Current Affairs Quiz - 16th July, 2018 - Current Affairs MCQ

Sulabh International introduced the concept of 'Sulabh Sauchalya' in India, which is cost-effective innovative water project to provide the cheapest drinking water in the world, only in 50paisa/litre. The first of such a water project was launched in Bihar's Darbhanga district, Haribol Pond. The 'Sulabh Jal' project converts contaminated pond and river water into safe drinking water. The total cost of installing this project would cost around Rs 20 lakhs. The Sulabh International Social Service Organisation (SISSO) and the French companies installed Rs 20-lakh pond-based water treatment plant in Madhusudan Kanti Village of North 24 Parganas district, located some 100 km from Kolkata.

The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) has appointed Amitabh Malhotra as the Head of Investment Banking for HSBC India. Amitabh will lead the Investment Banking and Equity Capital Markets business. Prior to HSBC, Amitabh worked at Rothschild India, where he was the co-head and managing director of the Global Investment Bank, based in Mumbai.

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated a multimedia exhibition organised by Regional Outreach Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) in Puri, Odisha. This would be an exhibition showcasing all the schemes launched in 48 months (4 years) by PM Narendra Modi. The exhibition is taking place at Saradhabali near Bholanath Vidyapith in Puri.

Industry body Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) launched a digital campaign, ThinkForHealth, calling for ideas to improve access to healthcare in india. The initiative has been launched with partnership of Telangana government. This will provide a platform for young minds and social and health-tech entrepreneurs to share their ideas on the topics mentioned and 3 winners would be chosen and their ideas would be heard.

Prem Watsa, founder of Fairfax Financial Holdings, was presented the Special Jury 'NRI of the Year Award' at the 5th edition of Times NOW & ICICI Bank NRI of the Year Awards 2018, in Mumbai. The NRI of the Year Awards honours global Indians who have achieved a mark for themselves worldwide.

South Africa has unveiled the 64-dish MeerKAT radio telescope, slated to be the world's largest and most powerful telescope on its completion in 2030. Built for $330 million, MeerKAT will be integrated into an array of 3,000 dishes. The telescope is being built by an international consortium, including Australia, Britain, Canada, China, India, Italy, New Zealand, Sweden and the Netherlands.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) joined hands with J&K's Directorate of Health Services-Kashmir (DHS-K) to set up a telemedicine center at an altitude of 12,700 feet to provide service to pilgrims en route to the Amarnath shrine. The Panjtarni Base Camp Hospital on the Pahalgam cave shrine route will provide real-time treatment for high-altitude and other ailments that pilgrims frequently face in the region. An Intensive Care Unit will be set up to handle critically ill patients. The country's top hospitals like Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, (PGIMER), Chandigarh; the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi; the Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Srinagar, etc. will be available through the telemedicine facility.

Reliance Foundation has proposed the name of eminent scientist Raghunath A Mashelkar as the Chancellor of yet-to-be established Jio Institute. He currently heads the National Innovation Foundation under the Department of Science and Technology, GoI. Dipak C Jain, former director of Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration in Bangkok, will serve as the Vice-Chancellor of the Institute.

The UN members have unanimously elected Iceland to take a seat on the world body's 47-member Human Rights Council. US had left the UNHRC in June, 2018 calling it a cesspool of political bias for its criticism of Israeli regime's crimes against Palestinians.

NITI Aayog has proposed a new integrated digital healthcare system titled National Health Stack (NHS) which could become the country's first future-ready healthcare information system available for use by both the Centre and states across public and private sectors. They are aiming for digital health record of all citizens by the year 2022. This is an attempt to initiate and implement the healthcare schemes announced by the Modi Government this year.

India's home minister Rajnath Singh has recently inaugurated the world's largest state-of-the-art visa centre in Dhaka with modern facilities, promising shorter waiting times for applicants. This Integrated centre at Jamuna Future Park (JFP), Dhaka is the largest Indian visa centre in the world with 18,500 square feet commercial area.

An eight-year-old Indian-origin schoolboy, Ishwar Sharma who is the under-11 UK national yoga champion has been named the "British Indian of the Year" in the Young Achiever category for his achievements in the field of Yoga. He has won a gold medal representing Great Britain at the World Student Games 2018 in Winnipeg, Canada.

At the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed, Vazirani Automotive has unveiled India's first turbine-electric hypercar called 'Vazirani Shul'. This car is propelled by four separate electric motors located beside every wheel, hence enabling torque vectoring. It has a regenerative braking technology that transfers power to the battery whenever the brakes are applied.

India has become the Vice-Chair, Regional head, of the Asia Pacific Region of World Customs Organisation (WCO) for a period of two years, from July 2018 to June 2020. The underlying Theme of the Inaugural Ceremony is "Customs - Fostering Trade Facilitation". WCO represents 182 Customs administrations across the globe that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. The WCO has divided its Membership into six Regions. Each of the six Regions is represented by a regionally elected Vice-Chairperson to the WCO Council. Being the Vice Chair of the Asia-Pacific region of WCO, India will be able to take on the leadership role at the WCO.

World Youth Skills Day is celebrated on 15th July every year. This day is celebrated to expand awareness on the importance of investing in youth skills development. The United Nations General Assembly decided in resolution A/RES/69/145 to depute 15 July as World Youth Skills Day.