Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

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The Data Privacy Day (DPD) is observed every year on January 28 to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. It is an effort to empower people to protect their privacy, control their digital footprint and escalate the protection of privacy and data as everyone’s priority.

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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.

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Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand has grabbed the first gold medal of the Khelo India School Games in 1500 metres at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on February 1, 2018. Tamil Nadu athletes won two of the six gold medals on the opening day of the games. The rest were shared between Uttarakhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. Anu Kumar is a past 800-metres silver medalist for India at the World School Games in France. In the girls category, C Chanthini of Kerala won the gold medal in 1500-metres run. Abhishek Singh of Uttar Pradesh won the Shot Put with an excellent throw of 18.73 metres while Praveen of Tamil Nadu won the triple jump in his sixth attempt with 15.22 metres. Haryana girl Pooja excelled in the Shot Put and won the gold with a best of 13.88 metres.

Notes:
The 32nd Surajkund International Crafts Mela 2018 has started at Faridabad, Haryana on February 2, 2018. The Mela is organized by the Surajkund Mela Authority and Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union Ministries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs. This year, Uttar Pradesh is the theme state and Kyrgyzstan is the Partner Nation. The 17-day cultural extravaganza will see a spectacular showcase of regional and international crafts, handlooms, traditions along with some mouth-watering multi-cuisine food for the visitors. Representing the ethos of rural India, the Mela celebrates the unique diversity of Indian traditions and culture. Around 20 countries & all the states of India will participate in the fair. The Surajkund Mela will continue till 18th of this month from 10.30 am-8.30 pm.

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:
The 2nd edition of the Nobel Prize Series – India 2018 was inaugurated in Panaji, Goa on February 1, 2018. The theme of Nobel Prize Series – India 2018 is “Science Impacts Lives”. The event is jointly organized by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, India along with the Government of Goa and Nobel Media AB. The purpose of the 2-day programme is to stimulate engagement in science, literature and peace through interactions with Nobel laureates. Such interactions include lectures, round table discussions and meetings between Nobel laureates and experts, teachers and students. The 1st edition of Nobel Prize Series-India was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in January 2017.

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The 2018 Kala Ghoda Arts festival has started at Cross Maidan in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 3 and will go on till February 11. It is in news recently because the Bombay High Court has refused permission for cultural events as part of the Kala Ghoda Festival at public properties free of cost and without imposing any conditions, which were granted by the Maharashtra government. The 2018 theme of the fest is “Hara Ghoda” to promote sustainable living, recycling and environment-friendliness. It is an open platform to discuss contemporary issues led by individuals from different disciples.

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The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed a project agreement with the World Bank (WB) for Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) on Ganga to enhance navigation on National Waterway-1 from Varanasi to Haldia. Beside this, the Government of India and the World Bank has also signed a $375 million loan agreement for JMVP. The signing of the pact comes after Union Cabinet approved the implementation of $800 million JMVP for capacity augmentation of navigation on River Ganga. The JMVP, which is expected to be completed by March 2023, is being implemented with the financial and technical support of the World Bank. The development and operations of the National Waterway-1 project will lead to direct employment generation to the tune of 46,000 and indirect employment of 84,000 in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. 

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The Assam Government has signed an MoU with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited to build a Twin Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati at a cost of Rs 1950 crore. The Twin Tower Trade centre has enacted a pro-active Act East Policy to elevate and harness the strengths of North-East India and reduce the isolation of the region by improving all round connectivity and civic infrastructure. This trade centre will generate once established and made operational, by connecting us with South East Nations and being a major trading hub thereby increasing economic interlinkages. The headquarters of NBCC is located in New Delhi.

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The World Cancer Day (WCD) is observed every year on 4th February to raise awareness about cancer, its treatment and to encourage methods of its prevention. The primary goal of the day is to reduce the illness and related deaths by 2020. The 2018 tagline “We can. I can” will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.