Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
Neelam Kapoor, a 1982 batch officer of the Indian Information Service (IIS), has been appointed as the new director general of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). At present, she is the Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved her appointment to the post till her superannuation, i.e. July 31, 2019. Kapoor was also the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau in the UPA government. As PIB chief, she was in-charge of information officers attached to every central government ministry.

Notes:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES) , has launched a 2.8 Peta Flops capacity High Performance Computer (HPC) system ‘Mihir’ in Noida to improve India’s weather forecasting. The new HPC facility is expected to improve weather forecasts at the block level across India, predict extreme weather events, and offer high resolution seasonal and extended range forecasts of active/break spells of the monsoon. The facility will also make possible very high resolution coupled models for prediction of cyclones with more accuracy and lead time. The new system will be India’s largest HPC facility in terms of peak capacity and performance and will propel India’s ranking from the 368th position to the 30th in the list of top 500 HPC facilities in the world.

Notes:
India has been ranked 42nd out of 165 countries at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s annual Global Democracy Index due to rise of conservative religious ideologies and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices. This year’s report which also measured the state of media freedom around the world noted that in India, media is ‘partially free’. Moreover, journalists are at risk from government, military and non-state actors and radical groups, and the threat of violence has a chilling effect on media coverage. The EIU is the research and analysis division of the UK-based media behemoth “The Economist Group”. The list is topped by Norway, Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Denmark. The index ranks 165 independent states and two territories on the basis of five categories: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, the functioning of government, political participation and political culture.

Notes:
In Boxing, five-time world champion Mary Kom has clinched gold in the 48 kilogram category among women at the 2018 India Open boxing Tournament in New Delhi . She won against Filipino Josie Gabuco in the final by 4-1. In 64 kilogram category, Pwilao Basumatary was the first among the women to fetch a gold. The former world and Asian bronze medalist claimed a 3-2 win over Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee. In the men’s draw, Sanjeet picked up India’s first gold of the day in 91 kilogram class when he upstaged Uzbekistan’s Sanjar Tursunov.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
India has won the 12th edition of ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 after thrashing Australia in the final by eight wickets at bay oval at Mount Maunganui in New Zealand on February 3. With this win, India has lifted the ICC Under-19 World Cup for the record fourth time. India’s star batsman Manjot Kalra led his team to the victory as he made brilliant unbeaten century riding on 8 fours and 3 sixes. He was adjudged Man of the Match and Shubman Gill Man of the Series.

Notes:
The Department of Defence Production (DDP) has constituted the multi-stakeholder task force task force to study use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in military. The 17-member task force will be headed by Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran. The task force will study the whole gamut of issues surrounding strategic implications of AI in national security perspective.

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:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, has launched people-oriented campaign “Green Good Deeds” to sensitize the people and students, in particular, about climate change and global warming. Referring to the crucial role played by “Polio Sainiks” for Pulse Polio campaign, Dr Vardhan has underlined the need for “Green Sainiks” to broad-base the Green Good Deeds movement and to take it down to the grassroots level successfully. The Environment ministry has also appealed to the teaching community to join the campaign to make people aware about the cause of the campaign.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh has launched massive door to door campaign DASTAK in association with UNICEF to eradicate deadly Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) and Japanise Encephalitis (JE) disease in the state. The war cry of DASTAK is Darwaja khatkhatao, AES aur JE ko bhagao. In DASTAK campaign, the whole state machinery with the help of UNICEF will now literally go door to door in 38 JES and AE affected districts which mostly fall in the Tarai region of the state which contributes to about 60% of the total AES cases all over the country. In this massive campaign, many departments of the state especially health, rural development, primary education will work together to spread awareness about the diseases through mass media communication, provide clean drinking water, initiate sanitation drive, ensure vaccination and early treatment so that disease should be nipped in the bud. Children of 600 schools in the affected areas will also be part of this campaign.