GK & Current Affairs Quiz: April 29, 2017

Notes:
India’s first-ever transgender athletic meet was held at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on April 28, 2017 to provide a platform for the transgender community to display their athletic ability. Around 100 participants from nine districts of Kerala competed in the one-day meet which had competitions like 100 metre, 200 metre and 400 metre races, 4×100 metre relay, long jump and shot put. The event was jointly organised by Kerala sports council and Sexual Gender Minority Federation of Kerala.

Notes:
The International Basava Convention (IBC) has been inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on April 29, 2017. To mark the occasion, he launched translated volumes of Vachana, penned by 12th century social reformer Basavanna and other saints in 23 Indian languages The Prime Minister has also released the digital version of the work at the first-ever celebration of Basava Jayanthi at the national level. Vachana is a prosaic form well known in the Kannada literature which propagate values of universal brotherhood. This style of writing was used by Basavanna for spreading social awareness and brings equality in the society in the 12th century. The event also coincides with golden jubilee of Basava Samiti, set up by former Vice President B D Jatti in 1964 with an aim to spread Basavannas message across India. The 23 Vachana volumes, edited by esteemed literary scholar late M M Kalburgi and translated by more than 200 people, was commissioned by the Bengaluru based Basava Samithi at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore of which, the Karnataka government contributed Rs. 1 crore.

Notes:
Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Union Health Minister, has recently launched the Test and Treat policy for providing treatment to patients suffering from Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). As per the policy, anyone who is tested and found HIV positive will be provided Anti- Retroviral Therapy (ART) treatment free of cost. It is a centrally sponsored scheme and people suffering from HIV will benefit from it.

Notes:
The noted Indian sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik from Odisha has won the jury prize gold medal at the 10th edition of Moscow Sand art Championship-2017 in Moscow, Russia. Pattnaik secured the gold for his 10 feet high sand sculpture of Lord Ganesh with messase “Go Green” at the Championship to highlight the importance of ecological balance in the face of global warming. The theme for the international sand sculpture event was “The world around us”.

Notes:
India’s first electric taxi (e- taxi) trial will be held in Nagpur, Maharashtra from May 24, 2017. For this initiative, Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) will provide 200 taxis. The e-taxi is one of the ambitious projects of the Union Government and forms as a part of its United Nations Development Program (UNDP) millennium goals to tackle pollution. The project will be undertaken by Nagpur Municipal Corporation and is the first project of its kind in India.

Notes:
Gul Panag, an Indian actress and an automobile enthusiast, has become the first Indian woman to drive Formula E racing car at a race track. She drove the M4Electro at the Circuit de Calafat in Catalonia, Spain. The M4Electro is a Mahindra 4th generation Formula E race car and a Season 4 challenger in Barcelona, Spain. To drive a racing car, one requires a high level of fitness as the G forces create tremendous stress on the body. It requires specialized training to ensure a high level of precision.

Notes:
Jehan Daruvala has created history by becoming the first Indian racer to occupy pole position in the FIA Formula 3 European Championships in the qualifying session for Round 2 in Monza, Italy. Though, he was unable to translate that to a race victory, and finished the hard-fought race on April 29, 2017 in second place, behind his Carlin Racing teammate Lando Norris of the United Kingdom (UK). Formula 3 is considered to be one of the toughest junior racing category, but is known to produce legends in F1.

Notes:
Ashwani Kumar, the former Union minister, has been selected by Japan for its prestigious ‘Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun’ award for his contribution to fostering Japan-India ties and promotion of friendship between the two countries. The Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun is the highest category of decorations among the Orders of the Rising Sun, is conferred in recognition of distinguished accomplishments of individuals. The Presentation Ceremony for the Investiture of the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun will be held at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 9, when the foreign recipients will be given an audience with His Majesty the Emperor of Japan

Notes:
The 4th edition of National Standards Conclave (NSC) will be held in New Delhi from May 1-2, 2017. The purpose of the conclave is to bring awareness and prepare Industries Central Government Ministries, State Governments, regulatory/standards setting and conformity assessment bodies on the growing importance of “Standards” in the changing scenario of global trade. The Department of Commerce, Government of India in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) and the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) and other knowledge partners is organizing the Conclave.

Notes:
Lv Haotian from China has won the 33rd edition of ACBS Asian Snooker Championship-2017 by defeating India’s top cueist Pankaj Advani in the final by 3-6 in Doha, Qatar. This is the first silver Advani has won this season, the rest all gold medals — at the National Championships of Billiards, 6-red Snooker, 15-red Snooker and the Asian Billiards Championship. The defeat in the final meant that Advani could not complete a career Grand Slam in cue sport. A victory could make Advani only player in history to win all majors in two sports at all levels and across all formats.