Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2018

Notes:
Ustad Imrat Khan, the noted Indian classical musician, has passed away in US. He dedicated his life to propagating the Sitar and the surbahar worldwide. In 2017, he famously turned down the Padma Shri saying the recognition had come too late and diminished his achievements. Imrat Khan toured the world with his music and performed at the Cannes Film Festival in 1970 for a Merchant-Ivory partnership. He was also a regular at various music festivals in India. He belonged to the illustrious Etawa gharana (or the Imdadkhani Gharana), named after his grandfather Ustad Imdad Khan. The gharana is one of the oldest in India with a musical legacy of over 400 years and traces its roots to Agra.

Notes:
Israeli filmmaker Dan Wolman has been honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 49th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2018 in Panaji, Goa on November 20. This year, Israel is the Country of Focus while the State in Focus is Jharkhand. This is for the first time that any state has been made focus state at the festival. As part of IFFI, a special package for visually impaired children, special screening with audio description was organized for the children. The festival showcased the movies ‘Sholay and Hichki’ under this section. This year, there will be a special presentation of Tunisian films.

Notes:
India will host the 50th edition of Union World Conference on Lung Health 2019 in Hyderabad from October 30 to November 2. The conference theme ‘Ending the Emergency: Science, Leadership, Action’ resonates with TB, but it will also raises awareness on all threats to lung health, including air pollution and tobacco abuse. It is expected to be attended by around 6,000 researchers, policy makers, health practitioners, political leaders, and UN and community representatives. The latest research into prevention, cure and vaccines will be presented at the conference. India has the highest TB burden in the world with one in four people ill with tuberculosis globally residing in the country.

Notes:
The World-class autism township will come up near Kolkata, where children and adults suffering from the developmental disorder can receive training, treatment and boarding facilities. It’s a one-of-its-kind initiative in India and will be built as a joint effort by private firm ‘Ratnabali Group’ & the West Bengal government. The estimated cost for building the township has been pegged at Rs 500 crore. Hence, the India Autism Center (IAC) – a non-profit organization under Section 8 of Companies Act, 2013 – is expected to come up over a 52-acre plot at Sirakol in South 24 Parganas by 2023. The IAC will have housing facilities for 350 residents and daycare centre for over 200 children, adolescents and adults. It will also have an administrative wing and a guest house, where parents of those receiving training at the institute can put up for a few days. The soft launch of the project has been scheduled for January 2019.

Notes:
The Dudhwa Tiger Reserve (DTR) and Sashastra Sima Bal (SSB) have joined hands to provide full proof security to Dudhwa forests and its rich wildlife. As per agreement, all security agencies including SSB on the border, central and local intelligence officers, customs and excise officials, Special Tiger Protection Force (STPF) and the Dudhwa field staff will strengthen the patrolling in and around Dudhwa to check forest and wildlife crimes. Hence, the joint long route patrolling comprising SSB, STPF and DTR field staff would be held at regular intervals. The DTR is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 490.3 km2, with a buffer zone of 190 km2 (73 sq mi). It is home for tigers, leopards, Asiatic black bears, sloth bears, Swamp deer, rhinoceros, elephants, cheetal, hog deer, barking deer, sambar, wild boar and hispid hare.

Notes:
The Croatia Davis Cup team has won the 107th edition of the Davis Cup tennis tournament 2018. In the final at Lille’s Stade Pierre Mauroy, Marin Cilic clinched the title by defeating France’s Lucas Pouille 7-6(3) 6-3 6-3 to give his side a decisive 3-1 lead. This is Croatia’s second title. Their maiden victory happened in 2005 when they overcame Slovakia.

Notes:
The Government of India has recently signed $200 Million Loan pact with Asian Development Bank (ADB) in New Delhi for the Bihar State Highways III Project (BSHP-III) . The pact was signed to finance widening and upgrading of about 230 Kilometers State Highways in Bihar to all-weather standards with road safety features. The improved roads under the Project will contribute to savings in vehicle operating cost and travel time, reduce vehicle emissions, and improve road safety. The Project will also establish a State-level Road Research Institute to improve technical and management capacity of the Road Agency Staff. Since 2008, ADB has provided four loans to Bihar, amounting to $1.43 billion, to upgrade about 1,453 km of State Highways and to construct a New Bridge over the Ganga River near Patna. This BSHP-III project, approved by the ADB Board in October 2018, will involve upgrading State Highways to standard two-lane width with road safety features and paved shoulders including reconstructing, widening, and strengthening culverts and bridges. The Project will also build institutional capacity of the State for road design and maintenance and incorporate appropriate new technologies in the State’s road sub-sector.

Notes:
The United Nations has officially selected Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Greater Noida to participate in its Global Sustainable Cities 2025 initiative. The twin-cities in Gautam Buddh Nagar district have been selected in the “University City” category ahead of Mumbai and Bengaluru as the only invitee from India. Overall 25 cities across the world have been selected in five categories by the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cities initiative. The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Notes:
Playback singer Mohammed Aziz (64) has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on November 27, 2018. Born in Ashoknagar, West Bengal, he was the voice behind evergreen tracks such as “My name is Lakhan”, “Aap ke aa jane se” and “Dil le gayi teri bindiya”. Aziz, who has over 20,000 songs to his credit, has sung in Bollywood, Bengali and Odia film industries. He has recorded several devotional bhajans and Sufi songs as well. has recorded several devotional bhajans and Sufi songs as well. He made his film debut with Bengali film, “Jyoti”. His career spanned over three decades and his collaboration with music composers like Kalyanji-Anandji, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Rahul Dev Burman, Naushad, OP Nayyar, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan and Ravindra Jain have resulted in some of most iconic songs that people remember.

Notes:
The National Milk Day (NMD) is celebrated every year on November 26 to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s White Revolution. Dr Kurien was the architect of Operation Flood, the programme which led India from being 50th in the world in terms of milk production to become the largest producer in just a couple of decades.