Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
On April 26, Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with Google India has launched a 360° Virtual Reality (VR) experience video on Incredible India https://t.co/H1VdcNXBUR. As part of the partnership, Google Arts and Culture will provide users with an immersive 360-degree view of India’s heritage festivity spirituality and adventure. The video will showcase users a 360-degree view of some of the most iconic destinations in India including Qutub Minar Amritsar’ s Golden Temple Vitthala Temples at Hampi and Goa’s easygoing vibe. The video has been created using the best of 360-degree video capture technology including Google s Yi Halo camera and the music is inspired by the rhythms and melodies of the regions depicted in the video.

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:
India has been ranked 138th out of 180 countries in the 2018 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), which is compiled by Reporters Without Borders. As per index, India fared poorly on indicators such as hate speeches, attacks on journalists on social media, trolling them and targeting their reputation. The report also mentions that at least 4 journalists have been gunned down in India in the previous year. As per the annual report of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the index reflects increasing hostility towards journalists in democratic countries. The index that evaluates press freedom in 180 countries, showed that “media phobia” has become more pronounced. Norway topped the list of having the world’s freest press for the second year in a row, followed by Sweden and The Netherlands. On the other hand, North Korea remained the most repressive country followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and then China.

Notes:
The Dalmia Bharat Limited has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Tourism Ministry to take up Red Fort (Delhi) and Gandikota Fort (Andhra Pradesh) under the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project. By signing the contract, Dalmia Bharat has become the first corporate to be part of the initiative. It will look after the operations and the maintenance of these heritage sites for the next five years. The ‘Adopt a Heritage’ project is a unique endeavour by the Ministry of Tourism, which envisions in developing monuments, heritage and tourist sites across India to enhance their tourism potential and cultural importance. The adoption will allow the corporate to construct, landscape, illuminate and maintain activities related to provision and development of tourist amenities. It will also include various basic and advanced amenities such as public conveniences, clean drinking water, and cleanliness of the monument among others. The group will also introduce other key amenities for the visitors like App based Multi lingual Audio-Guide, easy accessibility to the differently-abled visitors.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of Shirui Lily Festival 2018 has recently concluded at Ukhrul district in Manipur on April 28, 2018. The festival is sponsored by the Department of Tourism, Government of Manipur to spread awareness about conservation of the endangered Shirui Lily and promote the district of Ukhrul as a tourist destination in Manipur. The festival is also being supported by NEC and aims to promote afforestation and sustainable tourism efforts in the state.

Notes:
On April 29, Pawan Chamling has created history by becoming the longest serving chief minister in India. He surpassed the record of former communist ruler of West Bengal, Late Jyoti Basu. Chamling became the chief minister of Sikkim on 12th December 1994 and has ruled the tiny Himalayan state ever since. He is also the president of Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF). Chamling, who also writes poetry, joined politics in 1973 and was elected to the Sikkim assembly for the first time in 1985. The assembly elections will be held in Sikkim in 2019.

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:
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, has lifted his 11th Barcelona Open tennis title on April 29, 2018 and extended his record of 46 consecutive sets won on clay. In the final, he defeated Greek teenager Stefanos Tsitsipas by 6-2 6-1. With this, Nadal also achieved a number of records, having achieved 400 career wins on clay. He became the only player with 400 or more career wins on both clay and hard.

Notes:
Singing legend Asha Bhosle has been honoured with the Lifetime 26th P C Chandra Puraskaar 2018at the Science City auditorium.in Mumbai, Maharashtra on April 29, 2018. The award is a tribute to the founding father of the P. C. Chandra Group, the late Shri Purna Chandra Chandra. It carries an honorarium of Rs 10 lakh which is tax exempted.