Current Affairs - 2019-20

Notes:
The International Conference on Green Initiatives & Railway Electrification has inaugurated by Union Minister of Railways & Coal Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on October 27, 2017. The conference is organised by Ministry of Railways through Institution of Railways Electrical Engineer (IREE). The main purpose of the 2-day international conference is to bring green power project developers and other stakeholders on a common platform for making Indian Railways (IR) an efficient and Greener mode of transport. This will open an international discussion on various Green initiatives including use of renewable energy, shift towards electric traction, development of new locomotive technology, high speed rail traction system and development in generation of Solar/Wind power as well as use of energy in efficient ways.

Notes:
Bihar has celebrated its 106th foundation day on March 22, 2018. A number of programmes have been organized throughout the state on the occasion. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a 3-day Bihar Diwas celebrations in Patna and also released 4 books- ‘Ek Tha Mohan’, ‘Bapu Ki Chiththi’, ‘Champaran Ki Kahani’ and ‘Neel Ke Dhabbe’ on this occasion. The 2018 theme for this year’s celebrations is “Centenary of Champaran Satyagraha and Elimination of Dowry and Child Marriage”. It was on this day when the British carved out the state from Bengal Presidency in 1912. Before that Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa were part of the Bengal province during the British rule.

Notes:
The Raneh Falls is a natural water fall located in Chhatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh on Ken River. It is situated about 20 km away from world famous heritage site Khajuraho. The waterfall is also close to Panna Tiger Reserve and Ken crocodile sanctuary. It was awarded the Best Holiday Award for 2017.Tourists from all over the country and abroad come here every year to enjoy the natural beauty. The Ken River here runs through a narrow gorge of igneous rocks rich in Granite and Dolomite. The Pandav Falls in Panna National Park is also located nearby.

Notes:
The Whitley Awards also called Green Oscars are given annually by the Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) to recognise and celebrate effective national and regional conservation leaders across the globe. In 2017, there are two Indians among the awardees- Purnima Devi Barman from Assam and Sanjay Gubbi from Karnataka. Purnima Devi Barman is a renowned environmentalist from Assam and has won the Green Oscars, for her efforts in conserving greater adjutant storks, an endangered bird species found in Assam. Sanjay Gubbi is a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation in India, and has received the award for helping to expand the protected area network in Karnataka.

Notes:
Zeolites are used as water softeners, to remove calcium ions from water. Clinoptilolite, a natural zeolite is used to clean radioactive wastes from nuclear power plant. Zeolites act as catalyst and are used in catalytic cracking to break down large organic molecules found in petroleum into the smaller molecules that make up gasoline, a process called catalytic cracking.

Notes:
The first International Arbitration Centre of India was recently inaugurated in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It aims to provide an arbitration platform for Indian business houses to negotiate commercial disputes. The MCIA will be an independent, not-for-profit organization (NGO) governed by a council comprising eminent national and international legal luminaries.

Notes:
Ratan Watal Committee has suggested roadmap towards Digital Payments in India. The committee had called for establishing separate Payments Regulatory Board (PRB) as an independent body for retail payments and suggested that RBI’s regulation must be kept only for SIPS (systemically important payment system).

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"Operation Zarb-e-Azb" is a military operation being carried out by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups in northern Pakistan.

Notes:
First is the correct option.The Government of India has requested the States/UTs to start “Operation Smile-II” from 1st January, 2016 to 31st January, 2016 to be rolled out throughout the country as a follow up of the earlier campaign to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. Earlier all States/UTs were advised to take up a one month campaign titled ‘Operation Smile’ in the month of January, 2015 to rescue/rehabilitate the missing children. Similarly, another dedicated campaign titled ‘Operation Muskaan’ was launched in the month of July, 2015 throughout the country.

Notes:
SFURTI stands for Scheme of Fund for Up-gradation and Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI). The objective of the scheme is to organise traditional industries and artisans into clusters to make them competitive and provide support for their long-term sustainability or sustained employment. It aims to strengthen the cluster governance systems with the active participation of the stakeholders and to build up innovative products, improved technologies, advanced processes, market intelligence and new models of public-private partnerships. This scheme also helps micro and small enterprises (MSE) clusters to enhance marketability of products with design interventions, improved packaging and infrastructure. Under Scheme for Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI), the budgetary allocation has increased from Rs 10 crore in BE 2017-18 to Rs 125 crore in BE 2018-19.