January 30, 2018, Current Affairs, Quiz - Current Affairs MCQ

Airports Authority of India (AAI) chairman Guruprasad Mahapatra said that, AAI has allocated Rs 3400 crore for upgradation of airports in the North East region. Out of the total allocated amount, the share for each state is as follows: Assam – Rs 1720 crore, Tripura – Rs 525 crore, Manipur – Rs 800 crore, Nagaland – Rs 42 crore, Arunachal Pradesh – Rs 211 crore and Mizoram – Rs 60 crore. Projects worth Rs 934 crore have already been finished. The remaining part is planned to be completed in two to three years. Among the work to be done, is a new integrated airport construction at Agartala in Tripura. Also, an Instrument Landing System (ILS) will be installed at the Shillong airport, in Meghalaya.

Armies of India and Vietnam began ‘VINBAX’, a six day-long military exercise in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Vietnam – India Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX) is the first military exercise between India and Vietnam. Defence ties between India and Vietnam have strengthened in recent times with the primary focus being cooperation in the maritime domain. With the first protocol on defence cooperation signed in 1994, India and Vietnam have been periodically elevating their defence cooperation since then. In 2007, the ties were elevated to strategic level and thereafter a pact on boosting bilateral defence cooperation was signed in 2009. In 2016, India-Vietnam strategic partnership was elevated to a comprehensive strategic partnership

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has issued an order to provide quota in Central Government jobs to people with autism, mental illnesses, intellectual disability and victims of acid attacks. Now onwards, in case of direct recruitment, four per cent of the total number of vacancies, (up from the existing three per cent) shall be reserved for people with benchmark disabilities. A person with not less than forty per cent of a specified disability is to be considered as having benchmark disability. As per the new order, central government departments have been directed to ensure that one per cent of each posts be reserved for people with blindness and low vision, deaf and hard of hearing, locomotor disability including cerebral palsy, leprosy cured, dwarfism, acid attack victims and muscular dystrophy.

On January 29, 2018, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) conducted a ‘Day at Sea’ event for children of fishing hamlets at Frazerganj in South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal as part of its initiative for close interaction with the fishing community of coastal areas. Frazerganj is a fishing harbour on Bay of Bengal coast at the southern tip of West Bengal. 19 boys and girls from Frazerganj got an opportunity to have a joyride on board a hovercraft that had been brought in from the ICG base at Haldia. At the conclusion of this programme, children were explained as to how the Coast Guard carried out its duty of ensuring coastal security and how the fishing community can help and thereby benefit by providing security related inputs to Coast Guard. This programme for the children was one of the activities conducted by Coast Guard in the run up to its 41st Raising Day on February 1, 2018.

19th India International Watch and Clock Fair “Samaya Bharati 2018” was held in Mumbai, Maharashtra from January 25, 2018 to January 28, 2018. The fair was inaugurated by Amruta Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Vice President of Axis Bank. It was organised by India’s leading watch and clock magazine “Trade Post” under the auspices of Watch Trade Federation. A range of watches, time pieces, clocks, and watch accessories were showcased at this fair. The fair served as a platform for manufacturers, retailers, exporters, importers, as well as individual watch lovers across India and from abroad, to meet, discuss, and explore new opportunities.

‘Sammakka Saaralamma Maha Jathara’, a tribal festival, will begin on 31st January 2018, in Eturunagaram, Telangana. The tribal people worship the tribal goddess ‘Sammakka’ during the festival. Tribal people from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh would participate in this festival. Nearly 20 lakh water packets have been arranged by the district administration for distribution during the festival. Free Wi-Fi facility has also been arranged.

On 29th January 2018, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the Mahesra Bridge at Sonauli-Gorakhpur National highway. The Mahesra Bridge links Gorakhpur and other eastern Uttar Pradesh districts with Nepal. The bridge will act as the main route for people travelling from Gorakhpur towards Balrampur, Maharajganj and Gonda. During his visit to Gorakhpur, Yogi Adityanath laid foundation stones for various other projects. He also announced that, a sanitation and encephalitis vaccination drive for children under 15 years will be launched around April 2018.

The Jammu and Kashmir government has formed a committee to study the scope and definition of horticulture in Government of India and other states. The committee is headed by the chief secretary of Jammu Kashmir Bharat Bhushan Vyas. Members of the committee are: administrative secretary finance, administrative secretary planning and monitoring, administrative secretary horticulture. The committee will study the scope and definition of horticulture in Government of India and other states. This will help in improving and assessing the growth of Jammu and Kashmir in the horticulture department

According to a report by New World Wealth, India is sixth wealthiest country with total wealth of USD 8230 billion. As per the report, United States is the wealthiest country in the world with total wealth of USD 64584 billion in 2017. In context of this report, total wealth, refers to the private wealth (property, cash, equities, business interests) held by all the individuals living in each country/city. The report outlined that, India has emerged as the best performing wealth market in the world as its total wealth increased by 25% from USD 6584 billion in 2016 to USD 8230 billion in 2017. India, is home to 330400 High Net Worth individuals (HNWIs) – individuals with USD 1 million or more in net assets – and 20730 multi-millionaires.

AGTech and Paytm have announced the launch of Gamepind, a mobile platform offering social and casual games. Gamepind will be available through Paytm app and also as an independent app. Gamepind contains a variety of games and entertainment content. In this joint venture, AGTech has 45 % stake and Paytm has 55 % stake. Merchants can utilize this platform to engage with customers in a better way. AGTech is a company focused on games and entertainment in China. It is a part of the Alibaba Group.

Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of IT company Infosys, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation for a grant to create a child-friendly village for improving children’s health, providing education and creating a non-violent environment. Kailash Satyarthi, the winner of Nobel Peace Prize 2014, is leading a global movement to end child slavery and exploitative child labour. Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation, a non-profit organization, is working to create a world where every child is free, safe, healthy, educated and has the ability to discover his/her potential. Under the MoU, Infosys Foundation will disburse the grant for the stated purpose, over next three years.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi automakers alliance has overtaken Volkwagen as the world’s biggest seller of light vehicles in 2017. During 2017, Nissan Motor Co’s sales hit a record high of 5.82 million, Renault reported sales of 3.76 million and Mitsubishi’s sales came in at 1.03 million. Together, the alliance posted a record breaking total of 10.61 million light vehicles sales in 2017. Volkswagen, the top seller of 2016, which also includes the Audi, Skoda, Seat and Porsche brands posted sales of 10.53 million light vehicles in 2017. At No. 3 was Toyota Motor Corp, which held the No.2 spot in 2016. For 2017, Toyota posted group sales of 10.2 million light vehicles.

As per a report by World Steel Association, India has overtaken the US to become the world’s third largest crude steel producer. As per World Steel Association’s report, during 2017, India’s crude steel production stood at 101.4 million tonnes (MT). This is 6.2 per cent higher as compared to 95.5 MT in the previous year. China remained the world leader with 831.7 MT crude steel production in 2017. Despite of witnessing negative growth in crude steel output during 2017, Japan is the second largest global steel producer with 104.7 MT production in 2017. During 2017, Global steel production was 1691.2 MT which marks 5.3 per cent increment as compared to 2016 when the output was 1606.3 MT.

Malayalam actor Mohanlal and athlete P. T. Usha were awarded honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt) by Kerala Governor and Calicut University Chancellor P. Sathasivam, in Kozhikode, Kerala. It was announced four years earlier that, Mohanlal and P. T. Usha will be awarded honorary Doctorate of Literature (D.Litt). Mohanlal is one of the top actors of the Malayalam film industry. P. T. Usha became the youngest Indian sprinter to participate in 1980 Moscow Olympics, when she was 16 years old. She now works for the Indian Railways. She also owns an institute named P. T. Usha School of Athletics.

Dr Vinod Paul, Member of NITI Aayog, has been conferred the IhsanDoğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Dr Vinod Paul has become the first Indian to receive this award. He has been conferred this award for his contributions to the family health sector. The award will be presented to Dr Vinod Paul at the World Health Assembly in May 2018, in Geneva, Switzerland. Dr Vinod Paul has been recognized by WHO as a reputed researcher, clinician, educator and public health advocate in the newborn health sector. His book on paediatrics is considered the standard textbook for medical students in India and various foreign countries. He has played an important role in developing national child health guidelines and programmes in India.

On January 29, 2018, Indian Parliamentary Group (IPG) announced Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for last five years. Names for the award were shortlisted by a committee headed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Upper House P J Kurien, BJP veteran L K Advani, Congress leader Karan Singh and Head of the Indira Gandhi National Centre For Arts, Ram Bhadur Rai were also a part of this committee. Besides, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar was a special invite to the committee. The final selection was based on members’ experience, awareness of issues, debating skills, depth with which issues were raised, observance of the rules of procedure, contribution in parliamentary committees and maintenance of dignity. IPG is a 24-member autonomous body comprising current and former Members of Parliament (MPs) of both houses. IPG is headed by the Speaker.

On 30th January 2018, Union Environment Minister Harshvardhan launched ‘Mihir’, a 2.8 PetaFlops capacity high-performance computer system in Noida. Mihir is capable of predicting weather and climate accurately. Harshvardhan said that, Mihir will help to resolve issues related to agriculture. It will help Meteorological department to predict climate based calamities and issue warnings for fishermen. India has now become one of the 30 countries to own this advanced technology.

On 30th January 2018, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal launched the ‘311 app’ at the Raj Niwas, in Delhi. The 311 app is available on the Google Play Store and the Apple Store. This app aims to increase involvement of citizens in resolving grievances and improving civic services in Delhi. The app will provide users the locations of nearby public toilets, police stations, metro stations, petrol pumps, parking, hospitals, bus stands, veterinary clinics, libraries, gyms, markets, etc. Users can register complaints through the 311 app and the complaints will be logged with geo-tagged photos. The complaints will be resolved by designated officers of the area identified through geo-tagged photos. Users can check the complaint status. The 311 app is integrated with the Swachhta App of the Ministry of Urban Affairs.

On 29th January 2018, Dr Sonam Dawa, Chief Executive Councilor (CEC) of Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) of Leh Ladakh region in Jammu and Kashmir, died due to cardiac arrest in Leh. Sonam Dawa became the Chief Executive Councilor of LAHDC in 2015. Ladakh Buddhist Association has declared Ladakh Bandh on 30th January 2018, marking the death of Sonam Dawa

On 30th January 2018, Chintaman Wanaga, senior BJP MP from Maharashtra, died in Delhi. Chintaman Wanaga was 67 years old. He was declared dead when he was brought to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in Delhi. Investigation is being conducted to find the cause of his death. He was born on 1st June 1950. He was elected from Palghar in Maharashtra to the Lok Sabha.