Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2018

Notes:
Arabinda Muduli (56), the noted Odia Bhajan singer, musician and lyricist, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on March 1, 2018. Having rendered over 3,000 songs, Muduli would be remembered for his hit bhajans like Kala Saante Acha Kemante and Jaga Pain Niti Mali Phula. He was a devotee of lord Jagannath and sang only Bhajans. He was a disciple of legendary bhajan singer Bhikari Bal. A musician, singer and lyricist, Muduli enthralled the audience with devotional songs and had won the hearts of millions of people in Odisha and elsewhere.

Notes:
India’s shooter Manu Bhaker from Haryana won the gold medal in 10 metre Air Pistol Women event at the 2018 ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico on March 4. She shot 237.5 points to bag top honour at the ongoing event. Meanwhile, in the men’s 10-metre Air Rifle event, Ravi Kumar won a Bronze, which was his first World Cup medal. India has so far bagged 4 medals – two gold and two bronze at the event. A total of 404 athletes from 50 National Olympic Committees are participating in the in the 12-day competition, which will have 15 medal events including three mixed team events. India has fielded a 33-member squad.

Notes:
The Odisha government has launched a programme “Ama Gaon, Ama Vikas (Our Village, our development)” to reach out to the people in rural areas and involve themselves in the developmental activities. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has flagged off mobile video vans for ‘Ama Gaon Ama Vikas’ programme that will move across the State to highlight various welfare schemes at villages in the state. Through these Wi-Fi enabled latest technology video wall vans, people can directly send their grievances to the Chief Minister’s Office at the Secretariat in Bhubaneswar. This initiative will help people in solving their grievances instantly.

Notes:
The Punjab Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with e-Governance Foundation (e-Gov) of Nandan Nilekani regarding the managing of electronic governance of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) throughout Punjab. With this, a total of 67 services would be provided online within a span of one year under 12 modules — that are property tax, water and sewerage management, complaints and grievance, licensing, fire service, verification, birth and death, ULB web portal, mobile application, state and ULB dashboards, payroll and financial accounting.

Notes:
The Andaman Nicobar naval command is organizing multinational mega event “Milan 2018” with theme ‘Friendship Across the Seas’ at Port Blair in Andaman & Nicobar islands from March 6 to March 13, 2018. The purpose of Milan 2018 is to enhance regional cooperation for combating Unlawful Activities at sea will be organised. The highlights of Milan 2018 are an international maritime seminar cultural and social exchanges, band concert, ship visit, sports and city parade. For the first time, Oman is also participating in this biennial exercise. This prestigious international event will also see participation of 38 delegates from the 16 participating countries, making it the largest gathering since its inception in 1995.

Notes:
The World Wildlife Day (WWD) is observed every year on March 3 to raise awareness about our planet’s flora and fauna. On this day, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was finalised & and the day has been celebrated as World Wildlife Day since 2014. CITES is an international agreement between the governments of 183 countries to protect wild plants and animals and ensure their survival. The 2018 theme is ‘Big Cats: Predators under Threat’. The day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people.

Notes:
Indian shooter Shahzar Rizvi has clinched gold with a world record score of 242.3 in 10m air pistol men’s final in the 2018 ISSF World Cup at Guadalajara in Mexico on March 3. Striking a score of 242.3, Meerut-based Shahzar made sure that he gave India a taste of gold and kept his cool to achieve his target. While in the same event, Jitu Rai grabbed bronze medal. Meanwhile, Mehuli clinched bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle final with a score of 228.4. A total of 404 athletes from 50 National Olympic Committees are participating in the in the 12-day competition, which will have 15 medal events including three mixed team events. India has fielded a 33-member squad.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the pan-India expansion of flagship programme–Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP)–from JhunJhun district of Rajasthan on March 8 to mark the International Women’s Day (IWD-2018). The BBBP is an initiative to save and educate the girl child. The programme will be expanded from the present 161 districts to 640 all over the country. In another landmark initiative, the Prime Minister will also launch the National Nutrition Mission (NNM). He will also launch NNM- ICDS Common Application Software.

Notes:
Out of 133 countries, India has been ranked the 4th most powerful military power in the world, according to the Global Fire Power Index (GFPI) 2017. According to the index, India has an active military comprising of 13, 62,500 personnel. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has 2102 aircraft — 676 fighter, 809 attack, and others. The Indian Army has a total of 4426 combat tanks, 6704 armoured fighting vehicles, 290 self-propelled artillery guns and 7414 towed artillery guns. The list is topped by US followed by Russia and China. According to the report, India’s defense budget is $51 billion as against China’s $161.7 billion and Pakistan’s $7 billion. The index relied on 50 parameters like military resources, natural resources, logistical flexibility, geographical features, and available manpower. The list did not take nuclear stockpiles into account but recognized / suspected nuclear powers received a bonus.

Notes:
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) will become the first sovereign nation to issue a cryptocurrency that will be legal tender. The new currency is called “Sovereign” with the symbol “SOV”. The SOV will be distributed to the public via an Initial Currency Offering (ICO). It will circulate as legal tender in the country, alongside its current local currency, the U.S. dollar. The RMI has partnered with Israeli fintech startup Neema to issue 24 million units of the Sovereign (SOV) digital currency. It will cap the number to prevent inflation. The move follows Venezuela’s launch of the Petro cryptocurrency in February 2018. Unlike the Petro, the SOV will be recognized in law as legal tender, holding equal status as the US dollar, which is the Pacific island nation’s current currency. The Marshall Islands is a Pacific island republic nestled between Hawaii and Australia.