Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - February, 2018

Notes:
Sharmila Nicollet from Bengaluru has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the China Ladies PGA Tour. She fought her way back into the tournament in the last two rounds to earn a card for the Tour, which had Women’s World rankings points also. Sharmila, who played on the Ladies European Tour before losing her full card, played her three rounds in the CLPGA Tour Qualifying School in 77-73-72 to finish in tied 21st and pick one of the 30 cards available in the 88-player field.

Notes:
K P Ramanunni from Kerala has been conferred with the 2017 Sahitya Akademi Award for Malayalam literature for his novel “Daivathinte Pusthakam”, which deals with India’s communal situation, at a function in New Delhi on February 12, 2018. He received a casket containing an engraved copper-plaque, a shawl and a cheque of Rs 1 lakh. However, the highlight of the event was that Ramanunni donated his prize money of Rs 1 lakh to the mother of Junaid Khan, the teen stabbed to death on a Mathura-bound train from New Delhi in June 2017. Junaid Khan from Haryana was lynched to death while he was returning home after Eid shopping.

Notes:
Muzaffar Hussain (78), the noted writer, thinker and journalist, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 14, 2018. Born on March 20, 1940 in Madhya Pradesh, Hussain came to Mumbai in his youth and soon became proficient in many languages. In his illustrious career, he bagged several state and national level awards in literature, besides Padma Shri in 2002. He was conferred with the Lokamanya Tilak Jeevan Gaurav award for journalism by the government of Maharashtra in 2014. He was known as a pro-Hindutva writer and was also praised by the RSS.

Notes:
West Bengal has become the first Indian state to opt out of the National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) “Modicare”, which was unveiled in the Union Budget 2018. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Banerjee has stated that West Bengal already has made hospitalization and medical treatment free of cost for its citizens, so it doesn’t see the point of spending on a separate programme that will do the same. Under the provisions of the Modicare, the Centre will contribute Rs 2,000 crore to the scheme, out of a total cost of Rs 5,500 crore to Rs 6,000 crore. State governments are expected to pay the remainder.

Notes:
The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) of Dubai has launched the test of the world’s first autonomous pods at the World Government Summit (WGS) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on February 11, 2018. The autonomous pods are designed and engineered in cooperation with the US-based Next Future Transportation. These are designed to travel short and medium distances in dedicated lanes. They can be coupled together in as little 15 seconds or detached – depending on the riders’ destination – in five seconds. Each pod is fitted with cameras and electromechanical technologies to carry out the coupling and detaching, which can be activated while the pod is in motion.

Notes:
The 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO-2018) will be hosted by China in the city of Qingdao in June, 2018. China had taken over the rotating chair of SCO after the17th SCO summit 2017, which was held in Astana, Kazakhstan in June 2017. The SCO is consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan. The SCO focuses on security- related issues of the region especially on counter terrorism cooperation.

Notes:
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has inaugurated the 8th edition of the Theatre Olympics at Lal Quila in New Delhi on April 17. The event has been organised by National School of Drama under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. The theme of the festival is – “Flag of Friendship”. The 51-day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will feature Indian and international theatre groups, eminent theatre personalities along with their performances. 30 countries are participating from across the globe. It will include 60 ‘living legends’ series conversing with theatre enthusiasts and 50 ‘master classes’ on various art forms. The 51-day long nationwide theatre extravaganza will be held in various cities. The event will continue till 8th of April. There will be exhibitions, seminars, symposia, interactive discussions and workshops with well-known authors, actors, designers and directors.

Notes:
The National Banana Festival (NBF-2018) has started at Kalliyoor, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from February 17 to 21. The festival is organised by Centre for Innovation in Science and Social action (CISSA) in partnership with Kalliyoor Grama Panchayat and a host of National and State organisations. The two-day event is aimed at helping farmers from across the country get exposure to new technologies and new species in banana cultivation. The Banana Festival exhibition will showcase everything about banana. This will provide first-hand information to the farmers and general public about its multifaceted uses.

Notes:
Gundu Hanumantha Rao (61), the noted Telugu film comedian, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on February 19, 2018. Rao, born in Vijayawada, started his film career with “Aha Na Pellanta” in 1987 and acted in around 400 films such as “Rajendrudu Gajendrudu” and “Yamaleela”. He is known for his roles in Pellaniki Premalekha Priyuraliki Subhalekha (1992), Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, Mayalodu, Jodi No.1, Nenu Seetamahalakshmi, Kedi No.1, etc. He acted in over 600 movies in Telugu and is a popular TV artist.

Notes:
Didier Lockwood (62), the noted French jazz violinist, has passed away in Paris on February 18, 2018. He was known for his use of electric amplification and experimentation on different sounds on the electric violin. Lockwood was a disciple of the late Stephane Grappelli.