Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2019

Notes:
The central banks of the UAE and Saudi Arabia have launched a common digital currency called “Aber”, which will be used in financial settlements between the two countries through Blockchains and Distributed Ledgers technologies. It will establish an additional means for the central financial transfer systems of the two countries and enable banks to directly deal with each other in conducting financial remittances. Through this digital currency, both the United Arab Emirates Central Bank (UAECB) and the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) are studying the impact on the improvement and reduction of remittance costs and the assessments of risks.

Notes:
Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal has been awarded the Carnot prize for his contribution towards sustainable energy solutions by the team of University of Pennsylvania on January 30. The award recognizes Goyal’s tenure as minister of power in which he is credited to have reformed the electricity sector and extended access to electricity to 18,000 villages, as documented by the International Energy Agency (IEA). He was to be awarded the prize by the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Design in October 2018. But, he had to skip the event because of the Amritsar tragedy in which over 60 people died after being mowed down by a train.

Notes:
Lt Gen Rajeev Chopra has taken charge as new Director General of National Cadet Corps (NCC) in New Delhi. Commissioned in the Madras Regiment in December 1980, Lt Gen Chopra is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The NCC is an Indian military cadet corps with its headquarters at New Delhi, It is the world’s largest uniformed youth organization. Its motto is ‘Unity and Discipline’.

Notes:
On 30th January2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicated the National Salt Satyagraha Memorial at Dandi in Navsari district, Gujarat to the nation on Mahatma Gandhi’s death anniversary. At the memorial site, there are statues of Mahatma Gandhi and 80 Satyagrahis who had marched with him during the historic Dandi Salt March in 1930 to make salt from sea water against the British law. The memorial also has 24-narrative murals depicting various events and stories from the historic 1930 Salt March. Solar trees are installed to meet the energy requirements of the memorial complex. The memorial project of the Union Ministry of Culture is advised by a High Level Dandi Memorial Committee (HLDMC), and is designed, coordinated and implemented by IIT Bombay in association with an international design team.

Notes:
On January 29, the 2-day International conference on 8th century Himalayan sage Guru Padmasambhava was held in New Delhi that saw the participation of distinguished scholars from both countries. The conference titled ‘Life and Legacy of Guru Padmasambhava’, was organized by the Centre for Escalation of Peace (CEP). Scholars from both countries discussed the Guru who was born in India and moved towards Bhutan in the 8th century to spread Buddhism and Buddhist teachings all across the Himalayan region. The conference was dedicated to the 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and Bhutan. In Tibetan Buddhism, Guru Padmasambhava is generally referred to as Guru Rinpoche, which means “precious master.” Guru Rinpoche is a totally enlightened being, a fully awakened one, a buddha.

Notes:
On January 30, ISRO launched the Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC) at its headquarters in Bengaluru for the human spaceflight programme. The centre is the hub of ISRO’s future manned missions. HSFC shall be responsible for the implementation of Gaganyaan project — which involves mission planning, development of engineering systems for crew survival in space, crew selection and training and also pursue activities for sustained human space flight missions. HSFC will take the support of ISRO centres to implement the first developmental [crewed] flight. Under the Gaganyaan project, a 3-member crew will be sent to space for at least 7 days by 2022, the 75th year of Independence. Dr. S Unnikrishnan Nair is the founder director of HSFC, while R Hutton is the project director of Gaganyaan.

Notes:
Germany, France and the UK have officially set up a payment channel with Iran called INSTEX, to help continue trade and circumvent US sanctions. The long-awaited special payment system will help save the Iran nuclear deal by allowing Tehran to keep trading with EU companies despite Washington re-imposing sanctions after US President Donald Trump abruptly quit the accord in 2018. The three countries have launched the device at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Bucharest, Romania. The new institution ‘INSTEX’ is a project of the three governments and will receive the formal endorsement of all 28 EU members. The Instrument In Support Of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is registered in France and will be headed by German banker Per Fischer, a former Commerzbank director.

Notes:
The World Wetland Day (WWD) is observed every year on 2nd of to raise awareness about the value of wetlands for humanity and the planet. The day marks adoption of the Convention on Wetlands (also called as Ramsar Convention) on 2nd February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on shores of the Caspian Sea. The 2019 theme “Wetlands and Climate Change” highlights the importance of healthy and intact wetlands to one of the most pressing challenges of climate change.

Notes:
Nilambar Acharya, Nepal’s former law minister, has been appointed as the country’s ambassador to India. The position of the Nepalese ambassador to India was vacant for more than a year after Deep Kumar Upadhyay resigned to join politics in October 2017. President Bidya Devi Bhandari has recently administered oath of office to Acharya at Rastrapati Bhawan at Sheetal Niwas. Acharya is the first Nepalese ambassador to take oath of office and secrecy from the president under a new provision. Earlier, ambassadors were administered oath of office by Supreme Court chief justice.

Notes:
In Iraq, a renowned novelist & critic Alaa Mashzoub (51) was shot dead by unknown assailants on 2nd of February in the city of Karbala. He was known as a bold writer who was not afraid to broach political and religious taboos in his writings. His research into the history of his hometown was published in two parts as ‘A Summary of Karbala Cultural History’. Mashzoub spoke out against sectarianism and militias. He was known as an outspoken writer who published in a variety of newspapers and wrote several novels, including The Chaos of the Nation (2014) Crime on Facebook (2015), and The Jewish Baths (2017). Mashzoub has 20 published books and has written extensively about Karbala’s history and culture. He has also written about Iraq’s once-thriving Jewish minority. He had been recognized by a number of filmmaking and writing prizes, including a Katara Prize for Arabic Fiction and a prize for his documentary film ‘Doors and Windows’. In recent times, Iraq has seen a number of political assassinations, particularly of outspoken activists. Karbala is about 100 kilometers southwest of Baghdad.