Weekly CA Quiz: February 2018 2nd week with PDF

Explanation: The Golf Industry Association (GIA) announced that the 7th Annual India Golf Expo will be held on April 20 and 21 in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The two-day expo will bring together experts from different domains, drawn from across the globe to share knowledge and best practices for the development and sustenance of the sport in the country.

Explanation: The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the implementation of the ‘Prime Minister’s Research Fellows’ (PMRF) scheme with an outlay of Rs 1,650 crore for seven years beginning 2018-19.

Explanation: In its Meeting held on 18th January, 2018, the GST Council had recommended reduction of GST rate on services by way of admission to Amusement Parks including theme parks, water parks, joy rides, merry-go-rounds, go-carting and ballet from 28% to 18%. These services hitherto attracted GST @ 28%.

Explanation: The Union Budget tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has allotted Rs 771.54 crore for electrification of 881 km of rail network in West Bengal. The electrification plans would cover all three railway zones – Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and North East Frontier Railway – which run through the state.

Explanation: The Madhya Pradesh government launched a mobile application “pollution metre” to spread awareness against pollution in the western part of the state. It has been developed with the help of a private firm and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board. With the help of the app, anybody can check the status of air, water and noise pollution in their respective areas.

Explanation: Bermuda has become the first country to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage, in what critics have called an unprecedented rollback of civil rights by the British island territory.

Explanation: Veteran theatre artist, director, and pioneer of Children’s Theatre in Maharashtra, Sudha Karmarkar passes away. She was 83. Karmarkar founded the children’s theatre in Mumbai which is known as ‘Bal Rangbhumi- Little Theatre’ and directed various plays for children.

Explanation: The Muthoot Group has roped in Amitabh Bachchan as brand ambassador to represent them in their national campaigns.

Explanation: Power Ministry launched a web-based monitoring system and a fly-ash mobile application. It will act as an interface between producers and consumers. The ASH TRACK Mobile App will manage 200 million tonnes of fly ash by tracking coal-based power plants situated within 100 km and 300 km from given location and availability of fly ash.

Explanation: India has substantially improved its ranking, to 44, in the latest Global Intellectual Property (IP) index released by the US Chambers of Commerce. India’s overall score is 30 per cent (12.03 out of 40) in the latest edition of the index.

Explanation: PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board as the governing body’s first independent female director. Nooyi will join the Board in June this year to align with the term of the ICC Independent Chairman.

Explanation: The first Khelo India School Games concluded in New Delhi with sports powerhouse Haryana topped the overall medal tally. The state won 102 medals which include 38 gold and 26 silver. Maharashtra with 111 medals finished second while Delhi with 94 medals came third.

Explanation: The 23rd Olympic Winter Games officially kicked off with a colourful ceremony at Pyeongchang in South Korea. The festivities launched what organizers say is the largest Winter Olympics yet, with 92 countries participating.

Explanation: The US is at the top of the IP index list with 37.98 points, followed by Britain (37.97) and Sweden (37.03)

Explanation: IndusInd Bank launched its new Sonic Identity, which is essentially a musical logo called ‘MOGO’, as part of its branding initiatives. The objective for associating to a sonic identity is building the Bank’s brand imagery with the strategic use of music and sound for brand experiences and audience connection.

Explanation: According to official data released, direct tax collections grew by nearly 20 per cent between April and January this year with strong growth in both corporate and personal income tax receipts. It grew by 19.3 per cent up to January 2018 to ₹6.95-lakh crore.

Explanation: Veteran Odia actress, producer and director Parbati Ghosh has passed away after pro-longed illness. She was 85. The national award-winning actress was ailing for sometime.

Explanation: The theme for the 2018 National Productivity Week is – Industry 4.0 Leapfrog Opportunity for India. AIR correspondent reports Industry 4.0 or the fourth industrial revolution as it is called, is emerging globally as a powerful force and is being called as the next industrial revolution.

Explanation: Eduvanz Financing – a skill development loan provider, has been granted the non-banking financial company (NBFC) licence by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to start providing loans in the multi-billion skill development sector. Eduvanz Financing Private Limited is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Explanation: Veteran filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, who directed the classic blockbuster “Sholay” and tele-serial “Buniyaad”, would be conferred the first ‘Raj Kapoor Award for Excellence in Cinema’.

Explanation: Acclaimed Icelandic musician and Oscar-nominated composer Johann Johannsson has passed away. He was 48. He was a native of Reykjavţk, Iceland

Explanation: Veteran actor Qazi Wajid, a pioneer of Pakistan’s radio industry, has passed away.

Explanation: Dubai has started testing the world’s first self-driving pods that can travel individually and can also couple together to behave like a bus.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi at World Government Summit in Dubai said that the Union government has saved ₹56,000 crore through Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) of about 400 government schemes.

