Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, has won the 2018 Monte-Carlo Masters tennis tournament by defeating Kei Nishikori in the final by 6–3, 6–2 in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. With this, he became the first man to win a single tournament 11 times in the Open era with his 76th ATP Tour title. By winning the title, Nadal also retained the ATP no. 1 singles ranking. Apart from this, Nadal also overtook Serbia’s Novak Djokovic to clinch most Masters 1000 titles (31).

Notes:
The Ministry of Finance has signed a loan agreement for IBRD credit of $125 million (equivalent) with the World Bank for the ‘Innovate in India for Inclusiveness Project in New Delhi on April 24, 2018. The purpose of the project are to nurture indigenous innovation, foster local product development and accelerate the commercialisation process by bridging critical skill and infrastructure gaps to promote affordable and innovative healthcare products generation for inclusive development and increasing competitiveness in India. The closing date ofproject is June 30, 2023. 

Notes:
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Raw Jute for 2018-19 season. The MSP for Fair Average Quality of Raw Jute has been increased to Rs 3700 per quintal for 2018-19 season from Rs 3500 per quintal in 2017-18 season. The MSP of Raw Jute is expected to ensure appropriate minimum prices to the farmers and step up investment in Jute cultivation and thereby production and productivity in the country. The increased MSP is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). It takes into account the cost of production, overall demand-supply, domestic and international prices, terms of trade across sectors and the likely impact of MSP on rest of the economy.

Notes:
The world’s first-ever female foreign ministers’ meeting will be hosted by Canada and the European Union (EU) in September 2018. The announcement was made by the Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland on April 22, 2018 in Toronto. The meeting will be held on 20-21 September in Canada. The female foreign ministers from about 30 countries will be invited to the gathering, which is aimed at deepening global discussion on women’s empowerment.

Notes:
As per Indian Standard (IS) 646:1986, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has granted the first license to M/s Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd for Liquid Chlorine on All India basis. The licence has been made operative with effect from 12th April, 2018 for a period of one year. The product ‘Liquid Chlorine’ is in liquid form and stored in metal containers. It is usually used as a gas obtained by evaporating the liquid from the metal container. It is used mainly in paper, pulp, textile bleaching, water sterilization and manufacture of chemicals. The IS 646:1986 for Liquid Chlorine (Technical) prescribes the requirements and the methods of sampling and test for liquid chlorine, technical. The move will facilitate industry to get a quality Liquid Chlorine with Standard Mark under BIS Certification Marks scheme. The headquarters of BIS is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
On April 26, the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of the NITI Aayog has launched the Atal New India Challenge, which aims to support innovators to create products/solutions based on advanced technologies in areas of national importance and social relevance through a grant-based mechanism. Under the challenge, grants of up to Rs 1 crore and mentorship will be given to the winning ideas. AIM will invite prospective innovators, MSMEs and start-ups to design market-ready products, using cutting-edge technologies or prototypes. The focus areas include climate-smart agriculture, smart mobility, predictive maintenance of rolling stock, and waste management. Applicants showing capability, intent and potential to productize technologies will be awarded grants up to Rs 1 crore. This grant will be further supplemented by mentoring, handholding, incubating and other support as needed at various stages of commercialisation, while generating wider deployment for the product.

Notes:
Siddhant Banthia from Pune has won the Indian leg of the junior French Open wild card tournament in New Delhi on April 27, 2018. He beat reigning Under-16 national champion Mann Maulik Shah 6-4, 2-6, 7-6. The girls event was won by Rashmikaa S Bhamidipaty, who defeated Tanisha Kashyap 6-4, 6-4. Banthia will now compete with winners from China and Brazil in the final Qualifier to get an entry into the main draw of the junior French Open.

Notes:
The NDMA has conducted its first-ever mock exercise on Bio-Disasters at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Airport in Patna, Bihar. The full-scale Biological Management Emergency exercise was based on a suspected Ebola outbreak scenario. The aim of the 5-day training programme is to enhance the preparedness of Airport Emergency Handlers (AEHs) to respond to CBRN emergencies at the airports. The CBRN emergencies pertain to threats emanating due to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear material. It was conducted in collaboration with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS).

Notes:
Indian fencer C A Bhavani Devi from Tamil Nadu has won a silver medal in the sabre event of the Tournoi World Cup Satellite Fencing Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland on April 29,2018. In the final, she went down 10-15 to USA’s Alexis Browne. Bhavani beat Parede Torres 15-9 in the quarterfinal and followed it up by getting past Guila Arpino of Italy 15-10 in the semifinal. Bhavani Devi had won a gold at the 2017 Reykjavik tournament to become the first Indian win to do so in an international fencing event.

Notes:
The book “My Journey from Marxism-Leninism to Nehruvian Socialism” has been authored by C H Hanumantha Rao, who is former Planning Commission and Finance Commission member. Mr Rao is presently one of the most creative thinkers, social activist, and distinguished economist in India. The book has been launched by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A period, on which Professor Rao does not comment on much, that is the period of 1975 Emergency, which was imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. But it is quite clear from this book that he was not very happy with Emergency and the suspension of human rights and civil rights in the country.