GK & Current Affairs Quiz: January 16, 2018

Notes:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has inaugurated the third edition of the geo-political conference – Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi on January 16, 2018. The event is jointly organised by the External Affairs Ministry and Observer Research Foundation (ORF). The theme of the dialogue this year is ‘Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj are also part of the inaugural session of the three-day event, which has an impressive line up of more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates. Army chief General Bipin Rawat and Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will also address a session, along with Admiral Harry Harris, Commander, US Pacific Command, General Chris Deverell, Joint Forces Commander, UK, among others. Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, former prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper and former prime minister of Sweden Carl Bildt are among more than 150 speakers and over 550 delegates from around 90 countries who are participating in the dialogue.

Notes:
Prof. Narayana Sadashiv Pharande (78), the senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC), has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on January 16, 2018. He was popularly known as Na Sa Pharande & was elected thrice as the Member of the Legislative Council. Originally, he hailed from Satara district and was a gold medallist in Marathi and Sanskrit from Shivaji University in Kolhapur.

Notes:
India and the United Kingdom (UK) have recently signed two agreements on return of Indians, who are living in Britain as illegal migrants and sharing criminal records and intelligence. The development comes close on heels of India seeking UK’s help in early extradition of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya from Britain to face the law at home in connection with cases of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs. 9,000 crores. The MOUs were signed by UK’s Minister of Immigration Caroline Nokes and India’s Minister of Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on January 11, 2018. The MoU on criminal records exchange will lead to British and Indian law enforcement bodies sharing criminal records information, fingerprints and intelligence. This will assist the police in protecting the public from known criminals, including sex offenders and also allow the courts in both countries to access more information to support tougher sentencing decisions.

Notes:
Shripad Naik, the Union minister of state for Ayush (independent charge), has inaugurated a Central Government Health Scheme (CGHS) wellness centre in Bambolim, Goa on January 16, 2018. State health minister Vishwajit Rane was also present at the occasion. It will be attached to Goa Medical College and the state government would provide all assistance to facilitate CGHS operations for beneficiaries in the state. The facility would provide Allelopathy, Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddhi and Homeopathy services. Over 3,000 serving central government employees and around 1,500 pensioners would be benefitted.

Notes:
W.B. Rao, the veteran Cinematographer has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on January 16, 2018. Rao had been a part of the film industry for over four decades. He worked for films like “Hum”, “Khuda Gawah”, “Rangeela “Raja Hindustani”, “Judwaa”, “Har Dil Jo Pyar Karega” and “Dhadkan”. He worked with a range of actors from the late Sanjeev Kumar, Mala Sinha to Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan and Juhi Chawla.

Notes:
Actress Kajol has become an advocacy ambassador for Hindustan Unilever’s Swachh Aadat Swachh Bharat ‘haath muh bum’ initiative. She is an active supporter of eradicating preventable deaths from hygiene-related issues.

Notes:
The Indo-US joint military exercise ‘Vajra Prahar 2018’ will be held at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) in Seattle, in which a 45-member Special Forces team from Indian Army’s Southern Command will train alongside US soldiers in the third week of January. The aim of the exercise is to promote military relations between the two countries by enhancing interoperability and mutual exchange of tactics between Special Forces. The objectives of the joint training is to share the best practices between the two armies and to develop joint strategies by sharing expertise of conducting operations in a counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism environment, while capitalising on the rich repository of experiences of each other armies. The exercise will mainly focus on special operations in urban areas. The last edition was held in Jodhpur in March 2017.

Notes:
Raghunath Jha (78), the senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Union Minister , has passed away in Delhi on January 15, 2018. He was Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprise in the UPA government led by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as a RJD representative. He was elected Member of Parliament (MP) twice from Gopalgunj and Bettiah Lok Sabha constituencies in Bihar and was also six-time legislator from Sheohar Assembly constituency of the State.

Notes:
India has contributed $50,000 to the UN’s youth mission which works to raise awareness and attention to youth issues globally. UN Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake received the cheque from Paulomi Tripathi, a First Secretary in India’s UN mission at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan 12, 2018. The contribution is voluntary with no strings attached and is in addition to the regular payments India makes to the UN’s general and peacekeeping budgets. The Youth Envoy’s mission is to promote the engagement of youth and advocate for them across all the four pillars of the UN’s work – sustainable development, human rights, peace and security and humanitarian action.

Notes:
The Mahi Bajaj Sagar Dam is a dam across the Mahi River and is located 16kms from Banswara town in Banswara district Rajasthan. It is the second largest dam in Rajasthan and is named after Jamnalal Bajaj. The dam has an installed capacity of 140 MW.