Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2018

Notes:
Pyare Lal Wadali (75), the famous Sufi singer, has passed away in Amritsar, Punjab on March 9, 2018. He was the younger of the singers of legendary Sufi set Wadali Brothers. The Wadali Brothers – comprising Puranchand Wadali and Pyarelal Wadali – had carved a distinct mark for themselves in the genre of Sufi music. Born into the fifth generation of musicians, Pyarelal and Puran Chand Wadali became popular with their Sufi music and were spotted after performing at the Harballabh temple in Jalandhar in 1975. The duo had taken the country by storm some years ago, by their hit album featuring Sufi songs such as ‘Tu mane ya na mane dildara’, ‘aasan te tenu rab manya’ and Tanu Weds Manu’s ‘Rangrez mere’.

Notes:
The 2018 National Legislators Conference will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Central Hall of Parliament House, New Delhi on March 10, 2018. The purpose of the Conference is to provide a platform to Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assemblies and Members of Legislative Councils across the country to share their experiences. The theme of the conference is — “We For Development”. About 170 public representatives are expected to participate in the Conference. The Conference will offer a special opportunity to the delegates whose constituencies have greater possibilities and aspirations of development. Union Cabinet Ministers, Chief Ministers, Presiding Officers of State Legislatures, Members of Parliament and Members of State Legislatures will attend the function.

Notes:
The biennial event on Civil Aviation and Aerospace ‘Wings India 2018’ has started with theme “India-Global Aviation Hub” in Hyderabad on March 8. It is jointly organized by Ministry of Civil Aviation and Airport Authority of India and FICCI. The WINGS INDIA 2018 is a platform for interactions, forging alliances, investments and air connectivity between the States and the global aviation players & stakeholders. The four-day event has witnessed the presence of 125 exhibitors and 35 CEOs. It also saw representation from 10 countries. The focus of the conference is to foster partnership to transform Indian aviation and the role of conducive regulatory framework to facilitate growth of civil aviation market.

Notes:
The International Solar Alliance (ISA) has recently signed a cooperation arrangement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to promote solar energy deployment in Asia and the Pacific on March 10, 2018. The cooperation envisages solar power generation, solar based mini-grids and transmission systems for integrating solar energy into grids. The ISA and the ADB would also cooperate on knowledge sharing and developing technology roadmaps for the promotion of solar energy. Apart from this, the ISA has also inked joint financial partnership declarations with the African Development Bank (AfDb), the International Energy Agency (IEA), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), the Green climate fund (GCF), and the New Development Bank (NDB). ISA and AfDb would work on mobilisation of concessional financing through existing, notably the Bank’s Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa and the Facility for Energy Inclusion. AIIB and ISA have collaborated for promotion of solar energy in prospective ISA member countries where AIIB operates. Besides, ISA and GCF will promote development of affordable, reliable and sustainable solar energy as an important way towards a sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The purpose of the agreements is to deepen their cooperation in support of renewable energy.

Notes:
The Telangana government has launched India’s first state-led incubator for women entrepreneurs, called as Women Entrepreneurship Hub (WE-Hub), in Hyderabad on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD-2018). Unlike T-Hub, which is meant for technology startups, WE Hub will be open for all kinds of startups led by women. We-Hub will promote women-led, women-owned enterprises in Telangana. It is a platform which is open to all kinds of innovations including a tech start-up, a start-up in social innovation or an idea which is completely radically different. Deepthi Ravula is heading the WE-Hub incubator as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Notes:
For the first time, the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) have declared an 8.3 km stretch along the Indo-Bangladesh border a ‘crime free zone’ on March 10, 2018 to curb criminal activities including smuggling. It is the first-ever crime-free zone declared by both the countries. The stretch falls between the border outpost of Gunarmath and Kalyani of the BSF and Putkhali and Daulatpur of the BGB. This stretch is one of the most vulnerable with cattle smuggling and other criminal activities prevalent. With the help of civil administrations of the two countries, NGOs and the local populace, both border-guarding forces will help ensure no crime takes place along the stretch. This is a pilot project that will be reviewed after 5-6 months.

Notes:
The Barh Super Thermal Power Station (BSTPS) is located in Barh, Bihar and is owned by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC). The 1,320MW (2×660 MW) Barh Stage-2 built by BHEL is operational while 1,980MW (3×660 MW) Barh Stage-1 is being built by Russian firm Technopromexport (TPE). The main power plant and the township is spread over an area of 1,186 acres.The legal possession of 1,186 acres of land has been acquired for setting up the main power plant and its township which includes 12 villages.

Notes:
The Delhi End TB Summit has started in New Delhi on 13th March 2018, which is co-hosted by the Union Health Ministry, WHO South East Asia Regional Office and Stop TB Partnership. In it, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched a TB-free India Campaign to eradicate Tuberculosis (TB) from India by 2025, five years ahead of a globally-set deadline. The campaign will take the activities of National Strategic Plan (NSP) for TB elimination forward in a mission mode. The NSP is backed by a funding of over Rs 12,000 crore over the next three years to ensure that every TB patient has access to quality diagnosis, treatment and support. The new NSP adopts a multi-pronged approach which aims to detect all TB patients, with an emphasis on reaching TB patients seeking care from private providers and undiagnosed TB in high-risk populations. The Delhi End TB Summit 2018 will set the stage for United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB in September 2018, where for the first time, TB will be discussed in the UN General Assembly at the Heads of State level.

Notes:
The first-ever Indo-French Knowledge Summit was held in New Delhi and coincided with the state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to India. The purpose of the summit was to design a roadmap of Franco-India cooperation for the next five years, in collaboration with companies. It was organized by the French Embassy in India and co-hosted by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The Knowledge summit was successfully ended with a landmark agreement on mutual recognition of educational qualifications between the two countries and a record 15 other MoUs between universities and research institutions on joint initiatives and partnerships. More than 350 people from nearly 80 Indian Institutions and 70 French Institutions along with key enterprises participated in the Summit which also received the support of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Campus France and Confederation of Indian Industry.

Notes:
India’s first national coastal policing academy has been set up in Devbhumi Dwarka district of Gujarat to train police forces in effectively safeguarding the Indian shoreline. The academy, named National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP), will start functioning from a campus of Gujarat’s Fisheries Research Centre located in coastal Okha from April 2018. The NACP will be run by a multi-agency team of paramilitary and defence forces. It will train the marine forces of states, which have sea lines.