Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
Sreekumaran Thampi, the renowned Lyricist and director, has been chosen for the prestigious J.C. Daniel Award for 2017 in recognition of his sterling contributions to the Malayalam film industry. The J.C. Daniel Award, which is Kerala’s highest award in Malayalam cinema, will be presented to Thampi at the upcoming Kerala State Film Awards distribution function in Kollam. The J.C. Daniel Award, conferred by the state government annually in recognition to an individual’s contributions to Malayalam cinema, carries a purse of Rs 5 lakh, a plaque, and a citation.

Notes:
Sloane Stephens, a US professional tennis player, has won the 2018 women’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament by defeating Latvian Jelena Ostapenko in the final by 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 on April 1, 2018. It is her first Miami Open tennis title.

Notes:
The West Bengal government has rolled out a new scheme ‘Rupashree’ from April 1, 2018 in order to provide marriage assistance to girls coming from economically weaker families with a budgetary allocation of Rs 1500 crore. The scheme proposes to extend one-time financial assistance worth Rs 25,000 to the family of the girl whose annual income is up to Rs 1.5 lakh. Under the scheme, the woman will have to submit the application before marriage to the Local Bodies or Block Development Officer (BDO) office. The State Government will deposit Rs 25,000 to the beneficiary of the said scheme before his marriage to his bank account.

Notes:
Asia’ s largest startup ecosystem congregation “Huddle Kerala” will be held at Kovalam near the Kerala capital ‘Thiruvananthapuram’ from April 6 and 7, 2018 to provide a platform for start-ups to pitch their products and interact with a wide array of technology and industry leaders from around the world. The main focus of Huddle Kerala will be on the emerging sectors like blockchain, cryptocurrency, internet of things (IoT), gaming and e-sports, cyber security, digital entertainment, augmented reality, virtual reality, e-governance and mobile governance among other latest technologies. The initiative, organised by the Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) in association with the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and IAMAI Startup Foundation, is to have participation from 2,000 delegates, including start-up entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders and academicians, with 40 speakers in 30 sessions.

Notes:
Debjani Ghosh, former managing director of Intel South Asia, has been appointed the new President of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). She succeeded R Chandrashekhar. A big propagator of gender diversity and equal representation in corporate India, Ms. Ghosh was the first woman to lead Intel India and Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology (MAIT). She now gets the rein of Nasscom.

Notes:
India’s longest elevated road, which is also known as “Hindon Elevated Road”, has been inaugurated by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Ghaziabad. The expressway is a 10.3 km long elevated road that connects Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad to the border of Delhi at UP Gate near Vaishali. It reduces an hour-long journey to just 18 minutes. The total cost of the six-lane elevated road project is estimated to be Rs. 1,147 crore. The entire stretch of the Hindon Elevated Road is built on 228 single-pier pillars. The vehicles using the elevated road will be allowed to drive at an average speed limit of 80 km/hour.

Notes:
The 9th India-Japan-US trilateral meeting was held in New Delhi on 4 April 2018 at the Joint Secretary/Director General/Assistant Secretary level. The dialogue was aimed at exploring practical steps to enhance cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, maritime security, maritime domain awareness and Humanitarian Assistance And Disaster Relief (HADR). The trilateral talks were held in accordance with the directions received from the foreign ministers of the three countries, who had met in New York on 18 September 2017 on the margins of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Notes:
Teenager Deepak Lather from Haryana has become the youngest Indian weightlifter to claim a Commonwealth Games medal by clinching a bronze in the men’s 69kg weightlifting category at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) in Gold Coast, Australia on April 6. He lifted a total of 295kg (136kg+159kg). The youngster, competing in his first Commonwealth Games, holds the distinction of being the youngest to hold the national record as well. He held the 62kg category national record at 15. Lather trained at the Army Sports Institute as a diver before being pushed into weightlifting by the coaches there. Earlier, Mirabai Chanu (48kg) and Sanjita Chanu (53kg) won gold medals in the women’s competition and P Gururaja claimed a silver in the men’s 56kg category. The Indian weightlifters have so far claimed four medals in the event.

Notes:
The Global Logistics Summit (GLS-2018) was held in New Delhi on April 5-6 to improve logistics and connectivity which are vital for increasing intra-state and international trade flows. It was organised by the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, along with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and the World Bank Group. The Summit acts as a platform to hold discussions for global experts, academics, government officials and private sector and industry representatives. According to the Union Minister for Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu, 56 new airports will be ready for operation in the next few years.

Notes:
The joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) exercise ‘Chakravath 2018’ is organised by the Indian Navy in coordination with the Kerala government at Kochi Airport. The exercise is conducted by the Southern Naval Command from April 5 to 8. The highlight of the 4-day disaster management exercise is Skill Demo, which was conducted in the Mattancherry Channel off the BTP Jetty. The skill demo showcased the capabilities and prowess of the Armed Forces, as well as all state agencies, in tackling an emergency using all available resource.