Daily Current Affairs Quiz: February 14, 2024

ANSWER: A

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: B

ANSWER: D

ANSWER: C

• Sarojini Naidu’s birth anniversary is celebrated by the nation every year on February 13.
• This year marks the 145th birth anniversary of Sarojini Naidu.

 ABOUT SAROJINI NAIDU

• Born in Hyderabad on 13 February 1879
• She was a poet and political activist.
• Her poetry earned her the nickname ‘Nightingale of India’.
• A disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, she was instrumental in the Indian National Movement, which fought for the country’s independence.
• In 1925, she was elected as the INC President at Kanpur session.
  • She was the first Indian woman president of the Indian National Congress (second overall, after Annie Besant).
• When Sarojini Naidu’s collection of poems, Golden Threshold, was released in 1905, the world first recognized her for her literary abilities and dubbed her the “Bul Bule Hind.”
• In India, February 13 is recognized as the National Women’s Day in her honor.
  • International Women’s Day is celebrated globally and annually on 8 March.

ANSWER: B

• According to the World Health Organisation’s official website, International Epilepsy Day has been observed on the second Monday of February every year since 2015.
• In 2024, International Epilepsy Day will be observed on February 12.
• The theme for International Epilepsy Day 2024 is “Milestones on My Epilepsy Journey”.

ABOUT EPILEPSY

• Epilepsy is a non-communicable neurological disease.
• In epilepsy, the affected individual gets recurrent seizures, sometimes in a brief episode that consists of involuntary movement.
  • It sometimes gets critical when people get unconscious and lose control of bowel and bladder functions.
• Different factors lead to or cause epilepsy. These categories include structural, genetic, infectious, metabolic, immune, and unknown.
  • Some of the most common causes are brain damage from prenatal or perinatal reasons; congenital abnormalities or genetic conditions with associated brain malformations; a severe head injury; a stroke; certain genetic syndromes; and a brain tumour.
• Symptoms – loss of awareness or consciousness, and disturbances of movement, sensation (including vision, hearing, and taste), mood, or other cognitive functions.

ANSWER: A

• Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship recently attended the National Conference on APAAR: One Nation One Student ID Card.
• Around 25 crore APAAR IDs have already been created till date.

ABOUT APAAR

• The aim of APAAR is to establish a unified student identity system called ‘One Nation, One Student ID’.
• The Automated Permanent Academic Account Registry initiative aims to provide a unique and permanent 12-digit ID to every student.
• The APAAR ID connects a student’s academic bank of credits (ABC), which stores all of his or her academic learnings, certificates, credentials, formal or informal credits earned from various sources, to granular levels of credits, such as skilling credits, sports, or social work, which are digitally verified by the agency awarding the credits.
• It is being introduced in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) of 2020 and the National Credit and Qualifications Framework (NCrF).
• APAAR helps in tracking the vast pool of 260 million students in the country.

ANSWER: C

• Alaska health officials have confirmed the first death from a recently discovered viral disease – Alaskapox.
• The double-stranded-DNA virus comes from the same genus as smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox.
• It was first identified in an adult in Fairbanks, Alaska in 2015.
• It is most common in small mammals.
• To date, no human-to-human transmission of Alaskapox virus has been documented.
• Symptoms of Alaskapox may include one or more skin lesions (bumps or pustules) and other symptoms like swollen lymph nodes and joint and/or muscle pain.
• Immunocompromised people might be at increased risk for more severe illness.

ANSWER: D

• Dubai has recently inked agreements to launch the world’s first air taxi service.
• At the heart of the initiative lies the Joby Aviation S4, an innovative aircraft designed to comfortably accommodate four passengers along with a pilot.
• Sporting six propellers and powered by four battery packs, the S4 boasts a maximum range of 161 km and a top speed of 321 km per hour.
• Its Vertical take-off and landing capabilities render it ideal for urban settings, minimizing the space requirements typical of conventional stations and reducing noise pollution compared to helicopters.
• The electric-powered aircraft can be swiftly recharged between flights.
• Leveraging cutting-edge technology, these aerial vehicles aim to seamlessly integrate into Dubai’s urban landscape, offering swift and eco-friendly transportation solutions.
• The air-taxi network will commence its operations in 2026.

ANSWER: A

• Reigning marathon world record holder Kelvin Kiptum and his coach Gervais Hakizimana was killed in a road accident in Kenya.
• The 24-year-old set the world record at the Chicago Marathon in October with a time of two hours and 35 seconds to surpass the mark of 2:01:09 run by compatriot Eliud Kipchoge in Berlin in 2022.
• Kiptum started his international career on the half-marathon circuit in 2019.