Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
To mark the silver jubilee of India-ASEAN partnership, the 2018 India-ASEAN Business & Investment Conference was organized by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). It was held in New Delhi on January 22-23 to promote mutual trade and investment for shared prosperity. This initiative was held ahead of the landmark 2018 ASEAN-India commemorative summit on the 25th of January. India & ASEAN partnership began in 1992 completed 25 years in 2017. India adopted the Act East policy in 2014 which has led to ties with South Asian nations reaching new highs. Top leaders of all 10 ASEAN nations would also be guests of honour at the 2018 Republic Day celebrations. It would be the first time that the Republic Day parade would be graced by such a large number of heads of state or govt.

Notes:
Hugh Masekela (78), the legendary jazz musician and anti-apartheid activist, has passed away in Johannesburg, South Africa on January 23, 2018. He was also known for his jazz compositions and for writing well-known anti-apartheid songs such as “Soweto Blues” and “Bring Him Back Home”. He also had a number 1 US pop hit in 1968 with his version of “Grazing in the Grass”.

Notes:
The National Girl Child Day (NGCD) is celebrated every year on January 24 with an aim to raise awareness about sex ratio levels and promote the empowerment of girls.

Notes:
Rachel Morrison, an American cinematographer, has been nominated for the 90th Academy Awards 2018 for her work in the film ‘Mudbound’. With this, she has become the first female cinematographer to receive an Oscar nomination in the 89-year-old history of the Awards.

Notes:
Dr V Narayanan, a rocket propulsion expert, has taken charge as new Director of ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC). He succeeded S Somanath, who has been appointed Director of, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Narayanan played a vital role in the successful launch of GSLV Mk III vehicle in its maiden attempt in 2017 from the spaceport of ISRO “Satish Dhawan Space Centre”. He is a Fellow of Indian National Academy of Engineering (FINAE) and Member of Space Propulsion Committee of International Astronautical Federation (IAF) and member in various national and international professional bodies. The LPSC is the centre for design, development and realisation of liquid propulsion stages for ISRO’s Launch Vehicles.

Notes:
Usha Ananthasubramanian, MD and CEO of Allahabad Bank, has been elected the first woman chairman of Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) for the year 2017-18. She succeeded Jatinder Bir Singh. Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of State Bank of India, was elected Deputy Chairman of IBA for the year 2017-18. IBA is the banking sector’s industry body, whose objective, among others, is to promote and develop sound and progressive banking principles, practices and conventions and to contribute to the developments of creative banking in the country.

Notes:
Kolkata has become the first Indian metro to get a floating market. The market will be located on a water-body with boats doubling up as shops. It was inaugurated by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on January 24, 2018. The purpose of this floating market is to rehabilitate over 200 shopkeepers from a nearby market that was demolished for the widening of the Eastern Metropolitan Bypass — an important road that connects the northern parts of the city to the eastern and southern tips. According to government officials, the market will host at least 114 boats, each one accommodating two shops. Shops will sell regular or daily-use items that include vegetables, fruits, flowers, fish and meat and poultry. Shoppers will approach the boats through wooden walkways.

Notes:
Maharashtra’s tableau titled “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj coronation” has won the best tableau award at the 69th Republic Day Parade 2018. Assam’s tableau depicting traditional “masks and sastras” bagged the second prize. The third prize went to Chhattisgarh’s display of Ramgarh’s ancient amphitheatre and artistes performing dance based on Kalidasa’s Meghadootam. Among the tableaux by Union Ministries and departments, the first prize went to “Khelo India” of the Youth Affairs and Sports Ministry. The Union Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave away the awards at Cariappa Parade Ground in Delhi Cantonment on January 28, 2018. Apart from this, the Punjab Regiment has bagged the award for the best marching contingent among the three services and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) among the paramilitary and other auxiliary forces in the 69th Republic Day parade.

Notes:
Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández has been sworn-in for a second term in capital Tegucigalpa with high security after a disputed presidential election 2017. President Hernández, has been in power since 2013, and is the first president in Honduran running for a second term after the country’s Supreme Court lifted a ban on re-election. It must be noted that, the country’s 1982 constitution bars presidents from seeking a new term and conservative politicians deposed a leftist president in 2009 for allegedly even considering re-election. But, Hernandez won a Supreme Court ruling in 2015 to get around that prohibition.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY) has launched “Stree Swabhiman” initiative. The aim of the initiative is to create a sustainable model for providing adolescent girls and women an access to affordable sanitary products by leveraging Common Services Centres (CSCs). Under the ‘Stree Swabhiman’ project, sanitary napkin micro manufacturing units are being set up at CSCs across India, particularly those operated by women entrepreneurs. The initiative is driven by awareness and personalised outreach by women entrepreneurs who produce and market sanitary napkins themselves.