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:
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:
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:
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. 

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Sudeep Lakhtakia, the 1984-batch IPS officer of the Telangana cadre, has taken charge as the new Director General of the ‘black cats commando’ force National Security Guard (NSG). DG of National Security Guard (NSG) and will hold the post till July 2019. He succeeded S P Singh, who retires on January 31, 2018. Prior to this post, Lakhtakia was serving as a Special Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters in New Delhi. The NSG was raised as the federal contingency force to counter terrorists and hijack-like incidents in 1984. It is under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).

Notes:
The 9-member committee, headed by former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, was constituted by the Union HRD Ministry to draft new National Education Policy (NEP) on June 2017. The committee will submit its report by March 31, 2018. After that, the HRD Ministry will deliberate on the report and thereafter suggestions of the committee will be presented to the Union Cabinet for its approval. The committee also includes former IAS officer KJ Alphonse and Ram Shanker Kureel, who has a wide experience in the field of agricultural sciences and management. The committee has been appointed keeping in mind that the members bring expertise related to the diverse areas of education. Significantly, the panel also reflects the diversity of the country as the members belong to different sections as well as regions. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992.

Notes:
The Central Government has announced a Rs 1.4 lakh-crore KUSUM Scheme to promote decentralised solar power production of up to 28,250 MW to help farmers. The acronym KUSUM stands for “Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthaan Maha Abhiyaan”. In the Union Budget 2018-19, the Centre has allocated Rs 48,000 crore on the 10-year KUSUM scheme. The scheme would provide an extra income to farmers by giving them an option to sell additional power to the grid through solar power projects set up on their barren lands. It would help in de-dieselising the sector as also the DISCOMS. Under the scheme, the Central Government will provide subsidy to farmers on setting up of solar power plants on their barren land. The 60% subsidy on the solar pumps provided to farmers will be shared between the Centre and the States while 30% would be provided through bank loans. The balance cost has to be borne by the farmers. As a result, Kusum Scheme will solarize agricultural pump sets to double the income of farmers by 2022.

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.

Notes:
The Maharashtra Government has recently approved Ghodazari Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandrapur district as a new wildlife sanctuary in the state. The decision was taken at the 13th meeting of the Maharashtra State Board for Wildlife, chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The sanctuary, in the North East of Tadoba, will include 159 sq km of Brahmapuri forest. This will not only save the forest but will also improve tourism in nearly 40 villages in the area.