Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
The 171st Araadhanai Music Festival (AMF) has started in Thiruvaiyaru, Tamil Nadu on January 2, 2018. The fest is one of the Trinities of Carnatic music Saint Thyagaraja, which was inaugurated by Governor Banwarilal Purohit. The main function of the festival – the choral singing of Thyagaraja’s five kritis in Ghana ragas – will be held on his Samadhi day which falls on next Saturday. Over 1,000 musicians from all over the world are expected to pay homage to Saint Thygaraja during the course of the five-day festival.

Notes:
R Margabandu (83), an advocate by profession and former Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of Tamil Nadu, has passed away on December 28, 2017. He represented Tamil Nadu in the Upper House from July 1995 to July 2001. He was the leader of the AIADMK party in the House.

Notes:
The Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) is a leading research institute, which is located in Nainital, Uttarakhand. It is an autonomous body under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India (GoI) and has specialization in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Atmospheric Sciences.

Notes:
Tufan Ghosh has taken charge as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of National Cricket Academy (NCA). Beside him, former India stumper Saba Karim has assumed the office as BCCI’s General Manager (GM). Both Karim and Ghosh will report to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and will be based out of Mumbai and Bengaluru respectively. While Karim will assist Johri in meeting the Board’s vision and strategy, Ghosh will play a key role in setting up the facility and creating a Centre of Excellence at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.

Notes:
The Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany (BSIP) is an autonomous institute constituted under the Department of Science and Technology, GoI. The institute is located at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh and is a seat of higher learning in the field of plant fossil research. The BSIP, established in 1946, was an outcome of vision of the renowned Indian botanist Prof. Birbal Sahni.

Notes:
B Rajendran, the former Madras High Court judge, has been appointed as the Chairman of the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT) for Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The monthly salary of the chairperson would be Rs 80,000. As per Section 43 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the State government has to establish the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal for Tamil Nadu. Under Section 45 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, the tribunal should consist of a chairperson and not less than two whole-time members, of which one shall be a judicial member and another has to be a technical or administrative member appointed by the government.

Notes:
Meghalaya has signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for hosting the 39th National Games in 2022 on January 3, 2018. The tripartite contract was signed between the IOA, the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, and the state government. With this, Meghalaya will host the National Games 2022 coinciding with the 50th year of the creation of the state. For these games, the central government will provide 30% of the total budget for the National Games while the remaining 70% funds would have to be raised by the state government on its own. Meghalaya will be the 3rd northeastern state after Manipur and Assam hosted the National Games in 1999 and 2007, respectively. It had co-hosted the 2016 South Asian Games with its neighboring Assam. Approx, 14,450 athletes and officials are expected to visit the state during the 2022 National Games.

Notes:
The Himalayan Hydro Expo 2018 has started at Kathmandu in Nepal on January 5, 2018. President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the exhibition. The basic objective of Expo is to unleash massive hydro power potential of Nepal and bring all stakeholders under one roof. According to experts Nepal has approximately 40,000 MW of economically feasible hydro power potential and so far it has developed just around 600 MW. The delegates from various countries including India, China, Austria, Czech Republic and Norway are participating in the expo. Seminars, discussions and competitions for engineering students will also be organised during three day event.

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:
The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is the world’s largest leather research institute in terms of research papers and patents. The CLRI was founded on 24 April 1948 as a constituent laboratory under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).