Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
Didier Lockwood (62), the noted French jazz violinist, has passed away in Paris on February 18, 2018. He was known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation on different sounds on the electric violin. Lockwood was a disciple of the late Stephane Grappelli.

Notes:
The World Day of Social Justice is observed every year on February 20 to recognize the need to promote efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, exclusion and unemployment. It is an opportunity to recognize social and economic injustices in the world — and to find ways to help those affected. The day aims to break down the barriers created by gender, class, race, sexuality and religion to create a world that promotes health, opportunity and justice for all. The 2018 theme is “Workers on the Move: the Quest for Social Justice”.

Notes:
The National conference on “Agriculture 2022- Doubling Farmers’ Income” has started at National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC) in New Delhi on February 19, 2018. It is organized by the Union Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW). The 2-day conference is organized with a view to identifying various critical issues relating to agriculture and farmers’ welfare and finding appropriate solutions. The main aim of the conference is to build a consensus around appropriate recommendations that will help in shaping the vision of the government. The participants of conference comprising farmers, farmers’ associations, scientists, economists, trade industry, NGOs and policymakers. In the Budget 2018, the government has proposed fixing of the minimum support price of Kharif crops at least 1.5 times over the cost of production.

Notes:
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has recently constituted a four-member Empowered Expert Committee (EEC), which is being entrusted to conduct the appraisal of applications for short listing 20 Institutions of Eminence. N Gopalaswami, former Chief Election Commissioner of India is the Chairperson of the committee. The government is likely to announce the names of the selected institutions by April 2018. The committee was constituted by the UGC after the approval of the central government, as per the UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulation, 2017, and UGC (Declaration of Government Educational Institutions as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines, 2017.

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval to the construction of 4.531 km long 2-Lane Bi-Directional Silkyara Bend-Barkot Tunnel in Uttarakhand as part of ‘Chardham Mahamarg Pariyojana’. The tunnel will have escape passage including approaches on Dharasu -Yamunotri section between Chainage 25.400 Km. and Chainage 51.000 Km. The project will be falling along NH-134 (old NH-94) in the State of Uttarakhand and will be built under Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Mode. This is funded under NH (O) Scheme of Ministry of RT&H and forms part of ambitious Chardham Plan. The construction period of the project is 4 years.

Notes:
India has been ranked 81st out of 180 countries in the global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2017, released by Transparency International (TI), which named the country among the “worst offenders” in terms of graft and press freedom in the Asia Pacific region. In 2016 India was in the 79th place among 176 countries. The index, which measures perception of corruption in the public sector, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. India’s score remained intact at 40 points in both 2016 and 2017. This year, New Zealand and Denmark scored the highest scores with 89 and 88 out of 100, respectively. Somalia was found to be the most corrupt country in the world. The 2017 index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.

Notes:
The Kerala government has recently made vaccination compulsory for school admissions to Class 1 from the 2018-’19 academic year. Parents will have to show details of immunization shots given to children during enrolment in school. The health minister of Kerala KK Shailaja has released the new health policy draft. The move comes in the wake of stiff opposition from certain communities against the vaccination drive. Other provisions of the new policy include a standard treatment guideline for all hospitals, including private institutions, and transgender clinics at all district hospitals. An antibiotic guidelines committee will also be formed to prepare a policy for antibiotics. The purpose of the new health draft policy is to reduce maternal mortality rate from 66 per lakh to 30 per lakh in the short term, and infant mortality from 12 per lakh to eight. It aims to reduce neonatal mortality from seven per lakh to five. The draft envisages a new Kerala Public Health Act to cover all issues in the health sector.

Notes:
The Khadi and Village Industries Board of Uttar Pradesh has signed a pact with Amazon India to facilitate online selling of Khadi products. As part of an MoU, Amazon India will educate, train and enable rural khadi artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon.in customers across the country under the brand of UP Khadi. The portfolio online will include products such as khadi shirts, kurtas, dhotis, towels and gourmet food which has a tremendous potential and demand in urban areas.

Notes:
The Telangana Government has signed a technology partnership agreement with the Taiwanese city of Taoyuan to facilitate learning and knowledge sharing in emerging technologies and their implementation at the World Congress on Information Technology (WCIT) 2018 in Hyderabad on February 21. Taoyuan is a hub for firms working in new-age technologies such as robotics and IoT (Internet of Things). Therefore, the partnership would promote knowledge sharing between various entities. It would provide insights into implementation of IoT, robotics and other emerging technologies, including VR/AR in governance and for offering government-to-citizen services. The WCIT, which was conducted in India for the first time, was a grand success with about 2,500 delegates attending it.

Notes:
The Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station (CSTPS) is located in Chandrapur district of Maharashtra. With the total capacity of 3340MW, the plant is largest power plant in the Maharashtra. It accounts for more than 25% of total Maharashtra needs. The plant gets water supply from Erai Dam when in normal conditions.