Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2018

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a $120 million loan agreement for completion of works for double-tracking and electrification of railways tracks along high-density corridors to improve operational efficiency of Indian railways. The tranche 3 loan is part of the $500 million multi-tranche financing facility for Railway Sector Investment Program approved by the ADB Board in 2011. The loan amount will be used to complete the ongoing works commenced under earlier tranches. The purpose of the project is to increase the efficiency of the rail infrastructure through electrification, introduction of modern signaling system, and doubling rail tracks on key routes in the country. ADB loan has a 20-year term, including a grace period of 5 years, an annual interest rate determined in accordance with ADB’s London interbank offered rate (LIBOR)-based lending facility, and a commitment charge of 0.15% per year.

Notes:
Indian para-athlete Deepa Malik has won a gold medal in the F-53/54 category javelin event at the World Para Athletics Grand Prix in Dubai on March 15, 2018. With this, she has secured the No. 1 rank in Asia in F53 Javelin category. With the win, Deepa has also qualified for the 2018 Asian Para Games, which is scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 8-16. With that she qualified for the 2018 Asian Para Games, which is scheduled to be held in Jakarta, Indonesia from October 8-16. Beside this, Malik is the first Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games and won a Silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in the shot put. She has been honoured with the Arjuna award in 2012 and has also been conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award in 2017 for her achievements.

Notes:
Defending champion Purva Barve from India has clinched the Women’s Singles (Under-19) title at the Israel Junior Badminton tournament 2018 held in Rishon LeZion, Israel on March 17. She won the long drawn battle against third seeded and top-ranked Russian Anastasiia Pustinskaia in three sets 21-19, 19-21, 21-13. The title is her first in 2018 and third overall. Earlier she won the Israel Junior 2017, Italian Junior International 2017 apart from a bronze at the Russian Junior White Nights 2017.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has recently released coins in denominations of Rs 10 and Rs 1,000 commemorating Nabakalebara festival of 2015 during the centenary celebration of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in Puri, Odisha on March 18, 2018. The Nabakalebara festival is an ancient ritual that is observed in most of the Jaganath temples in Odisha. In this fest, the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra and Sudarshan are replaced by new idols. The occasion occurs every 8th, 12th, or 19th year of the previous Nabakalebara.

Notes:
India and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement that will enable them to share earth observation data from each other’s satellites. The pact was inked in Bengaluru by Philippe Brunet, Director for Space Policy, Copernicus and Defence, on behalf of the European Commission, and by Scientific Secretary, PG Diwakar. The Copernicus programme provides a wide range of applications like climate change, land, ocean and atmosphere monitoring as well as support in forecasting, management and mitigation of natural disasters. Under this arrangement, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will share data from its earth observation satellites. The European Commission will provide India with free, full and open access to the data from the Copernicus Sentinel family of satellites using high bandwidth connections from data hub to data hub. This will provide both the sides, the data on climate change, weather forecasting and natural disasters.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of National Conclave on Mines and Minerals has started in New Delhi on March 20, 2018. The representatives of various state governments, mining industry, industry associations, financial and academic institutions will participate in the event. The conclave will provide an effective platform to showcase the recent policy initiatives of the government. It was also enable intensive discussions on issues, challenges and opportunities in the mining sector to realize its optimum potential for the sustainable development of the country. The first edition of the conclave was held in July, 2016 at Raipur, while the second took place in February 2017 in New Delhi.

Notes:
The first-ever National workshop on Poshan Abhiyaan has started at Pravasi Bharatiya Kendra in New Delhi on March 20, 2018 to implement the campaign in a fast track mode across the country. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is organising the day long workshop in which all states and union territories are participating. The workshop will provide a complete orientation on the campaign to provide handholding in using the softwares involved and to augment the convergence with different Ministries in implementing the campaign for improved Nutritional outcomes. POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan on March 8, 2018. It has been set up with a three year budget of Rs 9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18. It aims to ensure holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children. The programme also targets to reduce the level of stunting, under-nutrition, anaemia and low birth rate.

Notes:
The World Sparrow Day (WSD) is observed every year on March 20 to highlight the declining population of the bird due to modern infrastructure, pollution by microwave towers and pesticides and lesser green spaces. It is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.

Notes:
The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE) has signed MOU with Technology Information, Forecasting & Assessment Council (TIFAC) to provide livelihood opportunities and augment income of the forest based communities. Through this collaboration, TIFAC will help ICFRE to refine and up-scale the technologies developed, take technologies to the end users including farmers, State Forest Departments, forest based industries and forest dependent communities in a more effective manner. The MoU will be valid for a period of 5 years. The headquarters of ICFRE is located in Dehradun, Uttarakhand.

Notes:
The International Day of Happiness is observed every year on March 20 to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world. The day is to inspire individuals to share happiness with others and create a happier world for all. The 2018 theme “Share Happiness” focuses on the importance of relationships, kindness and helping each other. The World Happiness Report 2018, which was published recently, ranked 156 countries by happiness levels, based on factors such as life expectancy, social support and corruption. Finland was ranked as the happiest country to live, while Burundi in East Africa is the unhappiest place in the world. India was ranked 133rd in the report.