Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
Recently, the Rajasthan Government and HDFC Bank have signed MoU to promote and nurture startups in the state. As per pact, HDFC Bank will team up with the state government to provide end-to-end solutions including current accounts, credit cards and more under its SmartUp programme. HDFC Bank will also assist startups in showcasing their offerings to the general public.

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:
The Khadakwasla Dam is 1.6 km long and has been built on the Mutha River, 20 km from Pune in Maharashtra. This dam across the river Mutha created an attractive lake “Khadakwasla Lake”, which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs.

Notes:
Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, will inaugurate the 2018 ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Singapore on January 6. The theme of the 2-day PBD Convention is “Ancient Route, New Journey: Diaspora in the Dynamic India-ASEAN Partnership”. The PBD is celebrated every year to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the Government, reconnect them with their roots and celebrate their achievements and contributions.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has initiated Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) against public sector lender Allahabad Bank, owing to its high net Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) and negative Return on Assets (RoA) for two consecutive years. The action would contribute to the overall improvement in risk management, asset quality, profitability, efficiency of the bank. The RBI has initiated similar action against other public sector banks, including IDBI Bank, Indian Overseas Bank and UCO Bank. The RBI in April 2017 had issued a new set of enabling provisions under the revised PCA framework with a clause that if the bank does not show improvement then it could be either be merged or taken over by other bank.

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).

Notes:
Saksham Yadav (28), an international-level powerlifter, has passed away in the trauma centre at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi on January 7, 2018. He was admitted in an extremely critical condition. Yadav along with his 5 friends were injured in car accident due to fog conditions near the Singhu Border in outer Delhi’s Alipur area. Four other power-lifters – Tikamchand, Saurabh, Yogesh and Harish Roy – died on the spot. Rohit, the lone survivor of the accident, is admitted to Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital. Yadav had recently won a gold medal in the 2017 World Championship for Power Lifters in Moscow.

Notes:
The Indravati Dam is a gravity dam on the Indravati River, about 90 km from Bhawanipatna in the state of Odisha. It is connected to the main Indravati reservoir via 4.32 km long and 7 m dia head race tunnel designed for a discharge capacity of 210 cumecs and terminating in a surge shaft. It is one of the largest Dam in India as well as Asia. Currently, it is the largest power producing dam in eastern India with a capacity of 600 MW.

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 Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Union Ministry of Railways, has launched “New Online Vender Registration System” on January 9, 2018. This new system provides major improvements and paradigm changes in the registration system over the earlier system. Public access to the information, expeditious process completion with defined timelines, simplification of procedures, round-the-year services, availability of all related information on RDSO Website, constant monitoring at all levels, reduction in cycle timelines, regular updation of online data, user friendly interface etc. are the hallmarks of the new system. And also, there is no need for vendors to visit RDSO office for any activity related to his case for registration.