Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2018

Notes:
India will provide $5 million dollar assistance to Jordan in the form of vaccines and medicines in 2018. Apart from this, India and Jordan have inked 12 agreements in areas including Defence, Health and Cultural Exchange Programme. The other MoUs include cooperation between Prasar Bharati and Jordan TV Cooperation and Indian Institute of Mass Communication and Jordan Media Institute (JMI). The MoU between Prasar Bharti and Jordan TV provides for cooperation in the fields of exchange and co-production of programs, training of personnel and further coordination. The pacts were inked after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and King of Jordan Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein in New Delhi. The King Abdullah II arrived in New Delhi on February 27 on a three-day visit to India.

Notes:
Arabinda Muduli (56), the noted Odia Bhajan singer, musician and lyricist, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on March 1, 2018. Having rendered over 3,000 songs, Muduli would be remembered for his hit bhajans like Kala Saante Acha Kemante and Jaga Pain Niti Mali Phula. He was a devotee of lord Jagannath and sang only Bhajans. He was a disciple of legendary bhajan singer Bhikari Bal. A musician, singer and lyricist, Muduli enthralled the audience with devotional songs and had won the hearts of millions of people in Odisha and elsewhere.

Notes:
The Indian Snooker team has lifted the first edition of IBSF Snooker Team World Cup title and won the prize money of $15,000. The Indian duo of Pankaj Advani and Manan Chandra defeated Pakistan (Muhammad Asif, Babar Masih) in the best-of-five final played in Doha on March 2.

Notes:
The 19th edition of FICCI Frames has inaugurated by Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Smiriti Irani in Mumbai, Maharashtra on March 5, 2018. The 3-day global convention covering the entire gamut of Media and Entertainment Industry will attract not only the industry stakeholders from across the world but also the government policy makers from India and abroad. The event will have more than 35 knowledge sessions by experts besides having over 200 high profile speakers from across the world. This year a first edition of Content Market has been added with over 70 buyers for a curated slate of new Indian Films. A special screening facility has also been set up to introduce festival programmers and key buyers to selected new Indian films. It is attended by nearly 2000 Indian and 800 foreign delegates encompassing the entire universe of media and entertainment.

Notes:
Frances McDormand has won the best actress award at the 90th Academy Awards 2018 for her performance as a grieving mother in movie “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”, at the award ceremony held at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 5. It is the second time McDormand has picked up the best actress statuette, following a 1996 win for her performance in Fargo. Beside her, Gary Oldman won the Oscar for the Best actor for portraying the role of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the period drama in movie ‘Darkest Hour’. Allison Janney took home the coveted Best Supporting Actress award for ‘I, Tonya’, while Sam Rockwell won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Notes:
The Odisha government has launched a programme “Ama Gaon, Ama Vikas (Our Village, our development)” to reach out to the people in rural areas and involve themselves in the developmental activities. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has flagged off mobile video vans for ‘Ama Gaon Ama Vikas’ programme that will move across the State to highlight various welfare schemes at villages in the state. Through these Wi-Fi enabled latest technology video wall vans, people can directly send their grievances to the Chief Minister’s Office at the Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. This initiative will help people in solving their grievances instantly.

Notes:
The Shigmotsav is the biggest festival for the Hindus in Goa, which is celebrated in the month of Phalguna (March) from the 9th moon day to full moon day as per the Hindu calendar. The 5th day is called ‘Rang Panchami’. This day of rejoicing is celebrated with the abundant use of ‘Gulal’ or red powder. This year, in 2018, the 2-week long festival has started from March 3. The Shigmotsav or Shigmo is one of the several cultural festivals of the coastal state and is celebrated through colours, costumes, music, dance and parades. The Shigmo parades will give one and all a chance to take a glimpse at the life of a Goan which is depicted in elaborate folk performances by local men and women who dance tirelessly in huge processions along with the parade. Folk dances like Ghode Modni and Fugdi will be performed on the streets in massive troupes along the procession, showcasing the traditions of Goa.

Notes:
Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi has clinched gold with a world record score of 242.3 in 10m air pistol men’s final in the 2018 ISSF World Cup at Guadalajara in Mexico on March 3. Striking a score of 242.3, Meerut-based Shahzar made sure that he gave India a taste of gold and kept his cool to achieve his target. While in the same event, Jitu Rai grabbed bronze medal. Meanwhile, Mehuli clinched bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle final with a score of 228.4. A total of 404 athletes from 50 National Olympic Committees are participating in the in the 12-day competition, which will have 15 medal events including three mixed team events. India has fielded a 33-member squad.

Notes:
The 9th edition of the Women’s Film Festival (WFF-2018) will be organized by the National Film Archives of India (NFAI) from 9 to 11 March at NFAI Pune. The theme of the fest is ‘Travelling Women’. It will open with Sidney Pollack’s Out Of Africa, featuring Meryl Streep. The festival will feature other acclaimed films including Away We Go, Under the Tuscan Sun, and Wild. The closing film is Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts. On March 8, NFAI will also host a special event “Parikathe til Rajkumari”, and screen audiovisual clips paying tribute to women in Indian cinema, from the birth of Indian cinema till the 1960s. The festival to mark the 2018 International Women’s Day will screen Balu Mahendra’s Tamil film Moondram Pirai, in remembrance of actress Sridevi.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the pan-India expansion of flagship programme–Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP)–from JhunJhun district of Rajasthan on March 8 to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD-2018). The BBBP is an initiative to save and educate the girl child. The programme will be expanded from the present 161 districts to 640 all over the country. In another landmark initiative, the Prime Minister will also launch the National Nutrition Mission (NNM). He will also launch NNM- ICDS Common Application Software.