Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
Anil Khanna, the Senior sports administrator, has been appointed the Chairman of newly formed Finance Commission by Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The IOA also formed a Medical Commission and Games Technical Conduct Committee and nominated office bearers of IOA and National Sports Federations (NSFs) to the Committees. The advisory committee comprises Tarlochan Singh, GS Mander, S Regunathan and BS Landge. The Khanna-led Finance Commission has Sahdev Yadav, Secretary General, Indian Weightlifting Federation and DK Singh, Secretary, Uttarakhand Olympic Association, as members.

Notes:
The 4th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry (AIMMAF) was held in New Delhi on January 12, 2018. The topic of discussion was based on food and agricultural future developments. The meeting was co-chaired by Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Radha Mohan Singh and Thai Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Grisada Boonrach. It was attended by delegates from 10 ASEAN countries. In it, it was announced that the 5th ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Forestry to be held in Brunei Darussalam in 2019.

Notes:
Aishwarya Tipnis, the Delhi-based conservation architect, has been conferred France’s top cultural award ” Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et Lettres” for her outstanding commitment to preservation of French heritage in India in Kolkata on January 12, 2018. This prestigious award honours people who have distinguished themselves in the field of art. This year, Tipnis has been associated with the ongoing ‘Bonjour India 2017-18’ as the curator for the multi- faceted ‘Know Your Indo-French Heritage’ in Chandannagar, a former French colony in West Bengal. She is also part of the UNESCO expert team on the preparation of a ‘Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan’ for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, a world heritage, as well as the consultant to the Doon School on the restoration of their historic buildings.

Notes:
NK Trikha (82), the veteran journalist, has passed away at AIIMS in New Delhi on Janauary 15, 2018. Trikha had worked at the Times of India Group’s Hindi newspaper ‘Navbharat Times’ for a long time and was also the editor of its Lucknow edition. He also served as a member of the Press Council of India and he was twice president of the National Union of Journalists (India).

Notes:
India and the United Kingdom (UK) have recently signed two agreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants and sharing criminal records and intelligence. The development comes close on heels of India seeking UK’s help in early extradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face the law at home in connection with cases of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crores. The MOUs were signed by UK’s Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes and India’s Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on January 11, 2018. The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian law enforcement bodies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints and intelligence. This will assist the police in protecting the public from known criminals, including sex offenders and also allow the courts in both countries to access more information to support tougher sentencing decisions.

Notes:
Shripad Naik, the Union minister of state for Ayush (independent charge), has inaugurated a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre in Bambolim, Goa on January 16, 2018. State health minister Vishwajit Rane was also present at the occasion. It will be attached to Goa Medical College and the state government would provide all assistance to facilitate CGHS operations for beneficiaries in the state. The facility would provide Allelopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy services. Over 3,000 serving central government employees and around 1,500 pensioners would be benefitted.

Notes:
India has contributed $50,000 to the UN’s youth mission which works to raise awareness and attention to youth issues globally. UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake received the cheque from Paulomi Tripathi, a First Secretary in India’s UN mission at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan 12, 2018. The contribution is voluntary with no strings attached and is in addition to the regular payments India makes to the UN’s general and peacekeeping budgets. The Youth Envoy’s mission is to promote the engagement of youth and advocate for them across all the four pillars of the UN’s work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action.

Notes:
Charu Rohatgi, the Bollywood and TV actor, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 15, 2018. She is known for working in Parineeti Chopra – Arjun Kapoor starrer film ‘Ishaqzaade’. She was also an integral part of daily soaps like Pratigya and Uttaran. Her filmography includes films like 1920 London, Second Marriage Dot Com and 15 Park Avenue.

Notes:
In an attempt to fight air pollution, China has constructed an experimental air purifying tower, touted to be the “world’s biggest air purifier” at a height of over 100 meters (328 feet). The tower has been built in Xian in Shaanxi province and is being tested by researchers at the Institute of Earth Environment at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. As per reports, the air purifier has produced more than 10 million cubic meters of clean air since it was launched. The air purification system works through greenhouses covering about half the size of a soccer field around the base of the tower.

Notes:
Maharashtra has become the India’s first state to launch Public Cloud Policy, which will allow all government departments to access public cloud. . The step will create business opportunities worth $2 billion while helping the state government departments to shift all their data to clouds. This will accelerate e-governance and open up entire new area for investment by the private entrepreneurs to make available newest technologies for all the departments as government not only is the biggest data creator but also consumer.