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

Chairman and MD, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd., Dr. Raghupati Singhania has been conferred with 'Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle', the highest honour accorded to non-nationals by the Government of Mexico. Melba Pria, Ambassador of Mexico to India presented the award to Dr. Singhania on behalf of the President of Mexico on the eve of 128th National Day of Mexico. The top honor is in recognition of Dr. Singhania's exemplary leadership, his noteworthy services towards humanity and his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Mexico.

According to Finance ministry , 20 lakh people have joined the modified Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna (PMJDY) as on September 5, 2018. The total number of account holders has now increased to 32.61 crore.

The government has incorporated provision of penalties for States and Insurance Companies for the delay in settlement of insurance claims under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). According to the new guidelines, the farmers will be paid 12% interest by insurance companies for the delay in settlement claims beyond two months of prescribed cut-off date. State Governments will have to pay 12% interest for the delay in the release of the State share of subsidy beyond three months of prescribed cut-off date submission of requisition by insurance companies. The Government has also decided to include perennial horticultural crops under the ambit of PMFBY on a pilot basis.

Lewis Hamilton won the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay Street Circuit, in Singapore. Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton won the 1st position. He was followed by Red Bull's Max Verstappen in the 2nd spot. Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel finished in the 3rd place. With this victory, Lewis Hamilton has increased his chances of winning this year's Formula One World Championship.

A website and a helpline number of the Ayushman Bharat - National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM) was launched to check the enrolment of the beneficiaries. The website is: mera.pmjay.gov.in & the helpline is : (14555). This was launched by the National Health Agency (NHA), the apex body implementing the scheme. Here the prospective beneficiaries could check if their name is there in the final list. This can be checked through the mobile number of the beneficiary, which is verified through an OTP and then the KYC (know your customer) details can be completed online. Additionally, 'Ayushman Mitras' would assist patients and hospitals to to verify the eligibility and enrolment to the scheme.

The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), chaired by Raksha Mantri Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman accorded approval for the procurement of equipment for the Defence Forces valued at over Rs 9,100 crores. The DAC approved procurement of two Regiments of Akash Missile Systems under 'Buy (Indian)' category from M/s BDL. The Missile to be procured is an upgraded version of the previously inducted Akash missiles and will include seeker technology, possess 360-degree coverage and will be of compact configuration with reduced signature.

Actors Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The actors through their film are saluting India's entrepreneurs and skilled workforce, especially homegrown artisans, craftspeople and weavers.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully tested a low-weight indigenously developed man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) at its Ahmednagar range. It was the second MPATGM test as the DRDO tested the first one on September 15 in Maharashtra. It is expected to replace Second generation French origin anti-tank guided missile Milan and Soviet semi-automatic wire-guided missile Konkur.

The Odisha government has launched a 'Star-Rating' system for industries to check air pollution. It's a first-of-its-kind initiative in the state to ensure transparency in compliance to pollution standards. The initiative will help public find out whether industries in their vicinity are fair in their environmental compliance. It will also recognise the efforts of industries that take responsibility to maintain clean environment. The system will rate industries from 1 to 5 based on their efforts to meet the standards set by Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB). It will be implemented with the help of Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC India) researchers and Tata Centre for Development at Chicago (TCD) in a phased manner. The programme will cover 20 industrial plants initially and will eventually cover all the 136 plants with continuously monitored data.

The Government of India (GoI) has proposed to merge state-owned Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank and Bank of Baroda (BoB) to create India's third largest lender as parts of reforms in the public sector banking segment. The decision was taken at the meeting of a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley which oversees merger proposals of state-owned banks. One of the reasons behind the choice of these banks was perhaps the fact that all three use the same core banking system-Finacle from Infosys-making the task of merging the technology platforms and back-ends relatively easier. Now, the boards of the three banks will consider the proposal. The combined lending entity will have a strong presence across the nation with more than 34% of low-cost deposits, a capital buffer of nearly 12% and a business book of Rs 14.82 lakh crore. Bank of Baroda is the biggest of the three with Rs 10.29 lakh crore of total business, followed by Vijaya Bank at Rs 2.79 lakh crore and Dena Bank at Rs 1.72 lakh crore.

India and Sri Lanka signed an MoU for construction of a 5000-metric ton temperature controlled warehouse in Dambulla, Sri Lanka. The warehouse will be constructed with an Indian grant assistance of 30 crore Sri Lankan rupees. The project envisages construction of a 5000-metric ton temperature controlled warehouse for fruits and vegetables to minimize its post-harvest losses. This initiative will benefit the farming community by reducing the wastage, particularly in the peak season when there is surplus production.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has proposed to the Andhra government its plans to establish a drone manufacturing facility in Anantapur district, a cyber security centre in Amaravati, and turn Rajahmundry and Vijayawada airports into asset positioning bases. IAF also plans to set up a major helicopter training facility at Donakonda in Prakasam district. IAF currently has a base at Arakkonam near Chennai, while the Navy has INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.

Kamlesh Nilakanth Vyas, Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, has been appointed as the Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and the Secretary of Department of Atomic Energy. His tenure will end on May 2021. He has replaced Shekhar Basu. Mr.Vyas is a Mechanical Engineering graduate from MS University, Vadodara. He underwent training in BARC training school in 1979, he joined Fuel Design and Development Section of Reactor Engineering Division of BARC. He is an expert in thermal hydraulics and stress analysis of critical reactor core components. He was awarded the Indian Nuclear Society Outstanding Service Award 2011, Homi Bhabha Science and Technology Award 2006, DAE Awards in the years 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013.

Ola, the Indian ride-hailing company, unveiled its plan to extend its territory to New Zealand. The service will first begin in Auckland, Christchurch, and Wellington. Ola offers the service with a commission rate of 9%. The company is to pay drivers daily rather than weekly in order to benefit the drivers. The company earlier launched its service in Australia in February and the U.K. in August. It said that it enables smart transportation to over 125 million users in India, Australia and the U.K.

A Loan Agreement for IBRD Credit of US$74 million equivalent for the Uttarakhand Workforce Development Project (UKWDP) was signed between India and the World Bank. The Project objective is to improve the quality and relevance of training at priority Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and to increase the number of labor-market-relevant workers through short-term training in Uttrakhand. The Project has a 5-year grace period and a maturity of 17 years.

Tajinder Mukherjee has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director of National Insurance Company Limited (NICL). Prior to joining NIC, she was posted as General Manager and Chief Underwriting Officer of New India Assurance. She has over 33 years of experience in the insurance industry having joined as a Direct recruit Officer 1983 batch in United India Insurance Company.