GK & Current Affairs Quiz: February 15, 2018

Notes:
India’s first-ever radio festival has started at the UNESCO House in New Delhi on February 15, 2018 to mark World Radio Day (WRD-2018). The festival has been organised by International Association of Women in Radio and Television in partnership with UNESCO. The festival includes live performances, an exhibition, and slotted panel discussions. Apart from touching on the theme for World Radio Day 2018 – Radio and Sports – the festival is also examining the potential of the medium as a platform for social change, ways to make it more creative and will trace the journey of music on the radio.

Notes:
Tamil Nadu has lifted their maiden title in the 23rd edition of the Senior Women’s National Football Championship 2018 by defeating Manipur in the final by 2-1 at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on February 14. Indumathi has also adjudged the player of the final as well as the tournament for her superlative performances.

Notes:
Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, the chairperson of Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) , has been sworn-in as the 41st Prime Minister of Nepal, after his Left alliance routed the ruling Nepali Congress in the country’s historic parliamentary and local polls. President Bidhya Devi Bhandari administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly-elected Prime Minister on 15 February 2018 under Article 76 of newly adopted Constitution of Nepal. Oli, who is known for his pro-China stance, has served his first stint as Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 October 2015 to 3 August 2016.

Notes:
India has signed the second loan agreement of $100 million with New Development Bank (NDB) for Rajasthan Water Sector Restructuring Project for Desert Areas on 13th February 2018 at New Delhi. This is the first tranche loan approved by the NDB under the Multi Tranche Financing Facility of $345 Million for this project. The project implementation period is six years. Rajasthan government will implement the project primarily through its Water Resources Department. The purpose of this project is to rehabilitate the 678 kilometre long Indira Gandhi Canal system built during 1958 to 1963 to prevent seepage, conserve water, and enhance water use efficiency as mandated by both national and state level policies on water use.

Notes:
The World Sustainable Development Summit – 2018 will be held in New Delhi on February 16. The summit will address a wide variety of issues, including combating land degradation and air pollution, effective waste management and create financial mechanisms to enable effective climate change mitigation. The theme of the 2018 Summit is – Partnerships for a Resilient Planet, which seeks to create action frameworks to resolve some of the most urgent challenges facing developing economies in the backdrop of climate change. The summit is the flagship forum of the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). It seeks to bring together on a common platform, global leaders and thinkers in the fields of sustainable development, energy and environment sectors. Over 2,000 delegates are expected to participate in the summit, including policy makers, researchers, diplomats and corporates from around the world.

Notes:
West Bengal has become the first Indian state to opt out of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) “Modicare”, which was unveiled in the Union Budget 2018. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Banerjee has stated that West Bengal already has made hospitalization and medical treatment free of cost for its citizens, so it doesn’t see the point of spending on a separate programme that will do the same. Under the provisions of the Modicare, the Centre will contribute Rs 2,000 crore to the scheme, out of a total cost of Rs 5,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. State governments are expected to pay the remainder.

Notes:
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has launched the test of the world’s first autonomous pods at the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 11, 2018. The autonomous pods are designed and engineered in cooperation with the US-based Next Future Transportation. These are designed to travel short and medium distances in dedicated lanes. They can be coupled together in as little 15 seconds or detached – depending on the riders’ destination – in five seconds. Each pod is fitted with cameras and electromechanical technologies to carry out the coupling and detaching, which can be activated while the pod is in motion.

Notes:
The India-Russia Agriculture Business Summit 2018 was held in New Delhi on February 13. The two countries discussed trade relations in the agricultural sector. The summit was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. Additionally, the Russian and Indian delegations visited the Central State Farm (CSF) to commemorate the 70 years of bilateral relations in the field of agriculture in Suratgarh, Rajasthan on February 14, 2018. The CSF was set up in Suratgarh in 1956 with the assistance from erstwhile USSR. Russian scientists helped in laying the foundation of agriculture in the deserts of Thar, which brought about a change in the agriculture farming in nearby areas including fringe area of Punjab.

Notes:
India’s Umang App has won the Best M-Government Service award in the Accessible Government category while Aadhaar won the best emerging technology award at the recently concluded 6th edition of the World Government Summit 2018 in Dubai, where India had the status of ‘Guest of Honour’ country. The summit acknowledged technology pioneers for providing global solutions to global challenges. The mobile application “Umang App” provides users a unified platform that combines government departments and services, facilitating transactions for citizens. The award acknowledged Government of India’s efforts to provide convenient services to its citizens. The Aadhaar project was recognized as the world’s largest biometric enabled identification programme which provides access to service income tax, passport services, bank accounts, social services benefits aimed at providing 1.2 billion citizens unique identification card with fingerprint, eye-print and other vital data. The award recognized the efforts of the Government of India (GoI)’s invention and innovation in the field of technology and making the country completely digitalized.

Notes:
The Omkareshwar Dam is a gravity dam on the Narmada River just upstream of Mandhata in Khandwa district, Madhya Pradesh. It is named after the Omkareshwar temple located just downstream. An associated hydroelectric power station located at the base of the dam has an installed capacity of 520 MW. The Narmada is the largest river in Madhya Pradesh, flowing towards the west and falling in the Arabian Sea.