Explanation: National Productivity Council is observing National Productivity Day on 12th February, and National Productivity Week till 18th February.

Explanation: The World Government Summit kicked off in Dubai, UAE, bringing together some of the globe’s top thinkers and decision makers, as well as a few celebrity speakers. The three-day event, which was first held in Dubai in 2013, has been described as the largest annual government gathering in the world.

Explanation: Sharmila Nicollet has become the first Indian golfer to qualify for the China Ladies PGA Tour. The 26-year-old Bengaluru golfer 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.

Explanation: Renowned Pakistani human rights activist and lawyer Asma Jahangir has passed away. She was 66.

Explanation: Pune-based swimmer, Rohan More became the first Asian as well as the first Indian to swim across the Ocean Seven. Rohan is the youngest person in the world to swim across the Ocean Seven.

Explanation: Paisabazaar.com, the country’s largest digital lending platform, has entered into partnership with Microsoft to develop “industry first” innovations, to deliver innovative and unique customer experience on its platform using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Explanation: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh released a book on best interviews of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The interviews have been compiled in a book form “Mere Sapno Ka Bharat’‘ by Tarun Vijay, former BJP MP and Editor of Panchjanya, an RSS published journal.

Explanation: The Delhi government and the MoEF (Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) jointly launched the Clean Air Campaign, which will continue for 2 weeks till February 23.

Explanation: In a special recognition of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s contribution to relations between India and Palestine, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas conferred the “Grand Collar of the State of Palestine” on him after the conclusion of the bilateral meeting.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the first Hindu temple in the United Arab Emirates’ capital. The sprawling temple spread over an area of 55,000 square meters will be located off the Dubai-Abu Dhabi Sheikh Zayed Highway at Al-Rahaba.

Explanation: Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid has been re-elected for a second term. Earlier, the ruling Awami League (AL) nominated Abdul Hamid for his re-election as the country’s president. Hamid was sworn in as the 20th president of Bangladesh

Explanation: The doyen of Odia literature Chandrasekhar Rath has passed away. The writer was nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award this year. Rath was conferred with several awards, including Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award and Atibadi Jagannath Das Samman, for his contribution in the field of literature.

Explanation: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz who inaugurated the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival ‘Janadriyah’ in Riyadh, at which India is the guest of honour country.

Explanation: The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, in collaboration with the Environmental Sanitation Institute and Tata Trusts, has developed a Sanitation Park which was inaugurated in Delhi.

Explanation: India will host the 8th edition of Theatre Olympics from 17th of this month for the first time. The event will continue till 8th of April.

Explanation: The Centre is making efforts to connect all villages through a road network by next year as part of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna’. Earlier, the target to compete these works was 2022 but it has been advanced to 2019.

Explanation: Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that a “Dada-Dadi Park” for senior citizens would be established in every city of the state soon. The parks in every city of the state will be set up to provide relief to people from hot summer.

Explanation: Radio Umang, India’s first online radio station that allows the listener to just download and tune in, has been launched. Listeners can tune in to this online radio station through web streaming or download the app. With 24 hours programming, it has found listeners in Hindi speaking regions of India and in over 60 countries worldwide.

Explanation: As per the latest Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report, India is placed 8th in the list of Top Ten nations reporting the greatest annual net gain in forest area. India has shown an increasing trend in the forest and tree cover, in comparison to the global trend of decreasing forest cover during the last decade.

Explanation: World Radio Day is an observance day held annually on 13 February. World Radio Day is about celebrating radio, why we love it and why we need it today more than ever. A day to remember the unique power of radio to touch lives and bring people together across every corner of the globe. The theme of World Radio Day 2018 is “Radio and Sports”.

Explanation: Former Union minister and veteran TDP leader Bolla Bulliramaiah has passed away after old age-related illness. Dr Bolla Bulli Ramaiah was member of 8th Lok Sabha from Eluru (Lok Sabha constituency) in Andhra Pradesh, India.

Explanation: Meghalaya Governor Ganga Prasad inaugurated the “Friendship Gate” for the Indian and Bangladesh border guards. The Friendship Gate has been constructed near Integrated Check post, 90 km South of capital Shillong on border with Bangladesh.

Explanation: Noted writer, thinker and journalist Muzaffar Hussain has passed away due to prolonged illness. Proficient in many languages, he used to write for a number of journals in various languages and also for a number of vernacular dailies.

Explanation: Reserve Bank of India has made banks’ priority sector norms lenient by saying that all loans to micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) will henceforth qualify as priority sector lending. This was a long time demand from banks. Till date, loans up to Rs 10 crore per MSME borrower was considered for priority sector calculation.

Explanation: India-Russia Agriculture Business Summit 2018 was held in New Delhi. The two countries discussed trade relations in the agricultural sector. The summit was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.