GK & Current Affairs Quiz: February 27, 2018

Notes:
The high-level committee for Central Assistance Chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has approved financial assistance of Rs 1711 crore for Bihar which was affected by floods in 2017. The committee also approved assistance of Rs 1055 crore for Gujarat which was also affected by floods. Apart from this, Rs 838 crore have been sanctioned for West Bengal and Rs 420 crore each have been sanctioned for Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which were also affected by floods. Tamil Nadu will receive Rs 133 crore and Kerala will receive Rs 169 crore which were affected by cyclone Ockhi. Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh will get Rs 836 crore and Rs 396 crore. The two states were affected by Kharif drought in 2017.

Notes:
Kanakalata Mohanty (82), the noted Odia author, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha  on February 26, 2018. She has written several novels, including ‘Ete Andhara’, ‘Kete Jwala’ and ‘Anuradha’, and more than 100 short stories. She was also recognized by All India Radio (AIR) as a noted lyricist, particularly for her devotional songs on Lord Jagannath.

Notes:
Sagar Chaya Vanchar, director of Marathi film ‘Redu’ (Radio), has bagged the prestigious Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debutant director of 2017, instituted in memory of iconic Malayalam filmmaker late G Aravindan. The award, comprising a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a memento and a citation, is instituted by the Chalachitra Film Society. The expert panel observed that Vanchari’s film expresses the ripples and changes that resulted in the life of a rural Konkan village during the seventies after the arrival of a radio in the hamlet. The award will be presented on March 15, 2018, on the 27th death anniversary of Aravindan.

Notes:
The 15th Edition of BioAsia conference 2018 was held in Hyderabad with theme “Right Time, Right Now” from February 22-24. It is the annual flagship life sciences and pharmaceuticals conference of the Telangana Government. About 1500 delegates from 55 countries participated in the 3-day conference with focus on strategies to take on the rapid phase of change, ways to develop new models for distribution and healthcare delivery, among others. In it, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the International Partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner states for this event.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu government has tied up with Microsoft to accelerate cloud technology adoption. The partnership aims to reform education sector, build tech capacity and enhance digital literacy across all levels. As a part of the agreement, Microsoft will adopt 7 schools identified by the government and train their teachers and students around building 21st century skills which includes critical thinking, creative coding and gaming, app development, robotics, and entrepreneurship. It will also offer its Microsoft Innovative Educator Program to all educators in primary, secondary, vocational and tertiary education across the state. Additionally, the company will train and provide a digital literacy certification District Education Officers (DEOs) in Tamil Nadu. 

Notes:
The 7th meeting of Eminent Persons Group (EPG) on Nepal-India relations was held in Kathmandu, Nepal on February 25, 2018. The various bilateral issues including 1950 Peace and Friendship treaty, trade, environment, border and hydropower were discussed during the two-day meeting. EPG is a joint mechanism consisting experts and intellectuals from India and Nepal. It was set up in February 2016 to provide suggestions for updating all existing bilateral treaties and agreements between both the countries. The 8th meeting of the group will be held in New Delhi.

Notes:
Uma Bharti, the Union Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation, has launched the 2nd project of Swajal Yojana at village Bhikampura, Karauli, Rajasthan with a budget of more than Rs 54.17 lakh. Besides ensuring the availability of clean drinking water to every household round the year, the project would also generate employment. Swajal is a community owned drinking water programme for sustained drinking water supply. Under the scheme, 90% of the project cost will be taken care by the Government and the remaining 10% of the project cost will be contributed by the community. The Operations and management of the project will be taken care by the local villagers.

Notes:
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed a MoU with the Regional Center for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT) of Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) for designating Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow (CSIR-CIMAP) as Coordinating Center on Medicinal Plants. The IORA Center at CSIR-CIMAP will establish a database on the important medicinal plants, their value added products, related experts and industries of the IORA member states and organize meetings and training programmes to promote trade, commerce and scientific exchanges to complement the strength and limitation of the member states. The IORA is an association of 21 countries and 7 dialogue partners which have identified 6 areas of cooperation including medicinal plants.

Notes:
Dr. Satya Pal Singh, the Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development (Higher Education), led the Indian delegation at the 20th Conference of the Commonwealth Education Ministers (20CCEM) in Nadi, Fiji during 19-23 February 2018. The theme of the Conference was “Sustainability and Resilience: Can Education Deliver?” The purpose of the conference is to discuss solutions to some of the Commonwealth’s most pressing education challenges, including low enrolment rates in preschool, primary and secondary schools, low adult literacy and persisting gender disparities in education.

Notes:
The Central institute of Psychiatry is one of the premier training centers in India for mental health professionals. It is directly governed by the Government of India and is located in Kanke, Ranchi in Jharkhand.