GK & Current Affairs Quiz: April 12, 2018

Notes:
India has inked a pact with Morocco under which focus would be laid on evaluation of potential mineral resources and promoting exploration and mining through participation of both public and private sector. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in New Delhi on April 12, 2018 after the bilateral discussions between Mines Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and his counterpart Aziz Rabbah of Morocco. the focus of the MoU is on the development of the geological infrastructure for Geoscience Maps and geochemical maps, strengthening geological research and evaluation of the potential of mineral resources.

Notes:
India with an economic freedom score of 54.5 points has been ranked 130th in the latest annual Index of Economic Freedom released by a top American think-tank the Heritage Foundation. As per 2018 Index, India is developing into an open-market economy, but traces of its past autarkic policies remain. The Index covers 12 freedoms – from property rights to financial freedom – in 186 countries. It is a helpful tool for a variety of audiences, including academics, policymakers, journalists, students, teachers, and those in business and finance. The index is topped by Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland and Australia.

Notes:
Balram Bhargava has been appointed the new Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of the Department of Health Research. He, at present Professor/Senior Consultant Cardiologist at AIIMS, has been appointed to the post for a period of three years or until attainment of age of 60 years. He will succeed Soumya Swaminathan, who has been appointed as WHO Deputy Director General for Programmes .

Notes:
Dr. Renu Swaroop, the renowned scientist, has been appointed the Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). Swaroop, currently senior adviser in the same department, has been appointed to the post for a period of two years or until she attains 60 years of age. She succeeded Prof K Vijay Raghavan. After his retirement as DBT Secretary, Prof Raghavan has been appointed as the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India (GoI).

Notes:
The 10th edition of a biennial exhibition of weapons and military hardware “DefExpo India- 2018” has started at Tiruvidanthal, Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu on April 11, 2018. The 4-day long defence expo was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The theme of the expo is “India: The Emerging Defence Manufacturing Hub”, which will showcase the strengths of India’s defence public sector and uncover the country’s growing private industry. According to the Defence Ministry, over 670 defence firms including 154 foreign manufacturers are participating in the exhibition of weapons and military hardware. It is being attended by official delegations from over 47 countries including the US, the UK, Russia, Afghanistan and Sweden, Finland, Italy, Madagascar, Myanmar, Nepal, Portugal, Seychelles and Vietnam.

Notes:
The book “India’s Heritage of Gharana Music: Pandits of Gwalior” has been authored by classical vocalist Meeta Pandit. It was recently launched by politicians Jyotiraditya Scindia and Karan Singh. The book is an outcome of an emotional journey that author undertook after her elder brother Tushar Pandit died in a road accident in 1994. According to the book, Akbar’s fondness for Tansen troubled the other musicians, who looked for ways to humiliate the musician. The book also documents how the Pandit family assimilated the great music tradition from the Khans — Ustad Haddu Khan, Ustad Natthu Khan, and Ustad Nissar Hussain Khan — and sheds light on the gharana style.

Notes:
In the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Indian wrestlers bagged 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze medal on the opening day of their competitions on April 12, 2018. Rahul Aware has won India’s first wrestling gold medal by defeating Canada’s Steven Takahashi in the men’s freestyle 57 kg wrestling final by 15-7. This was the first CWG medal of his career after he was forced to miss the Glasgow games due to injury. Beside him, veteran Olympian Sushil Kumar clinched gold in the 74 kg category after winning his match by technical superiority against South Africa’s Botha Johannes. In the Women’s 53 kg category, Babita Kumari Phogat claimed the Silver after she lost to Canada’s Diana Weicker, 2-5 in the final. Kiran clinched the Bronze in the 76 kg division following a stunning 10-0 win over Katouskia Pariadhaven of Mauritius.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the navigation satellite IRNSS-1I into the orbit with the help of PSLV-C41 launch vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on April 12, 2018. IRNSS-1I is the 8th such satellite to be a part of the NavIC navigation satellite constellation. It is expected to replace IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven navigation satellites, which was rendered ineffective after its three rubidium atomic clocks failed. The IRNSS 1I mission is critical for the space agency as it is ISRO’s second attempt to replace the IRNSS 1A satellite, after the failure of the IRNSS 1H mission in August 2017. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is a constellation of seven satellites that provides indigenously developed regional GPS services called NavIC.

Notes:
Veena Sahajwalla, an Indian-origin scientist in Australia, has launched the world’s first microfactory that can transform the components from electronic waste items such as smartphones and laptops into valuable materials for re-use. The modular microfactories can operate on a site as small as 50 square metres and can be located wherever waste may be stockpiled. A microfactory is one or a series of small machines and devices that uses patented technology to perform one or more functions in the reforming of waste products into new and usable resources. The e-waste microfactory that reforms discarded computers, mobile phones and printers has a number of small modules for this process and fits into a small site. The discarded devices are first placed into a module to break them down. The next module may involve a special robot for the identification of useful parts, she said. Another module then involves using a small furnace which transforms these parts into valuable materials by using a precisely controlled temperature process developed via extensive research. These transformed materials include metal alloys and a range of micro-materials.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi has installed the Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) technology lab at the Bharti School of Telecommunication Technology and Management campus, which is likely to reduce effects of exposure and radiation compared to the 3G/4G systems. This will be the first-of-its-kind 5G radio laboratory in India that will be inaugurated on April 13, 2018. This 5G base station prototype will be used for developing a complete 5G base station, which can possibly lead to the manufacturing of 5G base stations in India with support/collaboration from the industry. It will also be instrumental in generating skilled manpower.