Current Affairs Quiz - 19th March, 2018 - Current Affairs MCQ

Global Recycling Day was celebrated all over the world on 18th March 2018. It has been launched by the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR). It also coincides with the 70th anniversary of BIR. This is the first ever observation of Global Recycling Day. Its aim is to create awareness on the importance of recycling. It insists to consider recyclables as "resource - not waste." Recyclables have become world's Seventh Resource apart from the six major natural resources: water, air, coal, oil, natural gas and minerals.

Chhattisgarh's Krishi Vigyan Kendra has been named the best such centre in India for its initiatives like nutrition gardens and integrated farming techniques. The Krishi Vigyan Kendra is located in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. It is affiliated to the IGKV (Indira Gandhi Krishi Vishwavidyalaya). It has been named the best of the 650 agriculture science centres in India. . Dr S K Patil, vice chancellor of IGKV in Raipur, and Birbal Sahu, coordinator of Kanker Krishi Vigyan Kendra, received the 'Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Krishi Vigyan Protsahan Award-2017' from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17th March 2018 in New Delhi. The award consists of a cash prize of Rs 25 lakh for infrastructure development and a citation certificate.

With an objective to secure a better future for the Kashmiri youth, Indian Army under the aegis of Chinar Corps has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO). As per the terms of the MoU, Kanpur-based educational trust National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO) will provide quality faculty for professional coaching of Kashmir Youth, while HPCL will be the corporate partner for this project. Indian Army's role will be to oversee the entire project including administration, logistics and security.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has released the book named 'A Tribute to Jagu' as a tribute to former BCCI President Jagmohan Dalmiya. This book has been compiled by SLC as a commemoration of Jagmohan Dalmiya's contributions to cricket. They honoured him posthumously as the greatest non-Sri Lankan contributor to Sri Lankan cricket. Avishek, son of Jagmohan Dalmiya, who is the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) received the book.

Bhawana Kanth became the second woman pilot of Indian Air Force to fly solo in a fighter aircraft. Flying Officer Bhawana Kanth flew in a MiG-21 Bison aircraft from Ambala Air Force Station on 16th March 2018. The first woman pilot of Indian Air Force to fly solo is Flying Officer Avani Chaturvedi. Bhawana Kanth is 25 years old. She is one of the three in the first batch of women pilots who were inducted into the Indian Air Force fighter squadron on 18th June 2016.

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur released 'Mahila Suraksha', a handbook on women's safety. The 'Mahila Suraksha' handbook has been brought out by the Shimla administration. It explains personal safety measures and safeguards related to crimes, and also about sexual harassment at workplace. It also has important telephone and helpline numbers. Jai Ram Thakur said that, the efforts of Shimla administration to bring out a handbook in Braille in both English and Hindi will help the visually challenged women.

President Ram Nath Kovind released Rs 1000 and Rs 10 commemorative coins on Nabakalebara festival in Puri, Odisha. Nabakalebara is a festival observed in the Shree Jagannath Temple at Puri, Odisha at a predefined time according to Hindu Calender. It is a symbolic recreation of the wooden forms of deities at Jagannath Temple, Puri. 'Naba' means new and 'Kalebara' is body. The commemorative coins were released during the centenary celebrations of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan. Odisha Governor S C Jamir, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Minister of Tribal Affairs, Jual Oram were also present at the occasion.

Sierra Leone, a West African country has become the first country in the world to deploy blockchain technology in election process. Sierra Leone attained this distinction by deploying blockchain-based solution to count the votes and provide proof in the recently held Presidential elections. The blockchain based solution used in Sierra Leone's election was developed by a Switzerland based voting technology company, Agora. Total 16 candidates contested this election, and Agora used a proprietary blockchain distributed ledger to keep track of the votes. Based on this news, it can be inferred that blockchain-based solution that uses a publicly visible ledger for keeping track of elections has potential to complement and eventually replace electronic voting machines.

National School of Drama (NSD) will be hosting the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in Mumbai from 24th March, 2018 to 7th April, 2018. Theatre Olympics is the largest international theatre festival and is being held in India for the first time. NSD is hosting the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics in Mumbai in collaboration with Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Maharashtra. Theme for the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics is 'Flag of Friendship'. The Jaipur chapter of the Theatre Olympics, 2018, will be organised by NSD under the aegis of Union ministry of Culture in collaboration with the Ravindra Manch Society and Rajasthan State Art and Culture department from 18th March, 2018 to 1st April, 2018. Concept of Theatre Olympics was established in 1993 in Greece, and thereafter it was held in Japan (1999), followed by Russia (2001), Turkey (2006), South Korea (2010), China (2014) and Poland (2016).

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi inaugurated the first 'Startup hub' of Bihar in Patna. Sushil Kumar Modi said that, work station and office space along with free of cost "plug and play" facility will be offered to 31 startup companies in the startup hub. He said that, the startup hub will be developed as a common facility centre. He also said that, policy and structural reforms to encourage IT enable services and ESDM (Electronics System Design and Manufacturing) in Bihar had been recently initiated.

Singapore is the most expensive city in the world as per Worldwide Cost of Living 2018 report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Singapore has retained its title as the world's most expensive city for the fifth consecutive year. Worldwide Cost of Living is a bi-annual study of 133 cities conducted by London-headquartered Economist Intelligence Unit. It serves as a reference for companies to calculate cost-of-living allowances and prepare compensation packages for expatriates and business travellers. To derive the rankings, cost of more than 100 items such as cars, food, rent and clothing were compared across 133 cities. India's capital New Delhi along with Chennai and Bengaluru has featured in the ten cheapest cities of the world.

Indian actress Simi Garewal received the "UK Golden Flame Award" at the opening ceremony of the Tongues of Fire UK Asian Film Festival in London. Simi Garewal is an actress and a talk show host. She has been honoured with this award for her contribution to Indian cinema. The Tongues of Fire UK Asian Film Festival is held between 15 and 25 March 2018. It is held in London, Leicester, Manchester and Edinburgh.

FIFA lifted its three-decade ban on Iraq hosting international football matches, allowing Arbil, Basra and Karbala cities to host official matches. Iraq will host a friendly tournament between Qatar and Syria on 21st March 2018 in Basra. FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that, FIFA has allowed Iraq to host international matches but organisers of the championship should take the final decision. FIFA said that, still it cannot allow matches to be held in Baghdad, capital of Iraq. But Gianni Infantino assured that application for hosting matches in Baghdad will be studied.

World Sleep Day was observed all over the world on Mar 16. World Sleep Day is an annual event organized by the World Sleep Day Committee of World Sleep Society. It is observed every year on the Friday before Spring Vernal Equinox. The next World Sleep Day will be on 15 March 2019. This day aims to reduce the burden of sleep problems by means of better prevention and management of sleep disorders. Theme for World Sleep Day 2018: Join the Sleep World, Preserve Your Rhythms to Enjoy Life.

The 1st meeting of the Working Group on making India, USD 5 Trillion Economy was held on March 15, 2018 in New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu and was attended by representatives from NITI Aayog and other industry bodies including Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The objective of Working Group is to chart out a timeline for achieving the goal of making Indian economy a USD 5 trillion economy from the current USD 2.6 trillion economy. Key points discussed at the meeting included need for creating appropriate physical and social infrastructure to accommodate the aspirations of India's millennial population.