GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 24, 2017

Notes:
Sher Bahadur Deuba, a Nepali Congress leader, will become the new Prime Minister of Nepal, after Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” resigned from the post. The resignation is to honor an accord signed in August 2016 when Prachanda was elected the prime minister with Deuba’s support. According to the agreement, Prachanda was to remain in office until the local elections were held while polls at the provincial and central levels were to be conducted under Deuba as the Prime Minister. He was elected as the 39th prime minister of Nepal after forging an alliance with the Nepali Congress on August 3, 2016.

Notes:
Recently, the Union government has appointed 7 members in the minorities panel along with chairperson. Gayarul Hasan, a social activist from Uttar Pradesh, will become the new chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities (NCM). The other members are Activist and BJP leader from Kerala George Kurian, former Maharashtra minister Sulekha Kumbhare, Jain representative from Gujarat Sunil Singhi and Vada Dasturji Khurshed, chief priest of Udvada Athornan Anjuman, are the other members of the panel. This is for the first time that a Jain member will be part of the panel after the community was notified as ‘minority’ in January 2014. The tenure of the panel members is of three years (if not extended). The NCM was set up under the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 to look into complaints from members of five religious communities — Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists and Zoroastrians (Parsis). The panel has seven members, including its chairperson and vice chairperson.

Notes:
The World Turtle Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 23 to raise awareness on conservation of tortoise and turtles and on illegal trafficking. One of the greatest threats facing turtles and tortoises in India is smuggling to East Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Many freshwater turtles and tortoises are considered delicacies just across the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia.

Notes:
The philosophical novel for God titled “Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism” has been authored by IAS officer Haulianlal Guite, which is recently unveiled by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in august gathering at Civil Services Officers’ Institute in New Delhi. The book billed as “the world’s first philosophical novel for God”, whose author is arguably the first Indian civil servant to write on philosophy since John Stuart Mill published On Liberty way back in 1858. The book explores the nature of science, religion, evidence and even love in light of leading developments. It makes use of the latest findings of modern science and the most solid theories in philosophy. It also presents some interesting arguments against atheism by using the theories and findings of atheists themselves.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh Government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the people of the state. The Happiness index would be developed by IIT-KGP and the data collected by the state government would be analyzed to assess the happiness levels of people of the state and to suggest recommendations to enhance happiness levels in the state. A door-to-door survey will be conducted for the purpose and people will be made to fill up questionnaire. The process will start from January 2018 and by the time of assembly elections in the state 2018, people will get to know how happy they are.

Notes:
The Ministry of Environment & Forests (MoEF) has organized the first-ever “Ozone2Climate technology road show” along with the UN Environment OzonAction’s Compliance Assistance Programme in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The Technology Roadshow was organized for the first time as part of the annual network meeting for Ozone Officers of South Asia. The UN Environment along with the Technology Roadshow also organizing the annual network meeting for South Asia Ozone Officers from May 23 to 26, 2017 where delegates from 20 countries and industry visited the 2017 exhibition. The meeting focused on current policy and technology updates on ozone and climate friendly alternatives to HCFCs and HFCs specifically post-Kigali amendment, linking the HCFC phase out to future HFC phase down, the implications of Kigali amendment for the network countries and challenges and opportunities from a policy and technology perspective.

Notes:
Ravichandran Ashwin has won the coveted International Cricketer of the Year award at the CEAT Cricket Rating (CCR) International awards 2017 at the Cricket Club of India (CCI) in Mumbai. He has taken 99 wickets in the past 12 months. Meanwhile, young batsman Shubhman Gill won the Young player of the year award for his superb performance during the India-England U-19 ODI series, played in Mumbai.

Notes:
Sir Roger George Moore (89), the well-known British actor, has recently passed away in Switzerland after a brief battle with cancer. He was best known for his role as James Bond in films such as “Live and Let Die” and “The Spy Who Loved Me”. Moore was the only actor who portrayed the popular fictional spy in seven movies between 1973 and 1985.

Notes:
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia has been elected as the new Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO). He will be the first African to head up the UN agency, after winning the most votes from 186 member States. He will succeed Dr. Margaret Chan, who will step down from her 10-year post at the end of June.

Notes:
The Sonai Rupai Wildlife Sanctuary is a protected area located in Assam that covers 175 km². It is located along the foothills of the Great Himalayan Range. The area was declared as a sanctuary in 1998. It is located 52 km from Tezpur town and 193 km away from Guwahati. It is home to Mammals: tiger, lesser cats, elephant, qaur, wild boar, hog deer and barking deer.