Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

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:
Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2018 men’s Singles title in the Australian Open 2018. He successfully defended his title by defeating 6th seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia by 6-2,6-7, 6-3 3-6, 6-1. With this, Federer won his sixth title at the Australian Open equalling the record held by Roy Emerson and Novak Djokovic. The win has brought the Swiss to the elite group of Margaret Court, Serena Williams and Steffi Graf, the only players to have won 20 or more Grand Slam singles titles.

Notes:
Dr. Gurcharan Singh Kalkat (91), the former agriculture commissioner of India and Padam Shri and Padam Bhushan awardee, has passed away in Chandigarh, Punjab on January 27, 2018. He was known for his contribution during the Green Revolution era which led to a boom in the production of wheat and rice in the country. He was the one who even ushered a soybean revolution in Punjab. Kalkat was also the former vice-chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (Ludhiana) from 1998-2001.

Notes:
Caroline Wozniack, a Danish professional tennis player, has won the 2018 women’s Singles title in the Australian Open 2018. With this, she became the first Danish player to win a Grand Slam singles title by defeating Simona Halep in the final by 7–6, 3–6, 6–4.

Notes:
Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan has won the 2018 women’s singles Indonesia Masters badminton tournament by defeating Saina Nehwal in the final by 9-21, 13-21 in Jakarta. With this win, Tai Tzu has now defeated the former world No.1 nine times in their last 10 meetings.

Notes:
Vikram Singh Sisodia, the joint secretary of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has been appointed the Chef-de-Mission for the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018, which is scheduled to be held in Gold Coast, Australia from April 4 to 15. Sisodia is also currently the president of Chhattisgarh State Tennis Association.

Notes:
The first-ever India-Vietnam Bilateral Army Exercise, christened as ‘VINBAX-2018″, has started in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh on January 29, as part of joint training undertaken with friendly foreign countries by Indian Army. It is the first-ever military exercise between the two countries. The 6-day-long Table Top military exercise has been especially designed to enable and train officers from Vietnam in United Nations Peace Keeping Operations.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $250 million loan agreement for the construction of over 6,200 kilometres all-weather rural roads in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). The program is aimed at improving rural connectivity, facilitating safer and more efficient access to livelihood and socio-economic opportunities for rural communities through improvements to about 12 thousand kilometres Rural Roads across the 5 States.

Notes:
Sauli Niinisto, the current President of Finland, has won the 2018 Finnish presidential election on January 28, 2018. He won his second 6-year term with an overwhelming 62.7% of the vote. His closest rival, Pekka Haavisto of the Greens of Finland, secured just 12.4% votes. The term will from 1st March 2018 to 1 March 2024. Mr. Niinisto, who is in office since 2012, is known for cultivating good relations with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. During his first term, Mr. Niinisto was instrumental in maintaining relations with Moscow, despite the country backing western economic sanctions against Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine. Finland, which shares 1,340 km border and a difficult history with Russia, has also developed closer ties with NATO but stopped short of full membership in line with a tradition of avoiding confrontation with Russia.