Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
Star Sports, India’s leading sports broadcaster, has bagged the broadcast and production rights of Union Sports Ministry’s flagship ‘Khelo India School Games (KISG)’ for a period of five years from 2018 to 2022. The first-ever Khelo India School Games 2018 will be held from January 31 for under-17 age group (boys and girls) across 16 sports disciplines. The purpose of KISG is to inculcate a nationwide culture of sports through a grassroots sports revolution. The KISG 2018 is the marquee event under revamped Khelo India porgramme. The event is expected to host around 6000 athletes and officials in its first edition. The best talent selected through the competition will be amongst the 1000 (one thousand) budding athletes eligible for a scholarship worth 5 lakhs each per year for a period of eight years. Every year, new athletes will be added under the Khelo India scheme. Thus, over the period of the scheme, the country will have a solid bench-strength for all sports.

Notes:
The Telangana government has constituted the SC/ST Commission in the state on January 2, 2018. Errolla Srinivas, a leader of the ruling TRS hailing from Siddipet district, has been named the chairman of the five-member panel. Boyilla Vidyasagar, M Rambal Naik, Sunkapaka Devaiah, Kursam Neeladevi and Chilakamarri Narasimha were appointed members of the commission. The commission is mandated to monitor matters related to the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SCs/STs) and also inquire into complaints pertaining to members of these communities.

Notes:
On 1st January 2018, the Assamese and Manipuri language versions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Official website (www.pmindia.gov.in) were launched. The website can now be accessed in Assamese and Manipuri in keeping with the requests from the citizens of the two states. With this launch, the PM INDIA website is available in 13 regional languages namely Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu in addition to English and Hindi. The initiative is part of the on-going efforts of the Prime Minister Modi to reach out to the people and communicate with them in their own language.

Notes:
Bengaluru will host the first edition of Karnataka International Travel Expo’ (KITE) at the Bangalore International Exhibition Center (BIEC) from February 28, 2018. The expo is being touted as the largest B2B travel event in India, which is providing a platform for over 400 registered buyers and media representatives from over 25 countries. The government expects to attract over 1,000 delegates and facilitate 10,000 or so meetings during the 3-day event. The purpose of expo is to project Karnataka globally and attract tourist footfall, with emphasis on promoting the state’s adventure and wildlife, business travel, pilgrimage, UNESCO world heritage sites, festivals of Karnataka, etc. The event would provide impetus to inbound travel and tourism and enhance the marketing efforts of Karnataka Tourism to promote destinations in the State.

Notes:
The 16th edition of the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival (SFMF-2018) has started at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple and Nageswara Rao Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from January 4. The 4 day fest will include about 40 events, such as heritage walks, competitions and cultural performances. It has been organized by city based non banking finance company Sundaram Finance.

Notes:
The India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs (IICA) to offer relevant training to the employees on issues pertaining payment banking. Under the agreement, IICA has been entrusted with the key responsibility of capacity building of IPPB through training of its officials/employees besides providing research support by instituting Research Chairs in the emerging area of payment banking. This joint venture is expected to enable the massive network of post offices with the ability to effectively deal with Financial Inclusion.

Notes:
Preeti Sudan, the secretary of Union Health and Family Welfare ministry, has launched India’s first digital online oncology tutorial series in collaboration with the Tata Memorial Centre on January 4, 2018. The purpose of the tutorial series is to educate doctors in early detection, prevention, palliation, rehabilitation and treatment of various forms of cancers. This is part of a national programme that will be rolled out across the country by Tata Memorial Centre in collaboration with state governments. The overall course, designed for 7 weeks, will equip doctors with the skills and knowledge on the basics of oncology to detect, diagnose and refer cancer cases early. It comprises 14 hours of comprehensive e-learning through more than 40 video lectures, case studies, assessment questionnaires and periodic interactive webinar sessions with the respective consultants of Tata Memorial Hospital.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the annual conference of DGPs and IGPs at the BSF Academy at Tekanpur in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on January 7, 2018. Over 250 top police officers from all over the country are taking part in the three-day conference. The 2-day Director Generals of Police (DGPs) Conference is an annual event in which top police officers from all over the country share and discussed security-related issues. Holding the Annual DGP Conference outside the national capital, is in line with Prime Minister’s vision that such conferences should be held across the country, and not just confined to Delhi. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had addressed the conference in Guwahati in 2014, Dhordo, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat in 2015 and National Police Academy, Hyderabad in 2016.

Notes:
Iceland has become the first country in the world to enforce equal pay for women and men. The new law, which came into force on 1st January 2018, stated that companies and government agencies employing at least 25 people will have to obtain government certification of their equal-pay policies. Companies will face fines if they can’t prove that men and women are receiving the same salary for the same job. The new legislation was supported by Iceland’s centre-right government, as well as the opposition, in a parliament where nearly 50% of all members are women.

Notes:
Actor Sterling K Brown has created history by becoming the first African-American to win Golden Globe for best actor in a drama television series for his role as Randall Pearson on NBC’s breakout hit “This Is Us”. He won the award at the 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards (AGGA-2018) at Beverly Hills in California on January 8, 2018. Elizabeth Moss has won the Golden Globe trophy in Best Drama Actress TV category for her performance in “The Handmaids Tale”. Actor Nicole Kidman won the award for the Best Actress in a Limited Series at the event for her work on “Big Little Lies” and took the opportunity to speak out against abuse.