Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

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:
Star weightlifter Saikhom Mirabai Chanu from Manipur has clinched the first gold for India at the 21st Commonwealth Games (CWG-2018) with a power-packed performance in the women’s 48 kg weightlifting category in Gold Coast, Australia on April 5. In a remarkable performance, Chanu smashed the Commonwealth Games record in snatch, pulling off clean lifts in all her three attempts (80kg, 84kg and 86kg). Chanu lifted a total of 196 kg (86 kg in Snatch + 110 kg in Clean and Jerk) to win the gold for country.

Notes:
The Boao Forum for Asia (BFA), often called Summer Davos, will be held at Boao, a coastal town in the southern island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11 with theme ‘Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity’. It is modeled after the World Economic Forum (WEF) held annually in Davos, Switzerland. It has its fixed address in Bo’ao, Hainan province, China, although the Secretariat is based in Beijing. The BFA is a non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government, business, and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on the most pressing issues in this dynamic region and the world at large.

Notes:
As per latest survey conducted by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) across 53 airports, the Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) has been declared as the cleanest and best-maintained airport in the country under the 1.5 million to 5 million passenger handling airport category. Airport director VV Rao received the award during the 23rd annual day celebrations of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in New Delhi on April 1, 2018.

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:
Kollam Ajith (56), known for his villain roles in Malayalam movies, passed away at Kochi , Kerala on April 5, 2018. He made his silver screen debut with Padmarajan’s 1983 film ‘Parannu Parannu Parannu’. While the actor was mostly seen in villainous and supporting roles, he played the lead role in 1989 film ‘Agnipravesham’. Some of his best-known films are Yuvajanotsavam, Nadodikkattu, No.20 Madras Mail, Nirnayam, Aaraam Thampuran, Olympiyan Anthony Adam and Valliettan among others. Besides his stint in the Malayalam film industry, the actor also starred in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi films. He also helmed Malayalam films Calling Bell and Pakal Pole.

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:
The Centre, Maharashtra Government and the World Bank have signed a $420 million project to help small and marginals farmers in the Marathwada and Vidarbha region of the state. The project will help in increasing climate resilient practices in agriculture and ensuring that farming continues to remain a financially viable activity for them. The project will benefit over 70 lakh farmers cultivating 30 lakh hectares of land in 15 districts. The Maharashtra Project for Climate Resilient Agriculture will be implemented in rural areas largely dependent upon rain-fed agriculture. The project will take up a series of activities at the farm and watershed level and implement micro irrigation systems, expand surface water storage and facilitate aquifer recharge. This would help to a more efficient use of scarce water resources. By adopting climate-resilient seed varieties with short maturity and drought resistance, the project will help the farmers in reducing risks of climate-related crop failure and increase their income.

Notes:
The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7 April to mark the anniversary of the founding of World Health Organization (WHO) and to spread awareness about health and well being. As this year (2018) is WHO’s 70th Anniversary year too, the organization has appealed the world leaders to live up to the pledges they made and agreed to in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015 and for taking concrete actions to progress towards Health For All. The 2018 theme “Universal health coverage: everyone, everywhere” is an indication that nations around the world are aspiring to provide higher accessibility of healthcare to their citizens.

Notes:
The Kamuthi Solar Power Project is a solar park spread over an area of 2,500 acres in Kamuthi, Tamil Nadu. The project was commissioned by Adani Power. With a generating capacity of 648 MW at a single location, it is the world’s sixth largest (as of 2018) solar park.