Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - January, 2018

Notes:
The Karnataka government has recently received the approval for purchase of electric vehicles from the Department of Heavy Industries of the Union Government under FAME India subsidised scheme. The state will purchase 40 electric buses, 100 four wheelers and 500 three wheelers at maximum of 60% subsidy under the scheme. The subsidy support is also provided for setting up electricity charging infrastructure across Bengaluru. The electric vehicles to ply in the city as public transport will protect the environment, save fossil fuel and ensure public health. The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles (FAME) India was launched in 2015 under the National Electric Mobility Mission (NEMM) aims at promoting eco-friendly vehicles in the country.

Notes:
The Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), which is India’s Premier Container Port, has won the 2017 “Samudra Manthan – Caring Organisation of the Year” award.The award instituted by Bhandarkar Shipping aims to fuel healthy competition in the maritime sector. Besides achieving operational excellence, JNPT provides excellent facilities to their staff like medical insurance, residential township with school, transport service, canteens, rest rooms, recreation, sports activities and regular training programs on various key topics.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for establishment of new AIIMS in Bilaspur (Himachal Pradesh) under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The cost of the project is Rs.1351 crore and will be completed in a period of 48 months. The Institution will consist of a hospital with a capacity of 750 beds and trauma center facilities. It will also have a Medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students per year and Nursing College with an intake of 60 B.Sc. (Nursing) students per year. Under this scheme, AIIMS have been established in Bhubaneshwar, Bhopal, Raipur, Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Patna while work of AIIMS Rae Bareli is in progress. Also, three AIIMS in Nagpur (Maharashtra), Kalyani (West Bengal) and Mangalagiri in Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) have been sanctioned in 2015, two AIIMS have been sanctioned at Bathinda and Gorakhpur in 2016 and an AIIMS in Kamrup (Assam).

Notes:
The first draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) for Assam has listed 19 million people out of the 32.9 million applicants as legal Indian citizens in a massive exercise aimed at identifying illegal immigrants in the state that borders Bangladesh. The Office of the State Coordinator of NRC Assam has provided five alternatives to check for the names included in the draft. One of them alternative is to check the printed version of the list at the NRC Seva Kendras between 10 AM to 4 PM till January 31 on all working days. One can also call at the 24X7 tollfree helpline number 15107 from Assam and 18003453762 from outside Assam. The NRC was last updated in Assam way back in 1951. Then, it had recorded 80 lakh citizens in the State. India and Bangladesh share 4,096-km-long border, of which 262 km falls in Assam.

Notes:
The 16th edition of the Sundaram Finance Mylapore Festival (SFMF-2018) has started at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple and Nageswara Rao Park in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from January 4. The 4 day fest will include about 40 events, such as heritage walks, competitions and cultural performances. It has been organized by city based non banking finance company Sundaram Finance.

Notes:
The Khadakwasla Dam is 1.6 km long and has been built on the Mutha River, 20 km from Pune in Maharashtra. This dam across the river Mutha created an attractive lake “Khadakwasla Lake”, which is the main source of water for Pune and its suburbs.

Notes:
Meghalaya has signed the Host City Contract with the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) for hosting the 39th National Games in 2022 on January 3, 2018. The tripartite contract was signed between the IOA, the Meghalaya State Olympic Association, and the state government. With this, Meghalaya will host the National Games 2022 coinciding with the 50th year of the creation of the state. For these games, the central government will provide 30% of the total budget for the National Games while the remaining 70% funds would have to be raised by the state government on its own. Meghalaya will be the 3rd northeastern state after Manipur and Assam hosted the National Games in 1999 and 2007, respectively. It had co-hosted the 2016 South Asian Games with its neighboring Assam. Approx, 14,450 athletes and officials are expected to visit the state during the 2022 National Games.

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The Border Security Force (BSF) has launched Operation Alert along the over 200 km long International Border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) to curb the increasing movement of infiltrating terrorists from across the border.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the annual conference of DGPs and IGPs at the BSF Academy at Tekanpur in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh on January 7, 2018. Over 250 top police officers from all over the country are taking part in the three-day conference. The 2-day Director Generals of Police (DGPs) Conference is an annual event in which top police officers from all over the country share and discussed security-related issues. Holding the Annual DGP Conference outside the national capital, is in line with Prime Minister’s vision that such conferences should be held across the country, and not just confined to Delhi. Earlier, Prime Minister Modi had addressed the conference in Guwahati in 2014, Dhordo, Rann of Kutch, Gujarat in 2015 and National Police Academy, Hyderabad in 2016.

Notes:
T S Tirumurti, a 1985-batch officers of Indian Foreign Service, has been was appointed the Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External Affairs Ministry on January 5, 2018. According to the order issued by the personnel ministry, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post, in place of Vijay Keshav Gokhale, who was recently named as the Foreign Secretary. Prior to this post, Tirumurti was the India’s High Commissioner to Kuala Lumpur.