Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2020

Notes:
The Prime Minister of Netherlands Mark Rutte was recently seen in news, as he made the country’s first apology for the persecution of Jews during the World War II.
He made this historic apology, first-of-its kind made by any government in this regard, during the country’s annual Holocaust commemoration in Amsterdam, on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz. More than 1.1 million Jews out of the 1.4 million who lived in Netherlands were killed in the Auschwitz concentration camp, at the outbreak of World War II.

Notes:
The 86-year-old veteran artist and sculptor Sher Singh Kukkal passed away after age-related illness in New Delhi recently.
Sher Singh Kukkal was a noted artist with a great experience in several branches of fine arts including drawing, painting, sculpture, printing and photography. He also taught arts at the Sainik School Satara. The artist had won several national and international awards including the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation Award and the Senior Fellowship in Visual Art Photography by Union Ministry of Culture during 2008-09.

Notes:
USA’s second seed Fabiano Caruana clinched the title of the ‘Tata Steel Masters chess tournament’ with a record-winning score of 10 points from 13 rounds. He was assured of the title even before the final round. Only Garry Kasparov (1999) and Magnus Carlsen (2013) have won the tournament by scoring 10 points since 1980.
Current World champion Magnus Carlsen finished second in the tournament. Indian Grand master and five-time Viswanathan Anand settled for the sixth place with 6.5 points from 13 rounds.

Notes:
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed annually on January 27 across the world. This year, the day is observed in memory of the victims of the Holocaust, under the theme “75 years after Auschwitz — Holocaust Education and Remembrance for Global Justice”.
The United Nations Department of Global Communications organized several events on 27 January to observe the day, including the 2020 United Nations Holocaust Memorial Ceremony. After the UN passed a resolution for the day in 2005, Holocaust Remembrance weeks were organized by the Holocaust and the United Nations Outreach Programme. Recently, the World Holocaust Forum was held in Jerusalem, Israel.

Notes:
Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh recently launched the version 3.0 of Bhuvan Panchayat web Portal, which will function with the help of satellite technology developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The project is aimed at providing geo-spatial services to assist the process of developing Gram Panchayats, undertaken by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. The integrated high-resolution satellite data will provide better visualisation and enable decentralised planning and monitoring of schemes at panchayat levels.

Notes:
Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot recently inaugurated the Composite Regional Centre (CRC) in the city of Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar.
The Composite Regional Centre is aimed at providing skill development, rehabilitation and empowerment of persons with disabilities in the local region. The centres are set under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to create infrastructure facilities and resources for persons with disabilities. In India, the CRCs are located in several other cities including Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna, Guwahati and Ahmedabad.

Notes:
The Indian Coast Guard has recently commissioned its ‘C-448’ high-speed boat at Mangaluru, Karnataka. The Chief Secretary of Karnataka attended the ceremony of commissioning the Coast Guard vessel.
C-448 is a water-jet-propelled interceptor vessel, which is set to be deployed in for patrolling and rescue operations off the coast of Mangaluru. The boat also comprises of world-class navigation and communication equipment systems, which helps in search operations and maritime surveillance.

Notes:
The 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela is set to be held from February 1 to 16, 2020, at Surajkund, Haryana. It is an annual flagship event organised by the state government of Haryana.
This year, Himachal Pradesh is selected as the theme state for the festival. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur attended the inaugural ceremony of the Mela. Various cultural programmes and exhibitions are arranged to promote the tourism of the state. This will enable the state to showcase its tourism potential and attract more people to the state.

Notes:
Gita Sabharwal of India has been recently appointed as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand, with the approval of the host country.
Gita Sabharwal was serving as the Peace-building and Development Adviser representing the United Nations, in Sri Lanka. The UN Resident Coordinators are the representatives of the UN Development system and leaders of the UN country teams. They also support to member countries in achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets.

Notes:
Maharashtra-based renowned rights activist and feminist, Vidya Bal recently passed away. She had been undertaking legal battles against social and gender inequalities throughout her life.
She was the founder of the social organisation ‘Nari Samata Manch’ which aimed at discussing and providing solutions to various problems of women. The centre mainly focussed on reclaiming the rights of rural women. She was also the editor of the progressive magazine ‘Miloon Saryajani’ and author of many literary works. She is well-known for demanding the entry of women in all temples.