Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
Academy award winning American actress Renee Zellweger won the ‘Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama’ award in the Golden Globe awards 2020. With this year’s award, Zellweger has been presented with the coveted Golden Globe awards for the fourth time. In the biopic film ‘Judy’, she had played the critically acclaimed role of Judy Garland. She had earlier won the Academy award for best supporting actress for her role in the movie titled ‘Cold Mountain’.

Notes:
The ‘Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman’ award was instituted in June 2019, to recognise the contribution of media in spreading Yoga. The first edition of the award is to be conferred to 30 media houses, by the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. The awards will be presented in three categories, namely ‘Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Newspapers’, ‘Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Television’ and ‘Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Radio’.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Bihar launched the climate change initiative called ‘Jal- Jiwan- Hariyali’ scheme in the state recently. Under the scheme, various awareness programs about climate change and importance of water conservation are conducted across the state.
The Chief Minister, Nithish Kumar recently launched schemes worth more than Rs.700 Crores in the ‘Jagruta Sammelan’, organised as a part of the ‘Jal-Jiwan-Hariyali’ mission. The state has also planned to organise a human chain movement across the state for spreading awareness on climate change.

Notes:
The Government of Puerto Rico recently declared a state of emergency, after it was hit by a deadly earthquake. The 6.4 magnitude quake was the strongest and the most devastating earthquake, the country has ever had for hundred years.
Puerto Rico is a group of islands located in the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the unincorporated territories of the United States. The capital city and the largest city of the country is San Juan.

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:
The Father of Green Revolution Dr M S Swaminathan is chosen as the recipient of ‘Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu National Award for Excellence’. This award is instituted by the Muppavarapu Foundation based at Hyderabad. Eminent Agricultural Scientist and plant geneticist, M.S. Swaminathan is awarded for his contributions towards the field of agriculture.
This award was presented during the 10th Anniversary Celebrations of Muppavarapu Foundation in Hyderabad by the Vice President of India, Venkiah Naidu.

Notes:
The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently released the first in-depth review of India’s energy policies in collaboration with the Indian think tank NITI Aayog. The report was launched at the Head Quarters of NITI Aayog, New Delhi.
India was made as the association member of the Paris-based global energy organisation, International Energy Agency (IEA) on March 2017 and this is the first review after that. The report highlighted the growth of renewable energy sector in India, which is nearly 23% of the country’s total installed capacity now.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India recently attended the 150th celebration of the historic Kolkata Port Trust. During the event, he announced that Kolkata Port Trust would be renamed to ‘Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Port’.
The Prime Minister also released a Commemorative Stamp to mark 150 years of the Kolkata port trust. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was the founder of Bharathiya Jana Sangh, following which the Bharathiya Janata Party was formed.

Notes:
Top professional golfer of Australia, Wade Ormsby recently clinched the Hong Kong Open title for the second time in last three years. Another ace golfer and British Open champion Shane Lowry finished the tour in the second place. The tournament was held in Hanling, Hong Kong.
Ormsby is a 39-year-old golfer, who had earlier won the Hong Kong Open title in 2017, which was his maiden European Tour victory. By this victory, Ormsby is only the second wire-to-wire winner of this tour.

Notes:
According to the second wetland bird count conducted by the officials of the Kaziranga National Park and avian specialists, ithe park recorded 96 species of wetland birds. This count is one of the highest among the other national parks with birdlife.
Kaziranga National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the state of Assam. It has the world’s largest population of Indian rhinoceros also called as the one-horned rhinoceros. Several migratory birds visit the park attracting many tourists.