Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
The 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-2018) will be held in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the largest-ever Indian delegation. The delegation will comprise of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu among others. The theme of the 2018 summit is “Creating a shared future in a Fractured World”, which ams to set an agenda to address political, economic and Social challenges of recent times. This year, over 3,000 global leaders from business, government, politics, academia and social sectors are participating at the Summit which will conclude on 26th of January. The purpose of the WEF is to improve the state of the world. WEF is an international organization for public-private cooperation which brings together global leaders from different sectors including business, politics, academia and journalism to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.

Notes:
Arun Jaitley, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, has launched the National CSR Data Portal & Corporate Data Portal in New Delhi on January 19, 2018. The National CSR Data Portal will capture information on CSR activities carried out by eligible companies, filed on the MCA21 registry in their financial statements. The filed information provides a snap shot of CSR activities carried out by companies. The CSR portal contains all filed information, which can generate pre-defined reports with respect to expenditure across states, districts, development sectors, etc. The Portal also provides for feedback on projects to be given by registered users. The open access to data is expected to help researchers, improve quality of data filed by companies, as well as involve intended beneficiaries in giving valuable feedback to companies. While the Corporate Data Portal aims at making all the financial and non-financial information of the companies available in a user friendly format to the general public. It also has facility to generate pre-defined reports and also customised reports.

Notes:
The Jakham Dam is located in Pratapgarh District in Rajasthan. It is built on the Jakham river, which originates from a small village Jakhamia in Chhoti Sadrisub division. The length of the Dam is 253 meters, out of which spill way is in 90 m in length.

Notes:
The 8th edition of the International Conference on Wild Silk Moths has started in Guwahati, Assam on January 22, 2018. The conference would help in increasing income of the people of the region who are involved with silk industry. India is holding the event for the second time with an aim to explore latest research and development. The conference is being organized by the Central Silk Board and International Society for Wild Silk Moths.

Notes:
‘Hindi Medium’, directed by Saket Chaudhary, has bagged honours in the categories of Best Film and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Irrfan Khan’s impeccable performance at the 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018. Vidya Balan won her career’s 6th Filmfare award for her passionate portrayal of a middle-aged homemaker who turns into a radio jockey in ‘Tumhari Sulu’ as she claimed the Black Lady for the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female). Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari has won the Best Director award for ‘Bareilly Ki Barfi’. The ceremony was held on 20 January 2018 and hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar.

Notes:
The All India Institute of Speech and Hearing (AIISH) is located at Mysore University Campus in Mysore, Karnataka. It is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. AIISH provides clinical services for speech, language, and hearing disorders through its clinical service program. The therapy clinic provides assessment and intervention services, for variety of speech, language, and hearing disorders, to individuals of all ages. It also offers public education programs and conducts workshops for speech-language pathologists, audiologists, educators for the hearing impaired, medical, and allied health professionals.

Notes:
The 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF-2018) has started in Davos, Switzerland on January 22, 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is leading the largest-ever Indian delegation. The theme of the 5-day summit is ‘Creating a Shared Future in a Fractured World’, which aims to set an agenda to address political, economic and Social challenges of recent times. More than 3,000 world leaders from business, politics, art, academia and civil society would be participating in the summit and the Indian presence is the largest ever with over 130 participants.

Notes:
The 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty20 will be hosted by West Indies from 9 to 24 November 2018. The preliminary round matches will be held at the Guyana National Stadium and Daren Sammy Stadium in St Lucia, while Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua and Barbuda will stage the two semi-finals and the final. Hosts Windies will defend the title they won with an eight-wicket victory over Australia in Kolkata in 2016.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh government has signed a sister-state agreement with the Canton of Zurich in a bid to strengthen the friendly ties and promote mutual understanding. The Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed by Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and Zurich Councillor and Head of the Department for Economic Affairs Carmen Walker Späh in the presence of Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu. The purpose of LOI is to achieve mutual prosperity and development. The agreement will strengthen economic and scientific relations between the two governments in the areas such as information and communication technology, environmental technology, life sciences and urban and regional Development.

Notes:
India has been ranked 177th out of 180 countries in the 2018 Environmental Performance Index (EPI). The report was released on the sidelines of the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. The Index stated that deaths attributed to ultra-fine PM2.5 pollutants have risen over the past decade and are estimated at 1,640,113 annually in India. Switzerland has topped the index, followed by France, Denmark, Malta and Sweden in the EPI, which found that air quality is the leading environmental threat to public health. The 10th EPI report ranks 180 countries on 24 performance indicators across 10 categories covering environmental health and ecosystem vitality.