a record of being the longest serving Commissioner of a major league. He played a crucial role in broadening the scope of NBA in the international arena and making it popular and successful.  The Women’s National Basketball Association was founded under his leadership.

Notes:
The 3rd installment of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM- KISAN) scheme was released by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi in Tumakuru, Karnataka. This latest installment is expected to benefit nearly six crore beneficiaries. The PM- KISAN scheme was launched by the Prime Minister on February 2019 to provide financial assistance of Rs.6000 per year to eligible farmers in three installments of Rs.2000 each. The payment of second installment began from April 2019.

Notes:
Veteran Theatre artist and Social Activist of Assam, Ratna Ojha passed away at Guwahati. He played an instrumental role in reviving the theatre play movement of the state. He had also actively participated and addressed demonstrations in several social issues of the country including those against Citizenship amendment act. For his great contribution towards the theatre art, he was honoured with the ‘Natasurya Award’ by the Assam Government.

Notes:
The Nankana Sahib Gurdwara is a highly revered gurdwara located in the city of Nankana Sahib near Lahore in Pakistan. The gurdwara is built at the place where the first Sikh Guru was believed to born and preached Sikhism. It is also called as the Janam Asthan Gurdwara. It is seen in news recently as there was a severe mob attack and vandalism in the Gurdwara.

Notes:
Drosophila is an insect, which is also called as small fruit fly. It belongs to the species of flies and the family of Drosophilidae. This fruit fly serves as the model organism for biological research all over the world.
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) is to organise the fifth edition of the Asia Pacific Drosophila Research Conference (APDRC5) in Pune. The five-day conference will commence from January 6, 2020.