Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
Neelam Kapoor, a 1982 batch officer of the Indian Information Service (IIS), has been appointed as the new director general of the Sports Authority of India (SAI). At present, she is the Principal Director General of the Directorate of Field Publicity. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved her appointment to the post till her superannuation, i.e. July 31, 2019. Kapoor was also the Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau in the UPA government. As PIB chief, she was in-charge of information officers attached to every central government ministry.

Notes:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES) , has launched a 2.8 Peta Flops capacity High Performance Computer (HPC) system ‘Mihir’ in Noida to improve India’s weather forecasting. The new HPC facility is expected to improve weather forecasts at the block level across India, predict extreme weather events, and offer high resolution seasonal and extended range forecasts of active/break spells of the monsoon. The facility will also make possible very high resolution coupled models for prediction of cyclones with more accuracy and lead time. The new system will be India’s largest HPC facility in terms of peak capacity and performance and will propel India’s ranking from the 368th position to the 30th in the list of top 500 HPC facilities in the world.

Notes:
In the Union Budget 2018, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the government’s plan to build a tunnel through the Sela Pass located at an elevation of 13,700 ft which will ensure faster movement of troops in Tawang, a strategically- located town in Arunachal Pradesh bordering China. The proposal to build the Sela pass comes amid concerns in the defence establishment over China’s growing assertiveness along the nearly 4,000 km-long Sino-India border. The Sela pass is located between the Tawang and West Kameng districts of Arunachal Pradesh and considered crucial from strategic perspective.

Notes:
The Odisha government has bagged the Geospatial World Excellence Award- 2018 for successful IT application for tracking of mineral production, dispatch and value accrued on real time basis through its i3MS website based software. The award was given by Y.S. Chowdray, the Union Minister of State Science & Technology, in the Geospatial World Forum Meeting held at Hyderabad. The GPS linked web based software “i3MS” has been designed by the scientists of Odisha Space Application Center (ORSAC), Bhubaneswar. About 3,000 geospatial experts from 90 different countries attended the event.

Notes:
In Boxing, five-time world champion Mary Kom has clinched gold in the 48 kilogram category among women at the 2018 India Open boxing Tournament in New Delhi . She won against Filipino Josie Gabuco in the final by 4-1. In 64 kilogram category, Pwilao Basumatary was the first among the women to fetch a gold. The former world and Asian bronze medalist claimed a 3-2 win over Thailand’s Sudaporn Seesondee. In the men’s draw, Sanjeet picked up India’s first gold of the day in 91 kilogram class when he upstaged Uzbekistan’s Sanjar Tursunov.

Notes:
Shyam Benegal, the veteran film producer and director, has been bestowed with the prestigious V. Shantaram lifetime achievement Award 2018 for his contribution to the promotion of the documentary movement. The award, carrying a trophy, a citation, shawl and cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, has been conferred on Benegal by Maharashtra Governor C.V. Rao at the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) 2018 valedictory function on February 3, 2018. Benegal has made 28 great films like Ankur, Mandi, Bhumika and Manthan. Besides that, he has made 41 documentary films on various social topics. His work on television consists of several popular series including the 53 part series ‘Bharat Ek Khoj’ first broadcast on Doordarshan in 1988. He also made the much acclaimed ‘Samvidhaan – The Making of the Constitution of India”. He is the recipient of the national award in 1982 for the film ‘Satyajit Ray’. The Government of India has honored him with Padmashree, Padma-Bhushan and Dada Saheb Phalke award earlier.

Notes:
The Assam Government has signed an MoU with the National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) Limited to build a Twin Tower Trade Centre in Guwahati at a cost of Rs 1950 crore. The Twin Tower Trade centre has enacted a pro-active Act East Policy to elevate and harness the strengths of North-East India and reduce the isolation of the region by improving all round connectivity and civic infrastructure. This trade centre will generate once established and made operational, by connecting us with South East Nations and being a major trading hub thereby increasing economic interlinkages. The headquarters of NBCC is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
Arun Jaitely, the Union Finance Minister, has inaugurated India’s first sentiment index “CriSidEx” for micro and small enterprises in New Delhi. CriSidEx, which is developed jointly by SIDBI and CRISIL, is a composite index based on a diffusion index of 8 parameters and measures MSE business sentiment on a negative to positive scale. This index will give the detail breakup of the sentiment sentiments and analysis as the sector sees it for the current quarter and for the next quarter. The current parametric feedback was captured through a survey of one thousand one hundred MSEs in November and December last year.

Notes:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched the world’s longest zip Line “Jebel Jais Flight ” in Ras al-Khaimah. The 2.83km zip line allows thrill seekers to jump from the peak off the UAE’s highest mountain “Jebel Jais”. The Jebel Jais Flight zip line launches from 1,680m above sea level, at the peak of the Jebel Jais Mountain. Ras al-Khaimah currently gets 1 million tourist visitors a year and aims to drive 100,000 of them to use the zip line. It was recently awarded the Guinness World Record for world’s longest zip line.

Notes:
Sudeep Lakhtakia, the 1984-batch IPS officer of the Telangana cadre, has taken charge as the new Director General of the ‘black cats commando’ force National Security Guard (NSG). DG of National Security Guard (NSG) and will hold the post till July 2019. He succeeded S P Singh, who retires on January 31, 2018. Prior to this post, Lakhtakia was serving as a Special Director General in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) headquarters in New Delhi. The NSG was raised as the federal contingency force to counter terrorists and hijack-like incidents in 1984. It is under the authority of Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA).