Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2018

Notes:
The 11th Rashtriya Rifles Biennial Conference is being conducted at Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) from 26 to 27 March 18. The event chaired by Chief of the Army Staff has been attended by Army Commander Northern Command, Director General Rashtriya Rifles, Corps Commander 15 and 16 Corps and all General Officers Commanding Counter Insurgency Forces. The Rashtriya Rifles (RR) is a branch of the Indian Army under the authority of the Indian Ministry of Defence. The RR is a counter-insurgency force made up of soldiers deputed from other parts of the Indian Army. The force is currently deployed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It has assisted the locals from inaccessible and far flung areas of the state by providing assistance in diverse fields and has given an impetus to development, growth, education, women empowerment, skill development and communal harmony through its multifarious enabling civil action programs.

Notes:
Professor J S Rajput, the former Director of NCERT, has been nominated as the India’s representative to the Executive Board (EXB) of UNESCO. Professor Rajput is an eminent educationist with rich experience in various fields including UNESCO. He has recently completed the project aimed at achieving religious amity through education and his edited book “Education of Muslims in India” was released by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on June 15, 2015.The EXB has a 4-year term of office and 58 seats. It is one of the constitutional organs of UNESCO and is elected by the General Conference. The executive board examines the work for the organization and the corresponding budget estimates. In practice, the executive board is the main organ responsible for all policies and programmes of UNESCO.

Notes:
The Surat district of Gujarat has become the India’s first district to have 100% solar powered Primary Health Centers (PHCs) to combat the issue of global warming. There are a total of 52 PHCs in the district and all of them are now powered by solar system. This initiative will not only bring down the electricity bill by 40% but also help fight global warming.

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Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj and Mines , has inaugurated Saras Aajeevika Mela at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. The SARAS Aajeevika Mela 2018 in New Delhi is an endeavour of Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission. It aims to provide a national platform and an opportunity to the rural women producers to showcase their products and seek buyers, either individuals or bulk buyers for sale nationally or internationally. As part of the 2018 mela, 700 women from 28 states are selling their products in over 350 stalls in the Mela. The Ministry has also released a directory of the products of all the women who will be showcasing their products in the Aajeevika Mela 2018.

Notes:
India’s first Insect Museum has been inaugurated by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswamy at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore. The museum, established at a 6,691 sqft area, is fully dedicated to insects and claimed to be the first of its in the country. It would display insects preserved as specimens as also live ones depicting their different developmental stages, images, videos and models of their unique behaviour, habits and habitats. The uniqueness of the museum is visible in the lobby, which depicts the theme, “Bugs are kings” while the exhibiting area comprises seven radial walls (bay) on the right side and an undivided wall on the left side.

Notes:
Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan, one of the most distinguished biologists of the country, has been appointed as the new Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India (GoI). He will succeed 81-year-old nuclear physicist R Chidambaram, who has been in the position for more than 16 years. The PSA, post created by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in 1999, is the topmost advisor to the government on all matters related to scientific policy. The office of the PSA is one of the three scientific bodies the government relies on for advice on matters relating to science and which act as the interface between scientific institutions and the government. The other two are Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (SAC-PM) and Science Advisory Council to the Cabinet (SAC-C).

Notes:
The first-ever National conclave on Psychological Trauma, Child Protection and Mental Illnesses was held at J L N Auditorium in AIIMS, New Delhi on March 27-28, 2018. The purpose of the conclave was to provide a comprehensive synthesis of research, service provision, and clinical practice in addressing psychological trauma and subsequent mental illnesses in Indian children and adolescents. The National conclave was organised by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (WCD) in collaboration with the Dept. of Psychiatry of AIIMS. The conclave provided a common platform for all stakeholders (Academicians, Clinicians, Government and NGOs) working in this area in the direction of robust evidence based research, better service provision, and capacity building of professionals.

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved formulation of a new Integrated Scheme for School Education (ISSE) by subsuming Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) , Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020. An estimated allocation of Rs 75,000 crore over the period has been approved which is a 20% increase over the current allocations. The vision of the scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education from nursery to senior secondary stage in accordance with the (United Nations’) Sustainable Development Goal for Education. The main emphasis of the integrated scheme is on improving quality of school education by focussing on the two T’s — Teacher and Technology.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Asian Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) for cooperation on the response to Oil and Chemical Pollution in the South Asian Seas Region. The MoU intends to promote closer cooperation between India and other maritime nations comprising the South Asian seas region namely Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka for protection and preservation of marine environment in the region. Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will be the Competent National Authority and national operational contact point for implementation of “Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan” under the MoU and shall respond to oil and chemical spills on behalf of Government of India. The SACEP is an inter-governmental organisation established in 1982 by the South Asian governments to promote and support protection, management and enhancement of the environment in the region.

Notes:
Raj Kumar Dorendra Singh (83), the former Chief Minister of Manipur, has passed away at the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences Hospital in Imphal on March 31, 2018. In the past, he represented a number of political parties; currently he was with Manipur People’s Party (MPP). He had been chief minister of the state four times between 1974 to 1993. Before becoming the chief minister, he was the Speaker of Manipur Assembly.