Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
From April 1, the petrol pumps in New Delhi started supplying ultra-clean Bharat Stage (BS) VI grade fuel (both petrol and diesel) with an aim to combat the rising levels of air pollution in Delhi-NCR region. With this move, New Delhi has become the India’s first city to switch from BS-IV grade fuels to BS-VI (equivalent to fuel meeting Euro-VI emission norms). The major difference in standards between the existing BS-IV and the new BS-VI auto fuel norms is the presence of sulphur. The newly introduced fuel is estimated to reduce the amount of sulphur released by 80%, from 50 parts per million to 10 ppm. As per the analysts, the emission of Nox (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars is also expected to reduce by nearly 70% and 25% from cars with petrol engines. Other cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad along with 13 major cities, including Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, will also switch over to cleaner BS-VI grade fuel from January 2019. However, BS- VI fuel will be rolled out in rest of the country by April 2020.

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:
India is now the second-largest mobile phone producer in the world after China, as per information shared by Indian Cellular Association (ICA) with the Government of India (GoI). ICA referred to data available from market research firm IHS, China’s National Bureau of Statistics and Vietnam General Statistics Office. According to the data shared by ICA, annual production of mobile phones in India increased from 3 million units in 2014 to 11 million units in 2017. With this, India replaced Vietnam to become the second largest producer of mobile phones in 2017. With the rise in mobile phone production, imports of the devices in the country also reduced to less than half in 2017-18. The Fast Track Task Force (FTTF), a body under the ministry of electronics and IT, has set a target to achieve around 500 million mobile phone production in India by 2019, with value estimated to be around $46 billion.

Notes:
The Kerala football team has won the 72nd edition of Santosh Trophy Football tournament 2018 by defeating West Bengal in the final by 4-2 via penalties at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on April 1. It is their sixth Santosh Trophy Football title. The Kerala team is led by Rahul Raj in the 2018-19 season. Kerala have not won the trophy since 2005 and lost on penalties to Services in the final five years ago at home in Kochi.

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:
Rosemary DiCarlo, the US diplomat, has been appointed as the head of UN political affairs, one of the most high-profile positions at the United Nations (UN). With this, DiCarlo has become the first woman to head this position. She succeeded Jeffrey Feltman. DiCarlo also served as deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs and director for United Nations affairs at the national security council in Washington.

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:
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:
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.