18,February, 2019 Current Affairs - Daily Current Affairs
18,February, 2019 Current Affairs -
Daily Current Affairs
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1.
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How many
Coastal and Marine sites got identified under National Wildlife Action Plan,
According to a biennial report?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
According to a
biennial report released by the government, the Centre has identified 106
Coastal and Marine sites as Conservation Reserves under its National Wildlife
Action plan for the period of 2017-2031. This was the 2nd biennial updated
report which was made by the Ministry of Environment and Forests and was
submitted to the UN body on Climate change in December 2018. According to the
report, India has been successful to sustain the ecosystem when it is at its
edge of disappearing at an alarming rate. Also, it will further conserve the
coastal and marine ecosystems from the impact of climate change. Both the
coastal and marine areas facilitate with food baskets and fish protein to
population, and also provide a valuable foreign exchange in turn.
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2.
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What are the
two new districts of Telangana, which started functioning from February 17,
2019?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The new
districts - Narayanpet and Mulugu started functioning from February 17, 2019.
Now, the number of districts in the Telangana rose to 33. Narayanpet has been
carved out of Mahbubnagar district and Mulugu from Jayashankar Bhupalpally.
Telangana had 10 districts when it came into being as India's 29th state on
June 2, 2014, after it was carved out of Andhra Pradesh.
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3.
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Indian Wealth
management company, Edelweiss and this bank signed an MoU to access each
other product platforms, recently.
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
A memorandum of
understanding (MoU) has been signed between Edelweiss and Bank of Singapore
in order to form a strategic partnership. The MoU will provide an opportunity
to clients of both entities to access each other product platforms.Edelweiss
became the first Indian Wealth management company to sign an MoU with
offshore private bank (Bank of Singapore).Bank of Singapore has signed
similar MoU with financial companies from Switzerland and Japan.
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4.
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Who was
appointed as the Controller, Assistant Secretary-General for Programme
Planning, Finance and Budget in the Department of Management Strategy, Policy
and Compliance by United Nations Secretary?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Chandramouli
Ramanathan of India was appointed as the Controller, Assistant
Secretary-General for Programme Planning, Finance and Budget in the
Department of Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance by United Nations
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Mr. Ramanathan has led high level
management initiatives, including implementation of IPSAS(International
Public Sector Accounting Standards) and Umoja(the United Nations Enterprise
Resource Planning solution). He has also served as Acting Controller since
September 2018, along with his position as Assistant Secretary-General for
Enterprise Resource Planning since 2016. He previously served as Deputy
Controller, Director of Accounts Division, and Chief of Service, IT Services
Division.
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5.
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Prime Minister
Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated a school to improve the quality of education
amongst tribal people. It was named as;
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Prime Minister
inaugurated the Ekalavya Model Residential School which has a capacity of 420
students in Nanded, in order to improve the quality of education amongst
tribal people.The School is spread in 16 acres and equipped with modern
facilities including provision for food, residential facility, playground and
IT facilities.
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6.
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Which state
passed the Official Language (Amendment) Bill 2019 to make Sanskrit the
second official language in the state?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
The Himachal
Pradesh Assembly passed the Official Language (Amendment) Bill 2019 to make
Sanskrit the second official language in the state. The bill was introduced
in the Assembly by Irrigation and Public Health Minister Mahender Singh. Once
given assent by the Governor, it will amend the Himachal Pradesh Official
language Act, 1975. Now, Hindi is the official language of Himachal Pradesh.
The Assembly also renamed Himachal Pradesh University of Health Sciences
after former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
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7.
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Who has been
appointed director of South Africa's Nelson Mandela School of Public
Governance?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Professor Faizel
Ismail, an Indian-origin global negotiator, has been appointed as the
director of a renowned academic institution in South Africa. He will take
charge as the director of the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Nelson Mandela
School of Public Governance from Professor Alan Hirsch in July 2019. Ismail
is known for his role in negotiating major agreements for South Africa,
including with the Southern African Customs Union as well as the Trade and
Development Agreement with the European Union. He chaired the International
Trade and Administration Commission from 2015 to 2018, and was reappointed
for a five-year term till 2023. Ismail, a professor at the UCT's School of
Economics, has in the past served as an ambassador to the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) and a senior advisor to the Minister of Trade and
Industry.
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8.
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Who is the
author of the book 'Simplicity & Wisdom' that was Launched by the
Governor of West Bengal- Keshari Nath Tripathi and Swami Chidanand Saraswati?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
A book
'Simplicity & Wisdom' written by Dinesh Shahra was launched at Parmarth
Ashram in Kumbh Mela. Launched by the Governor of West Bengal- Keshari Nath
Tripathi and Swami Chidanand Saraswati, Head of Parmarth Ashram, this book is
dedicated to Late Vedanti Swami Pragananandji. The book aims at guiding
towards saintly wisdom and leading a content and happy life.
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9.
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India has
boosted the Customs Duty on all the goods imported from Pakistan to how much
percent?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
India with
immediate effect has boosted the Customs Duty on all the goods imported from
Pakistan to 200% followed by the day after India repealed Most Favoured
Nation (MFN) status from Pakistan. This punitory move followed by the Pulwana
Terrorist attack that led to the death of 42 CRPF (Central Reserve Police
Force). This step is likely to strike Pakistan's exports to India which were
$381 million in the April-Nov period and for overall FY18, it was $489
million. This 200% tariff rate is higher than the average bound rate of
113.5% for agriculture products and 34.6% for non-agriculture products. The
MFN applied rates are 32.8% and 10.7%, respectively for farm and non-farm
products.
