Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
The joint military exercise “Desert Tiger 5” was recently held between United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Malaysia in Dubai, UAE. The purpose of the exercise was to raise the level of performance and combat efficiency and working together between both countries based on the strategy to improve the overall ability and combat readiness of ground forces. The military exercise was implemented within the framework of the UAE leadership’s continued desire to support and create unique partnerships between both countries in all areas.

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 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a unique initiative ‘Project Dhoop’ to encourage schools to shift their morning assembly to around noon-time, mainly between 11 am to 1 pm, to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight. The move comes in the backdrop of rising incidence of Vitamin D deficiency (VDD), particularly amongst the young people, in the country as the studies have found that over 90% of boys and girls in various Indian cities are deficient in Vitamin D despite most part of India receiving abundant sunshine all the year through. The ‘Project Dhoop’ has been launched by FSSAI in association with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and North MCD Schools at National Bal Bhavan.

Notes:
Indian women’s Table Tennis team has created history by clinching their first-ever Gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. Indian paddlers Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das won the final tie 3-1 against Singapore’s Tianwei Feng, Yihan Zhou and Mengyu Yu. Manika Batra led Table tennis team’s victory was historic as Singapore had never lost since 2002. Apart from this, Indian men’s table tennis team led by Sharath Kamal defeated Nigeria 3-0 in the final event to clinch gold at the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2006. With this, India joined England to bag second-most table tennis gold medals (5) at CWG. This is the first time that India have won both men’s and women’s TT team events at a single CWG edition.

Notes:
Rishad Premji, the chief strategy officer and board member of Wipro Ltd, has been appointed as the new Chairman of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) for 2018-19. He succeeded Raman Roy. Rishad is the son of Wipro Chairman Azim Premji. He has been a member of NASSCOM’s Executive Council and was the Vice Chairman for 2017. NASSCOM also appointed Keshav Murugesh as the Vice Chairman for 2018-19.

Notes:
India with an economic freedom score of 54.5 points has been ranked 130th in the latest annual Index of Economic Freedom released by a top American think-tank the Heritage Foundation. As per 2018 Index, India is developing into an open-market economy, but traces of its past autarkic policies remain. The Index covers 12 freedoms – from property rights to financial freedom – in 186 countries. It is a helpful tool for a variety of audiences, including academics, policymakers, journalists, students, teachers, and those in business and finance. The index is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.

Notes:
Dr. Renu Swaroop, the renowned scientist, has been appointed the Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Swaroop, currently senior adviser in the same department, has been appointed to the post for a period of two years or until she attains 60 years of age. She succeeded Prof K Vijay Raghavan. After his retirement as DBT Secretary, Prof Raghavan has been appointed as the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (GoI).

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has installed the Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology lab at the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management campus, which is likely to reduce effects of exposure and radiation compared to the 3G/4G systems. This will be the first-of-its-kind 5G radio laboratory in India that will be inaugurated on April 13, 2018. This 5G base station prototype will be used for developing a complete 5G base station, which can possibly lead to the manufacturing of 5G base stations in India with support/collaboration from the industry. It will also be instrumental in generating skilled manpower.

Notes:
Marathi movie ‘Dhappa’ bagged the Nargis Dutt Award for Best Film on National Integration, while ‘ Ladhakh’ was declared the Best Regional Film at the 65th National Film Awards. Apart from this, Malayalam Movie ‘Aaalorukkam’, directed by V.C.Abhilash, was awarded the Best Film on Social Issues. Jayaraj was awarded the Best Direction in the Feature Film category for the movie ‘Bhayanakam’ and Nagraj Manjule won the award for the Best Direction in the Non Feature Film Category.

Notes:
In the 65th National Film Awards for 2017, the Best Book on Cinema award was given to ‘Matmagi Manipur-The first Manipuri Feature Film’ authored by Bobby Wahengbam. The book provides a vivid account of the socio-political scenario in which Manipur regional cinema was born. The book denotes a compassionate account of the dreams, challenges, preparation, execution and success of the team involved. The critical analysis of the film makes it more praiseworthy and insightful.