Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The Professor and Head of the Department of ENT and Head-neck surgery of AIIMS, Dr. Suresh Chandra Sharma has been appointed as the first Chairman of National Medical Commission (NMC). The appointment is approved for a tenure of three years or until the age of 70 years. Rakesh Kumar Vats is appointed as the new Secretary of NMC. The Medical Council of India (MCI) was dissolved and the National Medical Commission (NMC) was formed as the replacing body after the Union Cabinet approval, last year.

Notes:
The Community Policing wing of Kolkata Police conducts training programs named ‘Sukanya’ to teach self-defence to school girls. The third edition of the programme was recently inaugurated in the state of West Bengal. Under the scheme, training programs are to be conducted to the girls of hundred city-based schools and colleges, which come under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Police. West Bengal Women and Child Development and Social Welfare Department is the funding agency of the scheme.

Notes:
E-Commerce Giant Amazon recently partnered with the leading retailer, Future Group. By this partnership the Future Group would be allowed to access the online platform of Amazon and Amazon India will be designated as the authorised online store of the Future Retail Ltd (FRL) stores.
This agreement would also deepen the market presence of Amazon in India, while increasing the reach of the Future Group’s products. Big Bazaar is a famous subsidiary of Future Group.

Notes:
The Central Statistical Office recently released the first advance estimates of the Gross Domestic Product of India for 2019-2020. The CSO forecasted the GDP growth rate of India to be 5 % in the current fiscal year.
The CSO had earlier estimated the GDP growth of the previous fiscal to be 6.8%. The reason for the decrease in the growth rate is cited to the slowdown in manufacturing sector. The Reserve Bank of India also estimated 5% as the GDP growth rate for this fiscal.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani recently announced that a new centre for fostering innovation among the children would be set up in the state of Gujarat. It is named as the Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Centre.
The announcement was made during the Children Innovation Festival held at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. This festival was organised by the Gujarat University’s start up council, GUSEC in association with UNICEF. During the event, a letter of intent was also exchanged between the Gujarat University and UNICEF.

Notes:
The 31st edition of the International Kite Festival was inaugurated in Ahmedabad by the Chief Minister of Gujarat and the Governor of the state. Ahmedabad has been the official host of the festival since 1989.
Several kite makers and enthusiasts all over the world will participate in the festival to display and fly their kite creations. The festival is organised as a part of the ‘Uttarayan’ celebrations of the state of Gujarat. The festival is expected to boost the tourism sector of the state.

Notes:
Veteran Indian artist and painter Akbar Padamsee passed away recently. Akbar is considered as the fore runner of Modern Painting. He was also a Padma Bhushan awardee and a fellow of Lalit Kala Akademi.
Akbar had worked in Paris with another renowned artist S.H.Raza in his art studio ‘Atelier 17’. He had conducted various art exhibitions of his art creations both in India and in other countries. Besides being a painter, he was also a sculptor, photographer and film maker. He settled in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu during the later years of his life.

Notes:
Khurana shared the 1968 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with Marshall W. Nirenberg and Robert W. Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry the genetic code of the cell and control the cell’s synthesis of proteins. In 1972, he also created the first ever artificial gene.

Notes:
According to the India Meteorological Department’s (IMD’s) Statement on Climate of India During 2019 report, the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea was 400% higher than normal frequency because five out of eight cyclones affected Arabian Sea. These give cyclones were Vayu, Hikka, Kyarr, Maha and Pavan. This after the sea on India’s west coast normally undergoes only one cyclone annually — read a 400% rise. (India normally has five cyclones in total every year.) However, the Bay of Bengal — usually the more cyclone-prone coast of India — was relatively subdued in 2019 with three (Pabuk, Fani, Bulbul) instead of four cyclones that occur there annually on an average.

Notes:
As per statement of Lok Sabha Speaker, India will mark 75th anniversary of the country in 2022 and in same year parliament session will be held in the new building. The existing Parliament House Building has completed 92 glorious years after it was made functional in 1927.