Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister of Earth Sciences (MoES), has dedicated India’s fastest and first multi-peta-flops supercomputer “Pratyush’ to the nation in Pune on January 8, 2018. The supercomputer has been established at Pune-based Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) and will be a national facility for improving weather and climate forecasts under the umbrella of the MoES. This facility is part of Ministry’s continuous endeavor to provide world class forecast services to the citizens of India through upgrading various operational and research activities and the needed infrastructure. Petaflops is a measure of a computer’s processing speed.

Notes:
John Watts Young (87), the legendary astronaut who walked on the Moon and later commanded the first space shuttle flight, has passed away at Houston, United States on January 5, 2018. He became the 9th person to walk on the Moon as Commander of the Apollo 16 mission in 1972. Young enjoyed the longest career of any astronaut, becoming the first person to fly six space missions (with seven launches, counting his lunar liftoff) over the course of 42 years of active NASA service. He was the only spaceman to span NASA’s Gemini, Apollo and shuttle programs and became the first person to rocket away from Earth six times.

Notes:
According to recently released report by Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Gujarat has topped the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index. Among 22 states, Punjab has acquired 2nd position followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Among the Union Territories, Daman & Diu occupied the top slot followed by Delhi and Chandigarh. As regards the hilly states, Tripura was on top followed by Mizoram and Meghalaya. The LEADS index is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports in particular and economic growth in general. It is based on the analysis of perception with regard to eight parameters, including infrastructure, services, regulatory process and safety of cargo. The Report LEADS would help in identifying the right problem areas in the sector and prepare policy responses to deal with them.

Notes:
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated every year on January 9 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. The day was chosen to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India in 1915, which led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.

Notes:
The Matunga suburban station on the Central Railway (CR) of Mumbai division has figured in the Limca Book of Records 2018 for having an all-woman staff. The achievement comes six months after Matunga became the first railway station in the country to be run by an all-woman staff. A team of 41 women staffers at the station includes personnel from the RPF, commercial and operating departments. These staffers work under the supervision of station manager Mamta Kulkarni. The staff has been handling all operations of the station round-the-clock for the last six months and results are positive and encouraging. The aim of the initiative is to create an environment where women are encouraged to take a decision about their own personal and professional well-being.

Notes:
The World Hindi Day (WHD) is observed every year on January 10 to mark the first anniversary of World Hindi Conference (WHC) which was held in 1975. The first WHC was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Apart from India, the language is also spoken in Nepal, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname, Fiji and Mauritius. Apart from this, the National Hindi Divas (NHD) is celebrated every year in India on September 14 to mark the day on which the Constituent Assembly adopted Hindi written in Devanagari script as the Official Language of the Union.

Notes:
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has appointed Harjinder Singh as the Chef De Mission for the 23rd Winter Olympic Games (WOG-2018) to be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea on February 2018. Currently, Singh holds the post of General Secretary in the Ice Hockey Association of India.

Notes:
The Supreme Court collegium, headed by CJI Dipak Misra, has created history by selecting Indu Malhotra as the first woman lawyer to be directly promoted as a judge of the Supreme Court (SC). She will be the 7th woman judge in the Supreme Court, since it was established 67 years ago, if her appointment goes through. Along with Malhotra, Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph has also been promoted as a Supreme Court judge. At present, Justice R Banumathi is the lone woman judge in the apex court. In 1989, Justice M Fathima Beevi became the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the apex court. Thereafter, Justice Sujata V Manohar, Justice Ruma Pal, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai made it to the top court as judges.

Notes:
The 22nd National Youth Festival (NYF-2018) has inaugurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida on January 12. The Festival has commenced on the occasion of birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the youth icon of India.The theme of 5-day festival is ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’, to capitalise on the demographic dividend of young India, to capture the vibrancy and fresh perspective of youth and to pledge to accomplish the Goal of New India. The fest is organised by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the Uttar Pradesh government. This is the first time that the NYF is being organised in National Capital Region (NCR). The purpose of organising the NYF is to provide a platform to bring the youth of the country together in an attempt to provide them with an opportunity to showcase their talents in various activities.

Notes:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked India at 30th position on a Global Manufacturing Index (GMI). In its first “Readiness for the future of production” report, Japan has been found to have the best structure of production and is followed by South Korea, Germany, Switzerland, China, Czech Republic, the US, Sweden, Austria and Ireland. Among BRICS nations, Russia is ranked 35th, Brazil 41st and South Africa at 45th place. The report has placed India in the Legacy group along with Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Russia, Thailand and Turkey, among others. China figures among ‘leading countries while Brazil and South Africa are in nascent ones. The report which was published ahead of its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland said the 25 leading countries are in the best position to gain as production systems stand on the brink of exponential change. In the India context the report said, the country’s manufacturing sector has grown by over 7% per year on average in the past three decades and accounts for 16-20% of India’s GDP.