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:
John Isner, an American professional tennis player, has won the 2018 men’s singles Miami Open tennis tournament. In the title clash, the 14th seeded American defeated fourth-placed German Alexander Zverev, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first ever Masters 1,000 title. With this win, Isner returned to his career-high ranking of world No. 9.

Notes:
The 7th Moscow Conference on International Security (MCIS – 2018) will be held in Moscow, Russia from April 4. The 2-day conference will be focused on the defeat of terrorists in Syria. The Indian delegation will be led by Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This will be her first visit to Russia in her capacity as the Defence Minister. During her 3-day tour, she will meet her Russian counterpart Army General Sergei Shoigu and other senior leaders. The visit will provide an opportunity to reinforce the traditional warm and friendly relations that exist between the two countries with particular reference to military technical cooperation.

Notes:
M.L. Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Akademies) of Ministry of Culture, has been appointed the protem Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi. On the recommendation of the Minister of Culture, the President has appointed him with immediate effect. He will continue to hold the office till a regular Chairman is appointed. He succeeded CS Krishna Setty. The new chairman is likely to be appointed within 15 days.

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:
Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD), has recently released INDIA RANKINGS 2018 for Higher Educational Institutions and presented awards to the institutions under the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2018). In it, the Indian Institute of Science (IISC) in Bengaluru has been adjudged the overall best institution in the country. Apart from this, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) – has been adjudged the best engineering college and the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM – A) the best management institution. Delhi University’s Miranda House was the best college and National Law School of India University, Bengaluru (NLSIU – B) the best law school in the country. In the medical college category, AIIMS New Delhi stood first, followed by PGIMER Chandigarh and CMC Vellore. The idea behind these rankings is to promote quality in education. The aim is also encourage competition to perform better and set up new benchmarks of performance in higher education space.

Notes:
India has been ranked 37th out of 125 countries in global startup ecosystem in 2017, according to latest report released by global startup ecosystem map Startupblink. The Startupblink is a global startup ecosystem map with tens of thousands of registered startups, coworking spaces, and accelerators. The list was topped by the United States, followed by the United Kingdom. The rankings, in association with ANSYS Startup Program, are based on many thousands of data points gathered over the last four years on StartupBlink’s global startup map, including data collected by its local representatives in more than 70 chapters around the world. The study targets three primary audiences: entrepreneurs, municipal development offices, and national governments. Entrepreneurs can utilise the rankings to determine if a particular city has the resources needed to support their goals.

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:
Steven Bochco (74), the noted television producer and writer, has passed away in Los Angeles, California on April 1, 2018. He was known for creating the groundbreaking police drama ‘Hill Street Blues’.