Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
The National Voters’ Day (NVD) is observed every year by India on January 25 with an aim to increase the enrolment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones. The day is also observed to mark the establishment of the Election Commission on this day in 1950, a day before India became a republic. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has celebrated the 8th National Voters’ Day 2018 with theme ‘Accessible Elections’ across the country, which will be used to spread awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.

Notes:
The Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has recently signed a MoU with National Housing Bank (NHB) for implementing the Rural Housing Interest Subsidy Scheme (RHISS) of the Union Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD). The purpose of the RHISS is to provide subsidy for housing loans taken by those living in rural areas for construction and modifications of their dwelling units. The interest subsidy under the scheme is 3% for a loan amount of Rs 2 lakh for 20-year tenure. With this MoU, IOB will be able to extend the benefit of RHISS to its rural home loan customers of its 923 rural branches spread across India.

Notes:
The Punjab Government has launched Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojna (MGSVY) on the occasion of 69th Republic Day 2018 for the distressed sections of the society across the state. The purpose of the programme is to give the distressed sections of the society the help they need socially, economically and psychologically. This scheme will be on the line of Antyodaya principles. The aim of the programme is “Wipe every tear from every eye” as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhiji. The main purpose of this scheme is to provide the benefit of welfare schemes for debt stressed farmers, poor families that have a woman as sole bread earner, families of AIDS patients, out-of-school children, martyred soldiers, differently-abled, abandoned old persons, drug addicts among others.

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:
Asha Bhosle, the legendary playback singer, will be awarded with the 5th edition of Yash Chopra Memorial Award 2018 for her outstanding contribution to the Hindi film industry. The award will be presented to her on February 16. The previous recipients are Lata Mangeshkar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rekha and Shah Rukh Khan. The award has been instituted by the TSR Foundation of T. Subbarami Reddy in memory of producer-director Yash Chopra, who died in 2012. Asha Bhosle has officially acknowledged by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in music history. In her illustrious music career spanning nearly seven decades she has recorded over 11,000 songs in 20 different languages. The Government of India (GoI) has honoured her with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2000) and the Padma Vibhushan (2008).

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:
Sandeep Lamichhane, the leg-spinner, has become the first cricketer from Nepal to sign for an IPL team. He was bought by Delhi Daredevils for his base price of Rs 20 lakh. He made his first impact at the 2016 U-19 World Cup, where he guided Nepal to a creditable 8th place. He came to limelight by becoming the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 14 scalps in six innings at an average of 17 and an economy of 4.67.

Notes:
The National Handloom Expo (NHE) has been inaugurated by Assam Handloom and Textile Minister Ranjit Dutta at Guwahati, Assam on January 29, 2018. The event is sponsored by Development Commissioner of Handloom, Govt of India and organized by ARTFED. Total 130 stalls have been set up. 12 states are participating in the event, which will continue till 11 February.

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.