Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:

• Flora Duffy is a Bermudian triathlete and Olympic gold medalist.
• She won a gold medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
• This is Bermuda’s first gold medal in Olympic history.

Notes:

• Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) won the gold medal in the men’s marathon event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
• Abdi Nageeye (Netherlands) won the silver.
• Bashir Abdi (Belgium) won the bronze.

Notes:
In 2019s budget, the state announced also a Krishak Bandhu scheme, its own version of the federal PM-Kisan cash transfer scheme, which offers ?5,000 a year to 7.2 million farmers and landless share-croppers.

Notes:
As of July 2021, there are a total of 1,154 World Heritage Sites located in 167 States Parties (countries that have adhered to the World Heritage Convention). India has the sixth largest number of sites in the world, while Italy sits at No 1 (with 58 sites) and four countries are at the bottom with 10 sites each (Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, South Africa).

Notes:
Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Gramin is a rural housing scheme that aims to achieve the target of housing for all by 2022. It is a new form of Indira Awas Yojana. Under the scheme, all homeless and dilapidated households are provided financial assistance for the construction of pucca houses.

Notes:
As per the 65th Round NSS Survey, Maharashtra was the leading state in terms of the number of slums with 17019 slums in the state. Andhra Pradesh came second, while West Bengal came third. In terms of the number of cities having a Slum Population of 50,000 and above, Andhra Pradesh with 36 cities came first, followed by Maharashtra.

Notes:
The research wing of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has discovered a rare carnivorous plant species named Utricularia Furcellata in the Uttarakhand’s Mandal Valley last year. This discovery is significant as this plant is found for the first time in western Himalayan region. The plant belongs to the genus bladderworts. It uses complicated and well-developed plant structures to trap targets ranging from protozoa to insects, mosquito larvae and tadpoles. It uses the mechanical process of creating a vacuum or negative pressure area to attract preys into the trap door.

Notes:
CEDAMIA maintains a comprehensive list of global jurisdictions that have declared a climate emergency. The UK was the first nation to do so, aiming for net greenhouse gas emissions elimination by 2050. Ireland followed as the second country to declare a climate emergency. Bangladesh’s Parliament declared a “Planetary Emergency” on November 13, 2019, and the Maldives Parliament declared a climate emergency on February 12, 2020.

Notes:
Surat has been recognized for its excellent public transport system and innovative pandemic response. Kochi is noted for its sustainable transport initiatives, including the Kochi Open Mobility Network and Water Metro. Delhi received awards for its non-motorized transport system, particularly the Chandni Chowk redevelopment, and for its Metro passenger service. Nagpur’s multi-modal integration with Metro rail has also been acknowledged as the best in the country.

Notes:

• The Geographical Indications Registry has received an application from the Tribal Development Council, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, seeking the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Nicobari Hodi craft. This is the first application from the Union Territory seeking a tag for one of its products.
• Nicobari Hodi is a traditional craft canoe made using locally available trees for transporting people and goods and for racing purposes.