Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2019

Notes:
IIT Ropar has launched an android app ‘Roshni’ to help the blind in recognizing the denomination of the currency notes, using image processing and analytics. At present, notes of Rs 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 2,000 are in circulation, which the blind people find it difficult to recognize due to their size and the tactile marks. The app can recognize both old and new notes and gives audio information as to which note you are holding in your hands. The user has to bring the currency note in front of phone camera and the app would provide audio notification intimating the currency notes denomination to the user. The app uses the patterns and features embedded on the notes to differentiate and determine the currency denomination. The app is developed by assistant professor Dr Puneet Goyal and his students — Mandhatya Singh, Joohi Chauhan, and R Ram.

Notes:
Scientists from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST) in South Korea have developed a system that can produce electricity and hydrogen fuel from carbon dioxide. The Hybrid Na-CO2 system can continuously produce electrical energy and hydrogen through efficient carbon dioxide (CO2) conversion with stable operation for over 1,000 hours. The key to this technology is the easy conversion of chemically stable CO2 molecules to other materials. Much of human CO2 emissions are absorbed by the ocean and turned into acidity. The researchers focused on this phenomenon and came up with the idea of melting CO2 into water to induce an electrochemical reaction.If acidity increases, the number of protons increases, which in turn increases the power to attract electrons. If a battery system is created based on this phenomenon, electricity can be produced by removing CO2. In particular, this system has shown stability to the point of operating for more than 1,000 hours without damage to electrodes. The system can be applied to remove CO2 by inducing voluntary chemical reactions.

Notes:
The International Customs Day (ICD) is observed every year on January 26 to recognize the role of custom officials and agencies in maintaining border security. It focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers face in their jobs. The 2019 theme is “SMART borders for seamless Trade, Travel and Transport”. This reflects the fact that the expectations of travellers and businesses around the world are changing.

Notes:
The Government of Pakistan has recently declared sugarcane juice as the ‘national drink’ of the country. The announcement came after the government conducted a Twitter poll where people were asked to decide on the country’s national drink with two other options — orange and carrot — besides sugarcane. According to the poll, 7,616 people or 81% cast their votes favouring sugarcane juice, 15% voted for orange juice while 4% chose carrot. Upon securing majority votes, sugarcane juice was declared as the ‘national drink’ of Pakistan.

Notes:
In New Delhi, the Union Human Resources Development (HRD) Ministry signed an agreement with Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for India’s Participation in Programme for International Student Assessment- PISA 2021. The student assessment by PISA will ensure learning outcome through education. Students will be selected by PISA through random sampling. The format for the student assessment will be offline and the question to Indian students will be related to India’s perspective only. The PISA test will help reveal where they stand globally as far as learning outcomes are concerned. PISA is a triennial international survey in which students are assessed in reading, mathematics, science and collaborative problem-solving. The purpose of the survey is to evaluate the education system worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. The CBSE and NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.

Notes:
On the occasion of 70th Republic Day 2019, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath announced the launch of the ‘Yuva Swabhiman Yojana’ for youths from the Economically Weaker Sections (EWSs) in urban areas. The purpose of the scheme is to empower the unemployed youth candidates. Under this scheme, 100 days of employment will be provided to youngsters from economically weaker sections of the society in urban areas. Apart from this, they will also be given skill training by the government.

Notes:
The International Holocaust Remembrance Day is observed every year on 27th of January to commemorate the tragedy of the Holocaust that occurred during the Second World War. It commemorates the genocide that resulted in the death of an estimated 6 million Jews and others by the Nazi regime.

Notes:
On 29th January, the 8-member Lokpal search panel hold its first meeting to select members of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal. The committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, is understood to have discussed modalities related to the appointments of the chief and members of Lokpal. The meeting comes days after the Supreme Court set up a February-end deadline for the search committee to send a panel of names who could be considered for the appointment as chairman and members of Lokpal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led selection committee. The Lokpal Act, which envisages establishment of the anti-graft body Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to look into cases of corruption against certain categories of public servants, was passed in 2013.

Notes:
India received the Award of Excellence for ‘Best in Show’ at the recently concluded New York Times Travel Show (NYTTS-2019). It is the largest travel show in North America which is held from 25th – 27th January at the Jacob K Javits Centre in New York, United States. The Ministry of Tourism (Government of India) participated as the ‘ Presenting Partner’ in the NYTTS 2019 with a view to scale up its tourism promotional efforts in the US, enhance India’s visibility and to increase its share of US Outbound travel market. A high-level delegation led by Tourism Ministry Secretary Yogendra Tripathi and a number of stakeholders from India’s tourism industry participated in the Show.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has launched a special scheme to curb infant deaths. The scheme is applicable only for the first child and will benefit around four lakh women across the state, Women. Each kit contains a blanket, a small mattress, a towel, a thermometer, baby oil, shampoo, toys, nail-cutter, gloves, socks, among other things. The cost of the kit is around Rs 2,000. For this cause, Child Development Minister Pankaja Munde distributed baby-care kits to the children born in primary health centres and government hospitals.