Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

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:
The 19-year-old Table Tennis player of India, Manav Thakkar is in news as he reached the top position in the latest International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) rankings in Under-21 men’s single category. This coveted rank could be achieved after he won the Under-21 men’s singles title at the ITTF Challenge Plus North American Open last year. Manav is only the fourth Indian to become World No.1 in the ITTF rankings.

Notes:
The Raisina Dialogue is an annual joint conference organized since 2016, by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the leading think-tank Observer Research Foundation (ORF).  The conference hosts various global leaders from all sectors to discuss the challenges faced by the global community. The title of this year’s event is ‘Navigating the Alpha Century’ and will be held from January 14 to 16 in New Delhi. The Australian Prime Minister who was expected to be the key speaker cancelled his participation recently after severe bush fires in his country.

Notes:
Australia recently witnessed severe wild fires that killed nearly 25 people and destroyed several homes across the country. More than hundred bush fires were burning in New South Wales and they could not be controlled. Several million animals are also reported to be killed by the severity of bush fires. Scientists have cited Global warming to be the reason of this early and devastating wild fires.

Notes:
India has extended a line of credit (LOC) of $75 million through its Exim Bank to Cuba for financing solar parks. An MoU was signed between the Export- Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and the nominated agency of Cuban Government, Banco Exterior De Cuba last year. Based on the agreement, the Exim bank extends the finance, which is nearly Rs.500 Crores. With this credit, 75 MW Solar Parks are to be installed in Cuba in the next five years.

Notes:
The 17-year-old ace shooter of India, Saurabh Chaudhary clinched the men’s gold medal in 10-metre air pistol in the 63rd National shooting Championship, being held at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. Saurabh had earlier won the gold medal in Youth Olympics and Asian Games. Sarabjot Singh won the silver medal while Shiva Narwal bagged the bronze medal. Saurabh is also qualified to represent India in the Tokyo Olympics in Shooting (Air pistol category).

Notes:
Retired Indian Police Service Officer and Former Director General of CRPF, Rajiv Rai Bhatnagar was recently appointed as the advisor to the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Rajiv Rai retired from the Central Reserve Police Force in December 2019.He will serve as the third advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Girish Chandra Murmu. The other two advisors are retired IAS officer K K Sharma and retired IPS Officer Farooq Khan.

Notes:
The Director General of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) recently announced that the ‘Farmers’ Innovation Fund’ would be set by next financial year. The announcement was made during the Farmers’ Science Congress, the first of its kind event, organised as a part of the National Science Congress.
He announced that an innovation centre would be established in New Delhi, which would assist the farmers in their research and would authenticate the innovations of the farmers. At present, the Krishi Vigyan Kendras record the innovations of farmers.

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:
For the first time in the state, the Kerala State Youth Commission has announced that it would conduct a state-level Adalat for LGBT community. The programme would be held at the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram.
The main objective of the Adalat is to encourage the transgender community to come out with their grievances and to make arrangements for redressal of the issues. The Government of Kerala had introduced a Transgender policy in 2015 and it has a dedicated ‘Transgender Cell’ working under the state’s Social Justice Department.