Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

Notes:
As per World Bank (WB)’s latest report “Migration and Development Brief”, India is the highest recipient of remittances globally in 2017 with $69 billion, followed by China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico ($31 billion), Nigeria ($22 billion), and Egypt ($20 billion). In its report, the World Bank estimated that officially recorded remittances to low-and middle-income countries reached USD 466 billion in 2017. This was an increase of 8.5% over USD 429 billion in 2016. Remittances are expected to continue to increase in 2018, by 4.1% to reach $485 billion. Global remittances are expected to grow 4.6% to $642 billion in 2018. As per report, the longer-term risks to growth of remittances include stricter immigration policies in many remittance-source countries. Also, de-risking by banks and increased regulation of money transfer operators, both aimed at reducing financial crime, continue to constrain the growth of formal remittances.

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Diu Smart City has become the first city in India that runs on 100% renewable energy during daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green. Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year. It has now adopted a two-pronged approach whereby a 9 MW solar park spread over 50 hectares rocky barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof tops on 79 government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW annually. To further enhance its solar capacity, Diu also offers its residents a subsidy of Rs 10, 000-50,000 for installing 1-5 -KW rooftop solar panels. The city is saving about 13,000 tonnes of carbon emissions every year and due to low-cost solar energy, power tariffs have been cut in residential category by 10% last year and 15% this year.

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The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is tying up with the United States and Finland to develop a pollution-forecast system that will help anticipate particulate matter (PM) levels at least two days in advance and at a greater resolution than what is possible now. Currently, the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR), run out of the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, serves as the apex forecaster of pollution trends in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Ahmedabad. It generates a likely air quality profile, a day in advance, for these cities. IITM is an organisation under the MoES. The new system, to be jointly developed with expertise from the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the U.S.’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will use a different modelling approach as well as computational techniques from that employed in the SAFAR model.

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Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known as Shawkan, has won the 2018 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano Press Freedom Prize. Shawkan has been in jail since 14 August 2013 when he was arrested while covering a demonstration at Rabaa Al-Adawiya Square in Cairo. In early 2017, the prosecutor in his case reportedly called for the death penalty. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions has qualified his arrest and detention as arbitrary and contrary to the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Prize will be awarded on 2 May on the occasion of 2018 World Press Freedom Day.

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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.

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The National Kharif Conference 2018 was held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on April 25, 2018. Radha Mohan Singh, the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, has said that the schemes such as National Food Security Mission, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm, Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, Blue Revolution etc. are being run to ensure better productivity. Similarly, to reduce the cost of farming, Soil Health Card, use of neem-coated urea and more crop per drop etc are being implemented successfully. Or a profitable income source, e-NAM, cold storage, storage facility at concessional rate of interest, post-harvest credit facility, increase in base MSP etc are being emphasized. Apart from this, Agriculture officers and scientists discussed ways to increase income through new technology in the ongoing Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan where every block will organize Kisan Kalyan Karyashala on May 2, 2018.

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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.

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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.

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Sitanshu Yashaschandra, the Gujarati poet, playwright and academic, has been selected for the 2017 Saraswati Samman for his collection of verses titled ‘Vakhar’. The award is presented by the KK Birla Foundation, a literary and cultural organisation that also gives the Vyas Samman for Hindi and Bihari Puraskar for Hindi and Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan. It is the highest recognition in the field of Indian literature in the country and carries a citation, a plaque and award money of Rs 15 lakh.

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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).