GK & Current Affairs Quiz: February 06, 2018

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:
Zhang Beiwen, a professional badminton player from America, has won the 4th edition of India Open Badminton tournament 2018 in New Delhi on February 4, 2018. In the final, she defeated Olympics and World Championships Silver medalist PV Sindhu by 21–18, 11–21, 22–20 at Siri Fort Indoor Stadium. It was the fifth meeting between Sindhu and Zhang and the head-to-head record now is 3-2 with Sindhu losing this match.

Notes:
The Haryana government has launched the ‘Gobardhan Yojana’ to provide for the sale of organic manure and cow urine with an aim to benefit farmers. Under this scheme, a provision of Rs 11 crore has been made to provide benefits of various projects. According to official release, the Gobardhan Yojana would help in doubling the income of farmers and next time, the MSP would be given with additional benefit of 50% over the cost of production.

Notes:
Eminent molecular biologist Professor Michael N Hall of the Biozentrum University of Basel, Switzerland, has been chosen for the 2018 Genome Valley Excellence Award for his pioneering work in discovering the nutrient-activated TOR (Target of Rapamycin) proteins and their central role in the metabolic control of cell growth. The award will be presented to him during BioAsia 2018, an annual flagship event of the Telangana government. The award, instituted in 2004, was in recognition of the transformative advances toward biomedical research and facilitating improvement in human life and was chosen by an international advisory board consisting of eminent personalities of the life sciences industry.

Notes:
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has successfully launched the world’s smallest rocket with the ability to put a tiny satellite into orbit. The experimental SS-520 sounding rocket lifted off from the Uchinoura Space Center. It carried a microsatellite TRICOM-1R, a three-unit CubeSat weighing about 3 kilograms. The CubeSat will now be used to collect images of the Earth’s surface via multiple cameras. This satellite launch was a re-flight of the TRICOM-1 mission, which was lost in SS-520’s failure in 2017.

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.

Notes:
Google has launched new online security campaign #SecurityCheckKiya in India to promote security awareness among general public. The purpose of the campaign is to protect young and first-time web users from account hijacking, safeguard Android devices from malicious apps and secure all their personal data if they lose their device. Under the campaign, Google recommended three simple steps for Internet safety. It includes reviewing security settings and Google account activity. Furthermore, ‘Google Play Protect’ service scans and checks Android devices for any harmful apps. Find My Device app from Google helps a user to easily long away.

Notes:
Shabnam Asthana, an Indian public relations expert, speaker, and entrepreneur, has been honoured with the ‘Times Power Women of the Year 2017’- Pune for Global PR. The Times Group recently celebrated the invaluable contribution of women by introducing The Times Power Woman 2017 (Pune) awards. These awards were initiated to celebrate the victories of women who have been a great source of inspiration. These awards focused on the women of Pune and the prestigious list included 34 select women with power, supremacy, command and control. These awardees have been instrumental in working towards the improvement of the socio-economic, art, health, education, and fashion, scientific and intellectual potential of the society.

Notes:
Jerome Hayden Powell has been sworn-in as the new Chairman of the Federal Reserve for a four-year term on February 5, 2018. The oath was administered by Vice Chairman Randal K. Quarles in the Board Room. He succeeded Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the US central bank in its 100-year history. He was nominated to the position by President Donald Trump on November 2, 2017, and was later confirmed by the United States Senate. Prior to this appointment, Powell served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors .

Notes:
The Gandhi Sagar Dam is built on Chambal river and is located in the Mandsaur & Neemuch district of Madhya Pradesh. It is a masonry gravity dam, standing 62.17 metres (204.0 ft) high, with a gross storage capacity of 7.322 billion cubic metres from a catchment area of 22,584 km2. The dam sports a 115-MW hydroelectric power station at its toe, with five 23-MW generating units each providing a total energy generation of about 564 GWh. The dam’s reservoir area is the second-largest in India (after the Hirakud Reservoir), and attracts a large number of migratory and non-migratory birds throughout the year.