Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

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:
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:
Munin Barua (72), the National award winning Assamese film-maker, has passed away in Guwahati, Assam on April 7, 2018. He is popularly known as Bhaimon da. Recipient of National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese in 2005 for his film ‘Dinabandhoo’, Barua’s popular films include ‘Pratima’, ‘Pita Putro’, ‘Pahari Kanya’, ‘Prabhati Pokhir Gaan’, ‘Hiya Diya Niya’, ‘Daag’, ‘Nayak’, ‘Kanyadaan’, ‘Bidhata’, ‘Barood’, ‘Rong’, ‘Raamdhenu’ and ‘Priyar Priyo’. He was also awarded the state award for best director for his film ‘Nayak’ for the year 2001-02 and had received the Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 from Prag Cine Awards for his immense contributions to Assamese film industry.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh Government has launched the Ganga Hariteema Yojana (also known as Ganga Greenery scheme) on 7th April 2018 in 27 districts of the state located on the bank of river Ganga. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has launched the scheme at Allahabad in a function organised on the bank of Sangam the confluence of rivers of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati. The purpose of the scheme includes enhancing green cover in the catchment areas of the river Ganga and to control the land erosion. Plantation will be carried out in 1 Km areas from the banks of river under the scheme. General people will also be encouraged for plantation on their private lands under ‘One Person One Tree’ slogan. A high power committee under chairmanship of Chief Minister has been set up to monitor the implementation of the scheme. The scheme will be carried out by September 16 Ozone Day of this year. Department of Forest has been nominated as nodal department for the scheme.

Notes:
In a bid to use technology for farmers’ benefit, the Tamil Nadu government has launched mobile application named ‘Uzhavan’ (farmer) app that will allow ryots to have access to 9 types of services including details about their crop insurance. It was launched by Chief Minister K Palaniswami. The app can be used by farmers to get information on farm subsidies, book farm equipment and related infrastructure and get details on their crop insurance, besides receiving weather forecast for the next four days. Palaniswami also launched the ‘Amma Bio-Fertiliser’ scheme, named after late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. The initiative was aimed at better management of nature farming, and help boost and maintain soil fertility.

Notes:
The first meeting of NITI Forum for North East- a unit of NITI Aayog took place in Agartala, Tripura on April 09, 2018. The emphasis in meeting was given on Infrastructure and Connectivity. The meeting was inaugurated by Minister of Development of North East Region (DoNER) Dr Jitendra Singh and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Dr Rajiv Kumar. There will be main five missions on which NITI Forum will focus. These include Agriculture, Tourism, Bamboo use and ‘Made in North East’. The NITI Forum was formed to explore and formulate the framework for sustainable growth of the Northeast. It was constituted in February 2018. The secretariat for the Forum has been established in the DoNER Ministry. The Forum includes representation from all NE States, their Chief Secretaries and Secretaries of relevant Central Ministries or Departments, Directors of reputed institutions like IIT and IIM, experts and journalists have been included as members.

Notes:
The International Conference on Human Rights in South Asia has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 9, 2018. The 3-day conference is organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal with theme “Identifying Challenges, Assessing Progress, Moving Forward: Addressing Impunity and Realizing Human Rights in South Asia”. The representatives of Human Rights Commissions and institutions, human rights activists from 20 countries including India are participating in the event. The delegates will discuss various issues including different types of discrimination in South Asia including rights of marginalized groups, collective rights, violence against women, rule of law, due process and combating impunity.

Notes:
Pistol shooter Heena Sidhu from India bagged gold in the women’s 25-metre pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Cost, Australia on April 10, 2018. This was Sidhu’s second medal at the ongoing Games after having claimed a silver in the 10-metre air pistol event behind 16-year-old compatriot Manu Bhaker. The other medal of the day was a Bronze which was won by para-powerlifter Sachin Chaudhary in the men’s heavyweight final. In a 10-man final, Chaudhary finished with a combined effort of 181 kg at the Carrara Sports Arena. It was India’s first medal in Para-sports at the Commonwealth Games.