GK & Current Affairs Quiz: March 25, 2017

Notes:
Indian-origin British director Gurinder Chadha has been honoured with the 2017 Sikh Jewel Award for 2017 for her immense contribution to British cinema. She received the award from UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon at the Vaisakhi Dinner organised by the British Sikh Association at the Lancaster Hotel on March 24, 2017. Her noted films include “Bhaji on the Beach”, “Bend It Like Beckham” and “Bride and Prejudice”. Chadha’s latest film, “Viceroy’s House” tells the true story of the final five months of British rule in India and coincides with the 70th anniversary of the Independence of India and the founding of Pakistan.

Notes:
Dr.Randeep Guleria has been appointed as the new Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi for five years from the date of assumption of charge or till attaining the age of 65 until further orders. He is the first Indian to get a Doctorate of Medicine (DM) in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. Dr. Guleria has worked as a personal physician to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and has also treated Union ministers like Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley. He succeeded Dr. M C Mishra, who retired from the post of AIIMS director in January 2017.

Notes:
Veteran actor Anupam Kher will be honoured with the Kala Ratan Award by Vice President Hamid Ansari. Kher was honoured with the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016 for his contribution in the field of cinema and arts. The actor has worked mainly working in Hindi films and has also appeared in acclaimed international films like Bend It Like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, The Mistress Of Spices, Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution, and David O. Russell’s 2013 Oscar-winning Silver Linings Playbook.

Notes:
An Indian para shuttler, Sukant Kadam has recently won the singles and doubles bronze medals in the 2017 Spanish Para-Badminton International at Majorca in Spain.

Notes:
India’s first vertical garden has set up at the Hosur Road Electronics City Flyover in Bengaluru, Karnataka to control the pollution level of the city. It will also act as a soundproofing barrier. The garden is an initiative of NGO “SayTrees”, who are firm to protect nature. The vertical garden is designed in such a way that a pillar of the flyover is covered with the garden flaunting lovely saplings that are organic and refreshing. The garden also has an automatic drip irrigation system allowing the plants to get 100 milliliters of water on a daily basis.

Notes:
The Sri Lankan Government has recently launched a new Peace Education and Reconciliation Unit (PERU) to create awareness on reconciliation among hundreds of thousands of students.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of ‘World Conference on Environment’ has been organized by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in New Delhi on March 25, 2017. It was inaugurated by the honorable President of India Pranab Mukherjee. The 2-day conference will discuss various issues like air pollution, water pollution, economics and clean technology, and the role of courts and tribunals. The sessions of the conference will deliberate — to what extent can we allow environmental degradation; what are we going to leave behind for future generation; what steps can be taken to curb the perils of environmental degradation; and can we completely squander the assets received from forefathers without leaving anything for our future.

Notes:
The World Sparrow Day (WSD) is observed every year on March 20 to raise awareness about the importance of birds dwelling in urban areas and to educate the public about the threat of polluted urban environments and non-caring humans to the house sparrow population, as well as to other common bird species. The day is an international initiative by the Nature Forever Society of India (NFSI) in collaboration with the Eco-Sys Action Foundation (France) and numerous other national and international organisations across the world.

Notes:
The 9th World Environmental Education Congress (WEEC) will be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Canada from September 9-15, 2017 with the theme “Culture/Environment: Weaving New Connections”. The WEEC is an international congress that addresses education for environment and sustainability.

Notes:
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade is observed every year on March 25 to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice. The 2017 theme “Remember Slavery: Recognising the Legacy and Contributions of People of African Descent” draw attention to the consequences of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, especially the ways in which the enslaved Africans and their descendants influenced and continue to shape societies across the world, including in the areas of technology and culture.