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:
India’s star wrestler Vinesh Phogat has settled for Silver Medal in the 50kg Freestyle competition at the Asian Wrestling Championship in Kyrgyzstan on March 1. In the final of the event at Bishkek, she lost to China’s Chun Lei. Another Indian, Sangeeta claimed Bronze in 59kg division. 

Notes:
Justice S. Ratnavel Pandian (89), the former Supreme Court judge, has passed away at Chennai, Tamil Nadu on February 28, 2018. He was a multi-faceted personality who tried his hands in politics before entering the legal profession. In the apex court, he was part of a Bench that decided the famous Indra Sawhney case, in which the constitutionality of reservations to Backward Classes was upheld in 1992. After his retirement in 1994, Justice Pandian headed the 5th Central Pay Commission and submitted its final report in April 1997. He took over as chairperson of the National Commission for Backward Classes on August 14, 2006 and was given the status of Union Cabinet Minister for the duration of the term of his office, which lasted till 2009.

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:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the noted an Indian cricketer, has become a brand ambassador of gaming platform Dream11 on March 5, 2018. Dhoni, who had led the country to a famous triumph in the inaugural World T20 Championship in 2007, would be the new face of the gaming platform’s multi-channel marketing campaigns and brand engagement activities. Dhoni captained the Indian team in limited-overs formats from 2007 to 2016 and in Test cricket from 2008 to 2014. Currently the gaming platform has a user base of 2 crore sports fans playing “fantasy cricket, football, kabaddi and NBA.

Notes:
Conrad Sangma, the President of National People’s Party (NPP) & currently a Member of Parliament (MP) from Tura Lok Sabha constituency, has been sworn-in as the 12th Chief Minister of Meghalaya. He is the son of former Lok Sabha Speaker late PA Sangma. NPP won 19 seats in the recently held Assembly polls and cobbled up a coalition government in the state with the support of other regional parties, the BJP and an Independent MLA. P A Sangma was a former Union minister and Lok Sabha speaker. He was also the Meghalaya chief minister from 1988 to 1990.

Notes:
The Union government has set up a steering committee to consider various issues relating to the development of Fintech space in India with a view to make Fintech related regulations more flexible and generate enhanced entrepreneurship. The move is a follow up to the announcement made by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech of 2018-19. The 8-member committee headed by Economic Affairs Secretary, Subhash Chandra Garg will also focus on how Fintech can be leveraged to enhance financial inclusion of MSMEs. According to the terms and reference, the committee will take stock of the developments in the fintech sector globally, and in India. It will also work with Government agencies like UIDAI to explore creation and use of unique enterprise identification number.

Notes:
Neiphiu Rio, the senior leader of President of Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) & currently a Member of Parliament (MP) from Nagaland Lok Sabha constituency, will be sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Nagaland on March 8, 2018. He has to prove his majority on the floor of the House “on or before March 16”, according to a media release issued by the office of Governor P B Acharya. Rio belongs to the Angami Naga tribe in the state.

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.

Notes:
Gita Mittal, the Delhi High Court Acting Chief Justice, has become the first woman from the field of law and justice to be conferred the ‘Nari Shakti Puraskar’, India’s highest civilian honour for women. Justice Mittal, who took over as Acting Chief Justice after the retirement of Justice G Rohini in April 2017, has introduced many welcome changes in the functioning of the Delhi High Court. She has been closely monitoring the dispensation of justice in Delhi and has also initiated a clean-up drive of the lower judiciary. The award has been presented to Justice Mittal in a private ceremony by the President at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on 2018 International Women’s Day (IWD). The Nari Shakti award is presented for exemplary service to the cause of upliftment of women.