Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $84 million loan for improvement and expansion of water supply in Bhagalpur and Gaya towns in Bihar. This is the second tranche of ADB’s $200 million Multi-tranche Financing Facility (MFF) for Bihar Urban Development Investment Programme, which was approved in 2012. The Project 2 will improve access to better quality and sustainable water supply, for the people of Bhagalpur and Gaya towns. It will also promote better water management practices that will result in a citywide coverage with 24-hour uninterrupted supply of treated water of 135 litres per capita per day in both cities. The loan will have a 25-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s lending facility based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and a commitment charge of 0.15% per year.

Notes:
Kunwar Bai (106), the brand ambassador of Swachch Bharat, has passed away at Raipur in Chhattisgarh on February 23, 2018. A resident of Kotabharri village in Dhamtari district, Kunwar Bai was in the national news as a mascot for Swachch Bharat campaign; she sold all her goats to construct a toilet at her home. Not only was she applauded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the PM also touched her feet and felicitated her during a public meeting in Rajnandgaon in February 2016.

Notes:
Neelabh Mishra (57), the Veteran journalist and editor-in-chief of Delhi-based National Herald, has passed away in Chennai Hospital. In 2016, he steered the re-launch of National Herald, the newspaper founded by India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1938, as a digital news website. In 2017, Mishra relaunched the National Herald as Sunday newspaper, and then National Herald’s sister publications Navjivan and Qaumi Awaz as news websites.

Notes:
The Aditya Birla Idea Payments Bank Ltd (ABIPBL) has become the 5th entity to begin operations as a payments bank with effect from February 22, 2018. The ABIPBL is a joint venture between Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (51%) and Ideal Cellular (49%). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has issued a licence to the bank under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry on the business of payments bank in India. The other payments banks that have started operations include Airtel Payments Bank Ltd, India Post Payments Bank Ltd, Paytm Payments Bank Ltd and Fino Payments Bank Ltd. The other applicants that are yet to set up payments bank include Vodafone m-Pesa Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd and National Securities Depository Ltd.

Notes:
Kanakalata Mohanty (82), the noted Odia author, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha  on February 26, 2018. She has written several novels, including ‘Ete Andhara’, ‘Kete Jwala’ and ‘Anuradha’, and more than 100 short stories. She was also recognized by All India Radio (AIR) as a noted lyricist, particularly for her devotional songs on Lord Jagannath.

Notes:
The 15th Edition of BioAsia conference 2018 was held in Hyderabad with theme “Right Time, Right Now” from February 22-24. It is the annual flagship life sciences and pharmaceuticals conference of the Telangana Government. About 1500 delegates from 55 countries participated in the 3-day conference with focus on strategies to take on the rapid phase of change, ways to develop new models for distribution and healthcare delivery, among others. In it, Ireland, Netherlands and South Africa were the International Partners while Gujarat, Assam and Rajasthan were the partner states for this event.

Notes:
Roger Federer, 20-times Grand Slam champion, has won the 2017 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year awards at the 18th edition of the awards ceremony in Monaco. Federer, who returned to the world number one ranking, had clinched the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles in 2017 after the 7-year break of winning any major. He won the 2018 Australian Open also. Beside this, Serena Williams has won the World Sportswoman of the Year award after winning her 23rd grand slam in 2017. Formula 1 constructors’ champions Mercedes picked up the Team of the Year trophy, while wheelchair athlete Marcel Hug bagged the Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. Brazilian football club Chapecoense were given the Best Sporting Moment of the Year for their response in adversity following a plane crash in 2016 in which they lost the majority of their team.

Notes:
India has been ranked 47th out of 86 countries in the latest Inclusive Internet Index (III-2018) report, which was commissioned by Facebook and conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The index is topped by the Sweden, followed by Singapore and the US. This year’s index covered 91% of the world’s population and an expanded data set of 86 countries, up from 75 countries in 2017. The index assessed a country’s Internet inclusion across four categories: availability, affordability, relevance and readiness. The EIU is a British business within the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis.

Notes:
Moody’s Investors Service has recently estimated India’s GDP growth forecast for year 2018 & 2019. In it, it has kept the GDP growth forecast for India in the calendar year 2018 unchanged at 7.6 % and for 2019 at 7.5 %, amid signs of economic recovery from the negative impact of demonetisation and disruption caused by GST roll out. In its global growth forecasts for 2018 and 2019, Moody’s said the Budget for fiscal year beginning April 1 (2018-19) includes some measures to stabilize rural economy that was disproportionately hit by scrapping of high denomination 500 and 1000 rupee notes.

Notes:
The 45MW Nimoo Bazgo Power Project (NBPP) is a run-of-the-river power project on the Indus River situated at Leh district of Ladakh region of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K). The project is designed to generate 239 MUs of energy. The Power station comprises of a 57m high concrete gravity dam, 3 intake structures on the power dam portion on right bank for diversion of water through 3.3 m diameter steel penstock of about 55.0 m long, a surface power house located at the toe of the dam on right bank and a short tailrace channel. The power house has an installed capacity of 45 MW (3 x 15 MW). It was inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 2014.