Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
P.P. Chaudhary, the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice & Corporate Affairs, was conferred the Honorary Fellowship of Institute of Company secretaries of India (ICSI) at the headquarters of the institute at New Delhi on January 18, 2018. Chaudhary has conducted around 11,000 cases, mostly Constitutional Litigations for the last 38 years on matters related to land acquisition, farmers grievances, labour & service, central excise & customs and PILs related to restoration of natural water bodies and dams. The Honorary Fellow Membership is granted to distinguished persons having made significant contribution to the profession of Company Secretaries.

Notes:
Vijay Kumar has been appointed the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) for three years with effective from January 18, 2018. He succeeded Samir Shah. He has over 25 years of experience in leadership roles in the areas of commodity trading and merchandising along with risk management, logistics and operations. Kumar is an agro-industry veteran who has worked for companies such as National Bulk Handling Corporation, Cargill, Reliance Industries, Arthur Andersen, ITC Ltd, Britannia and Sharp Group. He had worked at NCDEX as Chief Business Officer (CBO) between June 2009 and September 2014.

Notes:
The Somasila Dam is a dam constructed across the Penna River near Somasila in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The reservoir impounded by the dam has a surface area of 212.28 km2 with live storage capacity of 1.994 km3. It is the biggest storage reservoir in Penna River basin and can store all the inflows from its catchment area in a normal year.

Notes:
India has become the 43rd member of the Australia Group export control regime on January 19, 2018. The inclusion is expected to raise India’s stature in the field of non-proliferation and help in acquiring critical technologies. With this, India has managed entry into Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and Australia Group despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).The Australia Group is an informal forum which seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.

Notes:
The 2018 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) military cooperation meeting was held in Beijing, China on January 15. An Indian delegation led by Major General Ajay Seth participated in the meeting, which discussed issues of practical cooperation among SCO nations. This is the first meeting attended by India in the field of defense cooperation under the SCO framework. India and Pakistan were admitted in 2017 into the grouping in which China plays an influential role. The SCO is comprised of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

Notes:
The Central Institute of Road Transport (CIRT) is located in Pune, Maharashtra. It was established in 1967 on the joint initiative of the Ministry of Shipping & Transport & the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASTRU). It is a nodal agency, known to be only one of its kind, providing a platform for higher research and training on road transportation and assists in testing, guidance and consultancy in the field.

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:
India has been ranked at the 62nd place among emerging economies on an Inclusive Development Index (IDI-2018) released by World Economic Forum (WEF). India’s position is much below China (26th) and Pakistan (47th). The 2018 index, which measures the progress of 103 economies on three individual pillars – growth and development; inclusion; and inter-generational equity – has been divided into two parts. The first part covers 29 advanced economies and the second 74 emerging economies. Norway remains the world’s most inclusive advanced economy, while Lithuania again tops the list of emerging economies. The index takes into account the living standards, environmental sustainability and protection of future generations from further indebtedness.

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 International Conference on dam safety has started in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on January 23, 2018. The two-day conference will be jointly inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The conference will see the participation of 550 delegates from over 20 countries. The dam safety conferences are organized as an annual event under the Dam Safety Rehabilitation and Improvement Project being run by the Water Resources Ministry. During the conference, dam safety guidelines and manuals developed under DRIP will also be released for implementation. Besides, a software programme – Dam Health and Rehabilitation Monitoring Application – will also be launched during the event. DHARMA is a web tool to digitize all dam related data effectively. It will help document authentic asset and health information pertaining to the large dams in the country, enabling appropriate actions to ensure need based rehabilitation.