Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
China has remained the world’s largest steel producer in 2017 by producing 831.7 million tonnes (MT), according to a latest report published by World Steel Association (WSA). Japan has acquired 2nd position while India overtook the US to become the world’s 3rd largest steel producer. India’s crude steel production grew by 6.2% to 101.4 MT in 2017 compared to 95.5 MT in 2016. The Global steel production reached 1,691.2 MT for the year 2017, up by 5.3% compared to 2016 when the output was 1,606.3 MT. The WSA is one of the largest industry associations in the world. Its members represent approximately 85% of the world’s steel production, including over 160 steel producers with 9 of the 10 largest steel companies, national and regional steel industry associations, and steel research institutes.

Notes:
The Odisha government has bagged the Geospatial World Excellence Award- 2018 for successful IT application for tracking of mineral production, dispatch and value accrued on real time basis through its i3MS website based software. The award was given by Y.S. Chowdray, the Union Minister of State Science & Technology, in the Geospatial World Forum Meeting held at Hyderabad. The GPS linked web based software “i3MS” has been designed by the scientists of Odisha Space Application Center (ORSAC), Bhubaneswar. About 3,000 geospatial experts from 90 different countries attended the event.

Notes:
Shesh Anand Madhukar, the eminent Magahi writer & scholar, has been honoured with the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Bhasha Samman award at Sahitya Akademi Auditorium, New Delhi. The award consists of Rs 1 lakh cheque and a memento. Madhukar is the 2nd writer of Magahi language to be given the award. He has been working extensively for the development of the language. In his long and illustrious career, he has a large body of work to his credit in both Magahi and Hindi. Some of his important works in Hindi are “Magahi Kavita Ke Bimb”, “Eklavya”, and “Bhagwan Birsa”. In Magahi, his well-acclaimed works are “Eklavya” and “Magahi Bhulachal Hey”. Currently, Sahitya Akademi honours writers from 24 regional languages, but Bhasha Samman identifies those languages which are equally spoken in different parts of the country. The award is an attempt to make the writers of other languages feels equally important.

Notes:
B A Chopade has been appointed the new vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). He is at present the vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University. President Ram Nath Kovind, who is the Visitor to the university, approved Chopade’s appointment recently. The post was lying vacant after Girish Chandra Tripathi went on leave following the ruckus on campus in September 2017. Chopade will take charge from BHU Registrar Neeraj Tripathi, who had been holding the additional charge of the top post since October 2017.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the world’s longest zip Line “Jebel Jais Flight ” in Ras al-Khaimah. The 2.83km zip line allows thrill seekers to jump from the peak off the UAE’s highest mountain “Jebel Jais”. The Jebel Jais Flight zip line launches from 1,680m above sea level, at the peak of the Jebel Jais Mountain. Ras al-Khaimah currently gets 1 million tourist visitors a year and aims to drive 100,000 of them to use the zip line. It was recently awarded the Guinness World Record for world’s longest zip line.

Notes:
The first-ever International Kala Mela has been inaugurated by the Vice President of India M. Venkaiah Naidu at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. The aim of the event is to focus on direct interaction between the artist and the connoisseur and also educating and raising awareness about art. The Art Festival, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, will continue till the 18th of this month wherein artists and groups will showcase their work. More than 800 artists from all over the country are expected to participate in the event. Many Embassies and Cultural Centres will also take part. Some the countries taking part in the event are China, Venezuela, Portugal, Sri Lanka, Poland, Mexico, Bangladesh, France, United Kingdom, Spain and Brazil. There are around 325 stalls for Indian artists and organisations including International representations.

Notes:
The unique, first-of-its-kind, floating market has come up in Patuli in Kolkata, West Bengal. The market is similar to the ones on Dal Lake in Srinagar and in Bangkok. The project is being implemented by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA). There are 228 stalls, set up on 114 boats, with zone-wise demarcations for fish, meat, vegetables, grocery, etc. Wooden ramps have been constructed, over which people will walk to reach the boat of their choice. Modern technology is being adopted to ensure proper oxidation of the water and thus maintain ecological balance. The surrounding path beside the water body, a canal, on which the market is being set up, is being decked up with paver blocks. The market will be run through a cooperative. The prices will be similar to those in normal markets.

Notes:
Zhang Beiwen, a professional badminton player from America, has won the 4th edition of India Open Badminton tournament 2018 in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. In the final, she defeated Olympics and World Championships Silver medalist PV Sindhu by 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 at Siri Fort Indoor Stadium. It was the fifth meeting between Sindhu and Zhang and the head-to-head record now is 3-2 with Sindhu losing this match.

Notes:
Eminent molecular biologist Professor Michael N Hall of the Biozentrum University of Basel, Switzerland, has been chosen for the 2018 Genome Valley Excellence Award for his pioneering work in discovering the nutrient-activated TOR (Target of Rapamycin) proteins and their central role in the metabolic control of cell growth. The award will be presented to him during BioAsia 2018, an annual flagship event of the Telangana government. The award, instituted in 2004, was in recognition of the transformative advances toward biomedical research and facilitating improvement in human life and was chosen by an international advisory board consisting of eminent personalities of the life sciences industry.

Notes:
Google has launched new online security campaign #SecurityCheckKiya in India to promote security awareness among general public. The purpose of the campaign is to protect young and first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal data if they lose their device. Under the campaign, Google recommended three simple steps for Internet safety. It includes reviewing security settings and Google account activity. Furthermore, ‘Google Play Protect’ service scans and checks Android devices for any harmful apps. Find My Device app from Google helps a user to easily long away.