GK & Current Affairs Quiz: April 10, 2018

Notes:
India’s first high-speed electric locomotive has been flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Madhepura Electric Locomotive Factory in Bihar on April 10, 2018. It has a 12000 horsepower (HP) engine with a maximum speed of 110 km per hour. The first big Make-in-India project is developed & completed in collaboration with French firm Alstome. As per Indian Railways & Alstome pact, 800 such trains will be manufactured in the country over a period of 11 years. The Rs 20,000-crore project includes the Rs 1,300 crore cost for setting up the factory at Madhepura and two loco maintenance depots at Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra), beside building 800 locos. The average cost of each locomotive is estimated to be Rs 25 crore. With this induction, India will join an elite list of countries, including Russia, China, Germany and Sweden, that have 12,000 HP and above capacity electric locomotives.

Notes:
The International Conference on Human Rights in South Asia has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 9, 2018. The 3-day conference is organized by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal with theme “Identifying Challenges, Assessing Progress, Moving Forward: Addressing Impunity and Realizing Human Rights in South Asia”. The representatives of Human Rights Commissions and institutions, human rights activists from 20 countries including India are participating in the event. The delegates will discuss various issues including different types of discrimination in South Asia including rights of marginalized groups, collective rights, violence against women, rule of law, due process and combating impunity.

Notes:
Ban Ki-moon, the former United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, has been elected as the new Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia (BFA). He succeeded Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda. The BFA is a non-profit organisation i.e. committed to promote regional economic integration and bringing Asian countries closer to their development goals. The 2018 BFA conference, often called Summer Davos, was held at Boao, a coastal town in the southern island province of Hainan from April 8 to 11 with theme ‘Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity’.

Notes:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched a unique initiative ‘Project Dhoop’ to encourage schools to shift their morning assembly to around noon-time, mainly between 11 am to 1 pm, to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight. The move comes in the backdrop of rising incidence of Vitamin D deficiency (VDD), particularly amongst the young people, in the country as the studies have found that over 90% of boys and girls in various Indian cities are deficient in Vitamin D despite most part of India receiving abundant sunshine all the year through. The ‘Project Dhoop’ has been launched by FSSAI in association with National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and North MCD Schools at National Bal Bhavan.

Notes:
The World Homoeopathy Day (WHD) is observed every year on April 10 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Homoeopathy founder Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated a scientific convention on the World Homoeopathy Day (WHD 2018) in New Delhi on April 10. The theme of the 2-day convention is “Innovate: Evolve, Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years”. On this occasion, Ministry of AYUSH awards relating to Homoeopathy for Life Time Achievement, Best Teacher, Young Scientist and Best Research paper will be conferred. Council is signing MoUs with PG Homoeopathic Colleges on this Day to support the development of research infrastructure in an effort to link education with research. The convention will pay tributes to Dr Hahnemann, on his 263rd birth anniversary. Homoeopathic researchers, practitioners, students, industrialists as well as representatives of various homoeopathic associations are participating in the event.

Notes:
The first international conference on ‘Water, Environment and Climate Change: Knowledge Sharing and Partnership’ has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on April 10, 2018. The 3-day conference is organised by the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage, Govt of Nepal in association with the Society of Public Health Engineers Nepal and Nepal Engineers Association. The basic objective of the conference is to bring together professionals, academicians, researchers, entrepreneurs, government and non-government institutions to discuss and deliberate on challenges, opportunities and strategies related to water and environmental issues. More than 100 international participants from 20 countries, including India, are participating in the conference. An exhibition showcasing various products and technologies related to water security and environment conservation is also organised.

Notes:
Pistol shooter Heena Sidhu from India bagged gold in the women’s 25-metre pistol event at the 21st Commonwealth Games in Gold Cost, Australia on April 10, 2018. This was Sidhu’s second medal at the ongoing Games after having claimed a silver in the 10-metre air pistol event behind 16-year-old compatriot Manu Bhaker. The other medal of the day was a Bronze which was won by para-powerlifter Sachin Chaudhary in the men’s heavyweight final. In a 10-man final, Chaudhary finished with a combined effort of 181 kg at the Carrara Sports Arena. It was India’s first medal in Para-sports at the Commonwealth Games.

Notes:
Indian women’s Table Tennis team has created history by clinching their first-ever Gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia. Indian paddlers Manika Batra, Madhurika Patkar and Mouma Das won the final tie 3-1 against Singapore’s Tianwei Feng, Yihan Zhou and Mengyu Yu. Manika Batra led Table tennis team’s victory was historic as Singapore had never lost since 2002. Apart from this, Indian men’s table tennis team led by Sharath Kamal defeated Nigeria 3-0 in the final event to clinch gold at the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 2006. With this, India joined England to bag second-most table tennis gold medals (5) at CWG. This is the first time that India have won both men’s and women’s TT team events at a single CWG edition.

Notes:
Rajesh Ranjan, a 1984 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of Bihar cadre, has been appointed as Director General of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). He has been appointed as the chief of the CISF till November 30, 2020, i.e. the date of his superannuation. At present, he is Special Director General of Border Security Force (BSF). The post was lying vacant after incumbent O P Singh took over as Director General of the Uttar Pradesh Police in January 2018. The CISF is tasked with providing security to various government installations including the country’s airports.

Notes:
M Sathiyavathy, an IAS officer of the 1982 batch of Union Territories cadre, has been appointed as the new member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Currntly, she is secretary in Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, and has been given additional charge of the post of secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment. She has held several important positions in the central government, including first woman chief of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). She had been the joint director general in the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Controller, ISRO Satellite Centre, Department of Space, member secretary, Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles, and additional secretary and financial adviser, Ministry of Civil Aviation.