Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2019

Notes:
To empower AGRI, MSME segment and small businesses, the State Bank of India (SBI) has signed the first co-origination loan agreement with PAISALO Digital Limited. It is the first agreement of its kind in the country that SBI has signed. This will introduce a platform for the last mile customer. Here, the loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to Rs 2 lakh. The company expects to disburse 200,000 loan applications in FY20. The move is to enable the customers to reach with ease and use the platform for smooth loan disbursal and repayment easily. PAISALO Digital Ltd is a systemically important non-deposit taking NBFC registered with the Reserve Bank of India and has been in operations since 1992.

Notes:
On April 12, the Russia government announced its decision to confer the Order of St Andrew the Apostle – the highest state decoration of the country on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The decoration is being given to Mr Modi for his exceptional services in promoting special and privileged strategic partnership between the Russian Federation and India and friendly relations between the Russian and Indian people. The Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. This is the 7th international award conferred on Mr Modi since he became the premier in 2014. The others are the Zayed Medal of the UAE (2019), the Seoul Peace Prize, UN Champions of the Earth Award, Grand Collar of the State of Palestine (all in 2018), Amir Abdullah Khan Award of Afghanistan and King Abdullaziz Sash of Saudi Arabia (both in 2016). Four of the awards are from Islamic states.

Notes:
On 13th April 2019, the nation paid homage to the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on the centenary of the incident. On this day in 1919, hundreds of innocent Indians were killed by troops under British Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer, during a peaceful meeting on Baisakhi at the park in Amritsar, Punjab. Here, the civilians had assembled for a peaceful protest to condemn the arrest and deportation of two national leaders, Satya Pal and Saifuddin Kitchlew. The massacre is one of the darkest chapters of India’s freedom struggle against the British occupation. The official death toll by the British government was put at 379, but Indian figures put the toll at closer to 1,000. Even after 100 years, the British government has only regretted the massacre but stopped short of apologizing for the killing of so many innocent people.

Notes:
To make Google Pay more useful for Indian customers, Google has partnered with MMTC-PAMP India to introduce buying and selling of gold through the app. Through this partnership with India’s only London Bullion Market Association (LBMA)-accredited gold refinery, Google Pay users will be able to buy 99.99% 24-karat gold. Google Pay users can now purchase gold for any value, which will be stored on behalf of the user in secure vaults by MMTC-PAMP. Users can buy and sell this gold any time at the latest price, refreshed every few minutes on the Google Pay app. Other mobile wallet providers such as Paytm, MobiKwik and PhonePe too provide the facility of buying gold from their wallet apps.

Notes:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the first-ever captain to register 100 wins in Indian Premier League (IPL) history after Chennai Super Kings (CSK) defeated Rajasthan Royals by 4 wickets at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur on 11th April 2019. MS Dhoni is the most experienced captain in the Indian Premier League. He has led Chennai Super Kings in 152 matches. In 2016, Dhoni led Rising Pune Supergiant in 14 matches. Overall, MS Dhoni has played 182 matches in the IPL and scored 4172 runs at an average of 41.30 with 21 fifties (19 for CSK and 2 for RPS) and 121 dismissals as wicketkeeper.

Notes:
India will be the Guest of Honour country at the 29th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair (ADIBF 2019), which is scheduled to be held from April 24th to 30th. The fair aims to highlight the UAE’s rich heritage, showcasing its authenticity and modernity, as well as its cultural and literary output. India’s participation in the fair is expected to attract significant increase in the number of visitors with various events and activities which will be held throughout the entire duration of ADIBF. The Indian Pavilion will host Indian writers, authors and literary scholars who will serve as ambassadors for the literature and art of their country.

Notes:
Gargi Kaul, a 1984-batch officer of the Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS), has been appointed as new Secretary of Defence Finance.

Notes:
Meena Kumari Maisnam from Manipur clinched gold in the 54 kg category at the 2019 Boxing World Cup in Cologne, Germany. Reigning youth world champion Sakshi (57 kg) and India Open champion Pwilao Basumatary (64 kg) lost their final bouts and finished with silver medals. Hence, India completed a haul of five medals from this prestigious European tournament following Pinki Rani (51kg) and Parveen (60kg)’s bronze medal wins on 13th April 2019.

Notes:
Director General at Life Sciences – DRDO, Dr A K Singh has been conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award-2019 during 4th APJ Abdul Kalam Innovation Conclave at Chandigarh University, Mohali. He is recognized for his rich contribution in the field of life sciences, aerospace and aeronautics. The DST scientist has more than 18 patents and has contributed in more than 57 research publications at an international and national level. The conclave was organised by the university to mark World Creativity and Innovation Day (WCID).

Notes:
Pradeep Choubey (70), the renowned Hindi poet, has passed away in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on April 12, 2019. He was the younger brother of celebrated humorist, satirist and poet Shail Chaturvedi. Born on 26th August 1949 in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, Choubey shifted to Gwalior. He quit his job at Dena Bank to pursue his passion of poetry and travelled across the nation enthralling audiences with his punches, several of them targeted at the orthodox elements of society. Besides humour, he was famous for satirical comments on the system.