Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2017

Notes:
The Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh has inaugurated India’s first International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease (ICFMD) at Argul in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on April 1, 2017. The research centre has been constructed in joint collaboration of UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and Union government’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to conduct research on viral disease of cattle and buffaloes. The centre has the facility for safe handling and storage of live Foot and Mouth disease virus that essentially is required for control of the disease. The samples from all over the country will be collected in this research centre to find a cure of the disease. Notably, India is suffering a loss of Rs. 23 thousand crore annually due to Foot and Mouth disease of cattle and buffalos.

Notes:
The Ntangki National Park is a wildlife park located in Peren district of Nagaland. Among the creatures that inhabit the park are the rare hoolock gibbon, golden langur, hornbill, palm civets, black stork, tiger, white-breasted kingfisher, monitor lizard, python and sloth bear. The name “Ntangki” is derived from the Zeme dialect of the Zeliangrong tribe.

Notes:
Kishori Amonkar (84), the renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, has recently passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was considered one of the foremost singers in the Hindustani tradition and is an innovator of the Jaipur gharana. Amonkar received a plethora of awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2002.

Notes:
Aleksandar Vucic, the current Prime Minister of Serbia, has won the 2017 Serbian Presidential election by 55% of votes. He will take office on May 31, 2017. Vucic is also the leader and president of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS). The current office holder is Tomislav Nikolic.

Notes:
The National Maritime Day (NMD) is celebrated every year in India on April 5 to commemorate the maiden voyage of the first Indian –owned ship “SS Loyalty” sailed from Bombay to London on 5th April 1919. This was a crucial step for Indian shipping history when sea routes were controlled by the British. The 2017 theme of 54th edition of NMD is “Connecting India through Shipping”. The United Nations’ World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on September 29 to highlight the importance of shipping safety, maritime security and the marine environment.

Notes:
India and Israel have signed mega defence deals worth over $2 billion for advanced Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) systems, which are designed to destroy hostile aircraft, missiles and drones at a range of 70-km. As part of the deal, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) will provide Barak-8 advanced Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) systems to the the Indian Army.These Barak-8 systems, with their Multi-Function Surveillance and Threat Alert Radars (MF-STARs) as well as weapon control systems with data links, can detect and track hostile aerial threats at a range of 100-km and destroy them at 70-km. Consequently, they will help in plugging the existing holes in India’s air defence coverage.

Notes:
Lance Havildar Prem Bahadur Resmi Magar of the Gorkha Rifles has been posthumously conferred the 2016 Kirti Chakra award by President Pranab Mukherjee at the defence investiture ceremony in New Delhi. The late Lance Havildar eliminated four terrorists during an operation in Jammu and Kashmir on June 16, 2016. The honourable President Mukherjee has also presented 13 Shaurya Chakras, of which four were posthumous, and 45 Distinguished Service medals. These include 15 Param Vishisht Seva Medals, two Uttam Yudh Seva Medals and 28 Ati Vishisht Seva Medals. The Kirti Chakra is the second highest peacetime gallantry award i.e. awarded for valour, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle.

Notes:
The Rajasthan government has imposed a 10% cow cess as surcharge on stamp duty for protection and propagation of cows. The surcharge will be applicable on non-judicial instruments. The cess will have a bearing on costs of making documents like property sale or lease deeds, rent agreements and mortgage. Though, judicial stamps, revenue ticket and insurance ticket have been excluded from this order. Rajasthan is the only state in India which has a dedicated Cow Ministry. At present, the Rajasthan Cow Ministry is allocated 11% share of the entire land registrations revenue.

Notes:
The National Children’s Film Festival (NCFF) has inaugurated by the Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu at Vuda Theater in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on 7 April, 2017. The 3-day fest is organized by the Children’s Film Society, India (CFSI). It is the largest film festival for children in India giving the audience quality and wholesome entertainment. The purpose of the film festival is to expose children to quality cinema and to introduce novel elements beyond films.

Notes:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched India’s first NBA Basketball School launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The school is a part of a multi-year agreement with India On Track (IOT), which is open to male and female players between ages 6-18. The NBA Basketball School builds an additional track between the Jr. NBA and NBA Academies with the goal of increasing the pool of players who have the talent to attend our academies around the world.