Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2018

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.

Notes:
The conference of Lieutenant Governors and Administrators of Union Territories was held at Megapode Resort, Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands on April 11, 2018. The Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, VP Singh, Lt. Governor of Puducherry, Dr Kiran Bedi, Lt. Governor, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Admiral (Retd.) DK Joshi and representatives from Delhi, Lakshadweep, Daman & Diu are attending the conference.

Notes:
Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has recently approved setting up a 5000 MW capacity solar park at the Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR), which would be the largest such entity in the world after its completion. As per official release, the proposed solar power generation project would be set up in 11,000 hectares of land with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. The project will contribute significantly in achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s target of producing 175 gigawatt of electricity through renewable energy sources by 2022.

Notes:
Indian shooter Shreyasi Singh gave India its 12th Gold medal at the 21st Commonwealth Games at Gold Cost, Australia on April 11, 2018. She bagged the coveted yellow metal in the Women’s Double Trap event, after beating Aussie Emma Cox in the shootout. In the Men’s Double Trap, Ankur Mittal bagged a Bronze after finishing third.

Notes:
The National Safe Motherhood (NSMD) is celebrated every year on April 11 to create awareness on proper healthcare and maternity celebrities to pregnant and lactating women. It also seeks to create awareness about the institutional delivery, reducing anemia among women and better pre and postal natal health care and necessary for mothers. The theme of 2018 NSMD is “Respectful Maternity Care”.

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:
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 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:
Veteran Boxer M C Mary Kom, who claimed a Gold on debut at the Commonwealth Games (CWG), is the India’s flag-bearer at the closing ceremony of 21st Gold Coast CWG on April 15, 2018. In the overall analysis, the Indian contingent will return with 66 medals, just two medals more than the total of 64 they won in the last Games held in 2014 at Glasgow. But the Gold medal tally of 26 this time is significantly higher than the figure of 15 won in the last edition.

Notes:
The Union home ministry has recently launched the e-FRRO (e-Foreigners Regional Registration Office) scheme to expedite visa services for foreigners visiting India. The aim of the scheme is to build a centralized, transparent online platform for foreigners to avail visa related services and to provide faceless, cashless and paperless services to the foreigners with a user-friendly experience. Using the e-FRRO application, foreigners can apply online and obtain the services through email or post without appearing in person at the FRO/FRRO office.