Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
Bollywood film-maker Zoya Akhter was presented the IIFTC Tourism Impact Award 2020, at the Asia’s largest film tourism event, 8th India International Film Tourism Conclave (IIFTC), held recently in Mumbai.
The Director was selected for her outstanding contribution to the world tourism through her films which were shot in Spain and Turkey.

Notes:
Amid the coronavirus pandemic scare, the Government of India recently allowed states and Union Territories to lift food-grains for three months in advance from Food Corporation of India (FCI) for distribution through ration shops.
There are about 75 crore beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS) in India. According to a recent government data, our country has surplus food-grains of 435 lakh tonnes, with 272.19 lakh tonnes of rice and 162.79 lakh tonnes of wheat

Notes:
Debut novelist Ruchika Tomar has been selected as the winner of the 2020 PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel ‘A Prayer for Travelers’.
PEN America was founded in 1922, in New York City. The prize is backed by the Hemingway family and the Ernest Hemingway Foundation. The PEN/Hemingway Award includes a $25,000 prize, which is proposed to allow significant time and resources to pursue a subsequent work of fiction.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet has recently approved the signing and ratification of an extradition treaty between India and Belgium.
This ratification will enable the two countries to repatriate any person who is accused or convicted in an extraditable offence. An offence punishable under the laws of both the countries with imprisonment for one year or more is called an extraditable offence. The treaty would give a legal framework for extradition of terrorists, economic offenders and other criminals from and to Belgium.

Notes:
Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik launched ‘Mo Jeeban’ programme and advised people to take a pledge for staying indoors to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
The Chief Minister asked people to take oaths of staying indoors and send him those videos. He also asked the people to paste a sticker on the gate of their houses to show their determination to follow this direction.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu recently announced the creation of a new district ‘Mayiladuthurai’, for administrative convenience, by bifurcating Nagapattinam district. This is the 38th district of the state.
Nagapattinam district is in the Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. Last year, the government announced five new districts. Amid coronavirus pandemic, the Chief Minister announced Rs 1,000 cash assistance for ration card holders to compensate for livelihood loss.

Notes:
During the International Olympic Committee’s session in Peru, Paris was selected as the host of 2024 Summer Olympics. It also simultaneously selected Los Angeles to host the games in 2028.
Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was scheduled for July 24-August 9, has been postponed and would be held before the summer of 2021, as per the recent announcement from the International Olympic Committee. Paris Olympics organisers notified that this delay will not affect the 2024 games.

Notes:
Scientists at Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, which is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, have developed a biofortified high-protein wheat variety MACS 4028.
The development of the crop was published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding. It is a semi-dwarf variety which exhibits a higher yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare. It is claimed to be resistant to several pests and diseases unlike the normal wheat varieties.

Notes:
The Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have recently found that glaciers in Sikkim are melting at a higher magnitude than other Himalayan regions. The Institute is an autonomous research institute for the study of Geology of the Himalayas, under the Department of Science and Technology.
The study, which has been published in Science of the Total Environment, revealed that glaciers in Sikkim have deglaciated at a higher magnitude from 1991 to 2015. They also revealed that small-sized glaciers in Sikkim are disappearing and larger glaciers are thinning due to climate change.

Notes:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a statutory authority which frames policy for the tax department. It is headed by a Chairperson and composed of six other members.
Recently, Indian Revenue Service officers Satish Kumar Gupta and Krishan Mohan Prasad have been appointed new members in the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). At present, apart from the Chairman P C Mody, there are three other serving members. After this appointment, there will be one more vacancy in the organisation.