Current Affairs Quiz - 14th May, 2018

Solution: India & Myanmar have signed 7 agreements during the External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's visit to Myanmar. The 7 agreements signed included one on land border crossing that will enable people from both countries to cross the land border with passport & visa for accessing health & education services. MoU on training of Myanmar foreign service officers was also signed during the meeting.

Solution: Dena Bank has announced that Reserve Bank of India has restricted it from taking fresh credit exposure and recruiting new staff. It is to be noted that RBI initiated prompt corrective action against Dena Bank and imposed certain restrictions in May 2017 owing to high net non performing assets (NPA) and negative Return on Assets. The fresh restriction has been imposed in wake of deteriorated financial performance for the 4th quarter of 2017-18. For fourth quarter ended March 31, 2018, Dena Bank reported a net loss of Rs 1225 crore, which is much wider than the net loss of Rs 575 crore recorded in the same quarter last year. In addition to this, for the financial year 2017-18, Dena Bank recorded a net loss of Rs 1924 crore marking a third consecutive year of net loss.

Solution: The green licence plates will make it easy to identify electric vehicles for preferential treatment in parking, free entry in congested zones and other proposed benefits like concessional toll. Currently there are four kinds of vehicle number plates in India: white licence plates with numbers in black font for private vehicles, yellow plates with black font for commercial vehicles, black plates with yellow font letters for self-driven rental vehicles and blue plates with white font for Embassies and High Commissions.

Solution: NASA will send a small helicopter to Mars, in the first test of a heavier-than-air aircraft on another planet. The Mars helicopter will be bundled with the US space agency's Mars rover when it launches in 2020. The helicopter is specifically designed to fly in the atmosphere of Mars, which is 100 times thinner than Earth's.

Solution: Fino Payments Bank launched a suite of digital products that can be accessed online and through mobile phones with the focus to build the transaction platform. Fino had launched its mobile banking app BPay in 2017. The latest initiatives include Unified Payments Interface (UPI), BHIM app - using which customers can access UPI and make P2P payments, net banking, digi savings account which can be opened with only Aadhaar number and PAN card and FasTag for making digital payments at toll plazas on national highways.

Solution: Indian Naval ship Sumedha, a Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel has been deployed to undertake joint EEZ surveillance of Maldives. The ship would undertake an Operational Turnaround at Male during which it would interact & impart training to Maldive's National Defence Forces personnel. Joint EEZ surveillance is an endeavor of Govt of India & Indian Navy to ensure safety & security of the vast EEZ.

Solution: Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and UAE Minister of State & Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Group CEO Dr. Sultan Al Jaber flagged off the first consignment of 2 million barrels of ADNOC crude for Mangalore Cavern. During the day, Mr. Pradhan also held the bilateral meeting with H.E. Dr. Jaber. The Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister also had an interactive session with over 250 Indian professionals, business leaders and community representatives working in the UAE. The event was organized by the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi.

Solution: India and Nepal have agreed to expand their partnership for socio-economic development on the basis of principles of equality, trust, respect and mutual benefit. In a joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to Nepal. Mr. Modi and his Nepalese counterpart KP Sharma Oli emphasized the need for the regular convening of bilateral mechanisms to review the overall state of bilateral relations and for expeditious implementation of the economic and development co-operation projects.

Solution: The Kerala State Electricity Board has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Thermal Power Corporation for increasing solar power generation in the state. The MoU also includes an agreement to set up a 15 MW solar power unit at the NTPC complex in Kayamkulam. The possibility of setting up solar plants at reservoirs, open space & top of buildings will also be explored.

Solution: Hockey Punjab emerged as the Champions of the competition after they came from a goal down to defeat Petroleum Sports Promotion Board 2-1. Jharkhand was crowned champions of 8th Hockey India Junior Women National Championship 2018.

Solution: Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar was honored with the Swara Mauli title by spiritual guru Vidya Narasimha Bharati Swami. Mangeshkar, 88, was conferred with the award at her residence in Mumbai. Her sisters Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar and brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar were also present.

Solution: President Ram Nath Kovind unveiled India's first, indigenous lithium-ion battery charger, developed by Ampere Vehicles in New Delhi. The lithium-Ion charger project is supported by Technology Development Board of the Ministry of Science and Technology as part of the Make-in-India initiative. The unveiling event took place on the occasion of National Technology Day.

Solution:

President Ram Nath Kovind unveiled India's first, indigenous lithium-ion battery charger, developed by Ampere Vehicles in New Delhi. The lithium-Ion charger project is supported by Technology Development Board of the Ministry of Science and Technology as part of the Make-in-India initiative. The unveiling event took place on the occasion of National Technology Day.

Solution:

In a bid to attract more Buddhist tourists from across the world, Central Government has decided to expand Buddhist tourism circuit to 21 more states. Buddhist Circuit is among the thirteen thematic circuits under central Government's Swadesh Darshan Scheme. As per earlier plan, it comprised only seven major Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. However, now the circuit will be expanded as Union Ministry of Tourism has identified stupas and viharas in 21 states, around which small intra-state Buddhist zones will be developed. Some of these states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Goa, Gujarat and Jammu & Kashmir. Objective behind expanding Buddhist circuit is to attract more Buddhist tourists, particularly the new-age Buddhist tourists from the West, and also from traditional markets in South East Asia. Among these states, most noteworthy is the plan to create a Buddhist theme park in Madhya Pradesh, which will have light and sound show, interpretation centre, wayside amenities and sanitation facilities.

Solution:

Indian judokas won 3 medals on the opening day of Asian Cadet Judo Championships in Lebanon. Rohini S Mohite from Maharashtra won a gold medal in the 40kg category while Tababi Devi Thanjam of Manipur emerged as a champion in the 44kg category. India has sent a 40-member team for the 12th Asian Cadet Judo Championships.