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10.
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Which cricket
team clinches the The Irani Cup Title in Nagpur?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Vidarbha became
the only 3rd team in Indian Domestic Cricket history after Bombay and
Karnataka to defend their Irani cup titles at Jamtha Stadium in Nagpur by
defeating rest of India. Vidarbha chased a target of 280 runs on the day and
young Karnewar was the Player of the match.
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11.
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Which company
signed an agreement to acquire Germany's Nielsen+Partner (N+P)?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Larsen & Toubro
Infotech Ltd. (LTI) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Germany's
Nielsen+Partner (N+P), an independent Temenos WealthSuite specialist, for
Euro 28 million on a cash-free, debt-free basis, which includes upfront
consideration and a performance-based earn-out. N+P is a leading partner of
Temenos in Europe and APAC with subsidiaries in Luxembourg, Switzerland,
Thailand, Singapore and Australia and branch office in Belgium.
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12.
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'InfyTQ' a
digital platform to facilitate engineering students with best learning
experiences by imparting technical and professional skills was launched
recently. It was launched by;
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Infosys, the
country's 2nd largest IT firm has launched a next-generation digital platform
'InfyTQ' to facilitate engineering students with best learning experiences by
imparting technical and professional skills. InfyTQ is a free platform
available on both mobile and desktop, featured with always-on, anytime,
anywhere learning catered through a continuous transfer of digital skills.
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13.
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Who among the
following won the Martin Ennals Award 2019,International human rights prize
in Geneva Switzerland?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
Sudanese
refugee, Abdul Aziz Muhamat, who spent 5 years in Australian detention centre
on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea, was given the Martin Ennals Award 2019
in Geneva, Switzerland, for exposing "the very cruel asylum seeker
policy of the Australian Government". He said that his name was stripped
off and he was referred to as number- QNK002 and prisoners were fed through a
chain-link fence and treated worse than animals.It was the first time that
the prize focused on the plight of refugees and awarded to someone who has
suffered violations due to the policies of a Western nation.
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14.
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In which City
does Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched laid foundation stone of Defence
Corridor?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
PM Modi on his
visit to Jhansi laid foundation stone of Defence Corridor which will create a
lot of direct and indirect employment to the youth in the region. Government
decided to establish 2 defence corridors in the country, one at Tamil Nadu
and the other in Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is one among six nodal points of the
UP defence corridors.The Defence Corridor will make India independent in
defence production. The project will also attract many foreign and domestic
Defence related companies to invest in the region.
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15.
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Who won the
Female Player of the Year in International Hockey Federation's (FIH) Players
of the Year for 2018?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
Eva de Goede
from Netherlands and Arthur van Doren of Belgium were titled the
International Hockey Federation's Players of the Year for 2018 on 14th
February 2019. Eva de Goede, 29, was named the Female Player of the Year and
Arthur van Doren, 24, won the Male Player of the Year award for the second
year in a row.
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16.
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Which country
has developed the first ant-like walking robot without GPS?
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Answer: Option A
Explanation:
The researchers
from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have developed
the first ant-like walking robot 'AntBot' that can explore its environment
and find its way home without Global Positioning System (GPS). The scientists
took inspiration from desert ants, which are extraordinary solitary
navigators, to design the AntBot. Ants use polarised light and ultraviolet
radiation to locate themselves in space. Cataglyphis desert ants in
particular can cover several hundreds of metres in direct sunlight in the
desert to find food, then return in a straight line to the nest, without
getting lost. AntBot copies the desert ants' exceptional navigation
capacities, allowing it to explore without using GPS. The six-legged robot
has an optical compass that uses polarised light to determine its direction,
and an optical movement sensor directed to the sun to measure covered
distance.
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17.
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Which group
acquired broking license to enter Insurance Business?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Indiamoneyinsurance.com,
a subsidiary of the Indiamoney.com Group has acquired a broking license from
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) of India's to enter
Insurance Business. Key points The company will come to process within the
next few days and projects to hire 2000 employees before the year ends.
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18.
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According to
Bloomberg, which country becomes the largest buyer of Venezuelan crude oil in
February?
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Answer: Option C
Explanation:
According to
Bloomberg, India's crude oil import from Venezuela jumped 66 per cent to
6,20,000 barrels a day. However, Venezuelan crude exports have plunged since
the US imposed sanctions against the country's oil company.
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19.
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Who released a
book with compilation of 92 selected speeches of Vice President Shri Venkaiah
Naidu, in New Delhi?
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Answer: Option B
Explanation:
Former President
Shri Pranab Mukherjee released the book, which is a compilation of 92
selected speeches of Vice President Shri Venkaiah Naidu, in New Delhi. It
contains the wide experience of the Vice President in Public Affairs. Mr.
Mukherjee and Mr. Naidu also paid homage to the martyrs of Pulwama terror
attack and said that the country must stand together to fight against
terrorism.
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20.
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Who has been
conferred the first ever Football Ratna honour by Football Delhi?
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Answer: Option D
Explanation:
Sunil Chhetri,
the all-time leading scorer for India in international football, has been
conferred the first ever Football Ratna honour by Football Delhi, the
association governing the sport in Delhi. He is popularly known as Captain
Fantastic. He has scored the 2nd highest number of goals in international
matches among active players after Cristiano Ronaldo.
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