GK & Current Affairs Quiz: January 09, 2019

Notes:
The Union cabinet has recently approved a 10% reservation in educational institutions and government jobs for economically backward sections in the general category. The constitutional amendment bill will be tabled in Parliament on 8th January 2019, the last day of the Winter Session. The proposed reservation will be over and above the existing 50% reservation enjoyed by the Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), taking the total reservation to 60%. For this, the government will amend Articles 15 and 16 – which are on discrimination and equal opportunity – of the Constitution to implement it. Among the major castes to benefit from the proposed law are Brahmins, Rajputs (Thakurs), Jats, Marathas, Bhumihars, several trading castes, Kapus and Kammas among other upper castes. It would also benefit the poor in other religions. The move is being seen as a step to consolidate upper caste votes just ahead of the general elections. Most Opposition parties called it an election gimmick but are not likely to oppose it.

Notes:
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU with Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research (SAMEER) for joint research programs in the field of Communication Navigation and Surveillance (CNS). The SAMEER is an autonomous Research and Development (R & D) institute under MeitY. The MoU will provide a platform for Collaborative Research for both the Organizations to work together. Both the organizations will strive to arrive at a beneficial solution for CNS Systems related R and D activities in the country. The MoU will also provide for the transfer of skill by SAMEER experts in the areas of Radio Frequency, Millimetre Wave and Antenna-related solutions to AAI domain experts; while on the other hand, it will pave way for exposure for the SAMEER researchers to the challenging Aviation field.

Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has constituted the Task Force to look into the issues of suicides of the students in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNU). Under the Chairmanship of Psychiatrist – Dr Jitendra Nagpal, the task force will look into the circumstances leading to the suicidal deaths of students residing in the hostels of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas residential schools. It will also suggest ways and means to arrest the trend of suicides by students. Besides, the Ministry has sent a proposal to engage two full time counselors (one male and one female) in each of the 630 functional JNVs to the Department of Expenditure for approval.

Notes:
S. Vijay Kumar, Senior Deputy Editor with The Hindu in Chennai, was presented the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Award for Investigative Reporting (Print category) for his reports on how taxmen alerted officials about payoffs in the Tamil Nadu gutka scam – but were ignored. The award was presented by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at a ceremony in New Delhi on January 7. The award for Investigative Reporting in the broadcast category was won by Anand Kumar Patel of India Today TV. The awards for Political Reporting went to Brajesh Rajput of ABP News Network and Sushant Kumar Singh of the Indian Express. The award in the Environmental Reporting category were presented to Sushil Chandra Bahuguna of NDTV and Sandhya Ravishankar of the online magazine The Wire.

Notes:
The Swiss team of Roger Federer and Belinda Bencic has won the 31st edition of the Hopman Cup tournament 2019 in Perth, Australia. They defeated German team of Alexander Zverev and Angelique Kerber 4-0 1-4 4-3 (5-4) in the deciding mixed doubles final. Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Federer is the first player to win three Hopman Cups – twice with Bencic and once with Martina Hingis, in 2001. Beside this, Switzerland became the first team to defend the Hopman Cup. It has been reported that the Hopman Cup will be replaced by an ATP tournament from next year.