GK & Current Affairs Quiz: March 23, 2017

Notes:
India has been ranked 131st out of 188 countries in the 2017 Human Development Index (HDI), as per latest Human Development Report (HDR) 2016 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). As per the report, India’s rank of 131 puts it in the “medium human development” bracket, which also includes nations like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Pakistan, Kenya, Myanmar and Nepal. The report also stated that regional disparities in education, health and living standards within India or inequality in human development has caused India’s downfall to 27% on HDI score. The list is topped by Norway, followed by Australia and Switzerland.

Notes:
The Assam government has recently signed MoU with State Bank of India (SBI) to provide Housing and Educational Loan at subsidised interest rates to the employees of the state government. As per the MoU, the Assam Government will provide interest subsidy at the rate of 3.50% for housing loan and education loan at 4%. Accordingly, the state government employees will get substantial benefit in terms of interest rates and reduced EMI. There are provisions for collateral free loan, Zero Margin, Zero Processing Fee with longer repayment tenure. Maximum limit of Housing Loan is Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh for High education loan.

Notes:
French mathematician Yves Meyer has won the prestigious 2017 Abel Prize for his pivotal role in the development of the mathematical theory of wavelets (small waves or ripples). Meyer will receive 6 million Norwegian krone (about £600,000) for the prize, which recognizes outstanding contributions to mathematics and is awarded annually by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

Notes:
Madhabi Puri Buch has been appointed as the new Whole-Time Member (WTM) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a period of 3 years. She will get pay as admissible to additional secretary to Government of India or a consolidated salary of Rs. 3.75 lakh per month. This is the first time that a women and a person from private sector has been chosen for a key post with the market regulator. She is founder-director of Agora Advisory Pvt Ltd and currently at the New Development Bank in Shanghai, China.

Notes:
Recently, Indian shooter Ankur Mittal has won Gold medal in the Men’s Double Trap event at the 2017 International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico on March 22, 2017. Ankur defeated James Willet of Australia, the gold medalist at 2017 ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in February 2017. Ankur had also won Silver medal in Men’s Double trap at the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi.

Notes:
The 2017 India Sourcing Fair (ISF) will be held at Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), Colombo, Sri Lanka from March 24 to 26, 2017. It is being organized by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) under the Ministry of Commerce, India. The main purpose of the ISF-2017 is to project strengths of Indian companies to the Sri Lankan counterparts who are going in for massive sourcing of products and services from other countries. The ISF 2017 will provide an opportunity for Sri Lankan industrialists and businesses to view the latest innovations, products and services offered by Indian companies. The event will showcase products like Automobiles & auto parts, engineering goods, textile, garments, accessories, food & hospitality products, bakery & hotel equipments, packaging & printing industry and much more etc. in the Miscellaneous industry.

Notes:
The World Tuberculosis Day (WTD) is observed every year on March 24 to raise public awareness about the global epidemic of Tuberculosis (TB) and efforts to eliminate the disease. Tuberculosis (TB) is a disease caused by bacteria “Mycobacterium tuberculosis” that most often affect the lungs. The disease is spread from person to person through the air. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015 10.4 million people fell ill with TB and 1.8 million died from the disease. Over 95% of TB deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. The 2017 theme is “Unite to End TB”.

Notes:
The “3rd International Conference on Alternate Fuels and Raw Materials in Cement Industry -Towards Realising Swachh Bharat Dream” has started in New Delhi from March 23, 2017, which is organized by the Cement Manufacturer’s Association India (CMA). The 2-day conference aims to facilitate technical, regulatory and financial solutions for increasing alternate fuels and raw materials usage in the cement industry.

Notes:
The Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY), a scheme for providing physical aids and assisted-living devices for senior citizens belonging to BPL category, will be launched by the Union Government at district Nellore in Andhra Pradesh on April 1, 2017. The ambitious RVY scheme is the first-of-its-kind in India, which is fully funded by the Central Government. This Central Sector Scheme (CSS) is expected to benefit 5,20,000 Senior Citizens over a period of the 3 years. The scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency ‘Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO)’, which will undertake one year free maintenance of the aids & assisted living devices. The devices will help the Senior Citizens to overcome their age related physical impairment and to lead a dignified and productive life with minimal dependence on care givers or other members of the family.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed the loan agreement for a $350 million loan to upgrade district roads in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The Madhya Pradesh District Connectivity Sector project will improve about 1,600 kilometers of major district roads in Madhya Pradesh through lane widening, surface improvements, and strengthening of culverts and bridges. The project will focus on strengthening culverts and bridges and improving accident response schemes. The loan is ADB’s first in the district roads sector in India and will address a neglected part of ongoing road network upgrades in the country for these secondary roads, which provide a key link between rural roads and state highway.