Daily Current Affairs and GK | 04 March 2020

1. 61^st Lalit Kala Akademi Awards presented by President of India

• At the Rashtrapati Bhavan, 15 artists were presented the 61^st Lalit Kala Akademi Awards by President Ram Nath Kovind.
• The Lalit Kala Akademi Awards are given to recognize outstanding work in the field of art.
• It is the highest honor in the fine arts conferred by the Government of India.
• The Lalit Kala Akademi was established in 1954 and its first award was given to Jamini Roy in 1955.
• In this, a plaque, a shawl and 1 lakh rupees are awarded as prize money.

2. Increase in registration number of ISRO Young Scientist Program-Yuvika 2020

• The registration number of Yuvika 2020, the young scientific program of the Indian Space Research Organization, ISRO, has increased from 74 thousand to 1 lakh 53 thousand.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed happiness on the occasion.
• ISRO started this program in 2019. This year is the second season of this program.
• Its main goal is to connect the youth with the space program and to foster a curiosity for science among them.

3. Buddha Sanganayak Suddhananda Mahathero died in Dhaka

• Suddhananda Mahathero, 88, head of Bangladesh Bouddha Kristi Prachar Sangha Sanghanayaka, died in Dhaka.
• He was an eminent person among the Buddhists of Bangladesh.
• He was awarded the Ekushey Award in 2012 by the Bangladesh government for social service.
• According to the 2011 census, Buddhism is the third largest religion in Bangladesh.

4. March 3: World Hearing Day

• World Hearing Day is observed by the World Health Organization on 3 March every year.
• The purpose of this day is to spread awareness for ear protection and avoidance of generosity.
• This year its theme - "Hearing for Life. Don't let hearing loss limit you"

5. 68^th All India Police Athletic Championship-2019 begins

• 68^th All India Police Athletic Championship-2019 started at Panchkula, Haryana.
• Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju, declared the meet open at the Basic Training Center of ITBP.
• The competition will be held from 3 to 7 March.

6. Government of India suspended visas of citizens of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan

• The Indian government has banned all regular visas and e-visas given to citizens of Italy, Iran, South Korea and Japan.
• Individuals who need to travel to India for unavoidable reasons can get a new visa from the nearest Indian Embassy or Consulate.
• At the same time, the government has banned the export of 26 drugs and medicines, including paracetamol, vitamin B-one and vitamin B-12, due to the severe condition of coronavirus in China.
• It is now necessary to obtain a license from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade for the export of these drugs.

7. Seema Verma appointed as a key member of the White House Corona Virus Task Force

• Recently, Seema Verma has been appointed as a key member of the White House Corona Virus Task Force, to deal with the coronavirus.
• This task force is formed by President Donald Trump.
• Seema Verma is the principal Indian-American Health Policy Advisor.
• So far, six people have died and 90 others are suffering from this disease in USA.

8. Management training program for judicial officers of Nepal started in Jodhpur, Rajasthan

• The seven-day management training program of 30 judicial officers of the Supreme Court of Nepal has started at the National Law University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan.
• This is the first batch of the training program.
• The second batch will be trained from 23 to 29 March 2020.
• This training program has been organized at the request of the Government of Nepal.
• The officials participating in this program will be given training on information management and court management as well as information and communication techniques.
• This training program is being conducted by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) program.

9. Asia-Oceania Olympic Boxing qualifying tournament begins

• The Asia-Oceania Olympic Boxing qualifying tournament has started in Amman, Jordan.
• The qualifying tournament was earlier to be held in Wuhan, China, was held in Jordan due to the coronavirus.
• 33 boxers from African qualifiers have already confirmed their place in the Olympics.
• The European qualifying competition will be held in London in March 2020.
• After this, the American qualifying event will be in Buenos Aires.
• The boxers, who did not qualify in these continental events, will get another chance at the world tournament in Paris in May 2020.
• The boxers selected in all these qualifiers will participate in the Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.

10. 35^th edition of AAHAR 2020 started in New Delhi

• The 35^th edition of Food and Hospitality Fair, AAHAR, has started in New Delhi.
• This 5-day fair is being held from 3 to 7 March.
• The fair is being organized by the India Trade Promotion Organization, ITPO in collaboration with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Agriculture and Processed Food Products Development Authority and several top industry associations.
• The program will provide an insight into operational and food safety concerns and innovations to become energy-efficient, thereby increasing budget-friendly raw material productivity.
• The countries such as Hong Kong, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, UK and UAE will be participating in the event.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

1. Who was awarded the first Lalit Kala Academy Award in 1955?

A. Jamini Roy

B. Kalpana Dutt

C. Sudhakar Chaturvedi

D. Narayani Singh

2. What is the YUVIKA 2020 that has been in the news recently?

A. A virus

B. ISRO's Young Scientist Program

C. Women Empowerment Scheme

D. Earth's new satellite

3. Recently the Buddhist Sanghanayaka Suddhananda Mahathero passed away. To which country did he belong?

A. Bhutan

B. Japan

C. Sri Lanka

D. Bangladesh

4. On which day is World Hearing Day celebrated every year?

A. 3 March

B. 3 April

C. 3 May

D. 3 June

5. Which edition of the All India Police Athletic Championship is being held in Panchkula, Haryana?

A. 65^th

B. 66^th

C. 67^th

D. 68^th

6. The government of India has suspended the visas of citizens of which of the following countries due to Coronavirus infection?

A. Italy

B. Japan

C. South Korea

D. All of the above

7. Who has been appointed a key member of the White House Corona Virus Task Force?

A. Seema Verma

B. Sapna Choudhary

C. Vandana Singh

D. Sushma Sharma

8. In which state of India is the management training program of judicial officers of Nepal organized?

A. Karnataka

B. Rajasthan

C. Uttar Pradesh

D. Madhya Pradesh

9. Where did the Asia-Oceania Olympic Boxing qualifying tournament start recently?

A. India

B. Vietnam

C. Jordan

D. New Zealand

10. Where did the 35^th edition of the Food and Hospitality Fair AAHAR start recently?

A. Bhopal

B. Jaipur

C. New Delhi

D. Varanasi

Solution:

1. A

2. B

3. D

4. A

5. D

6. D

7. D

8. B

9. C

10. C