GK & Current Affairs Quiz: August 29, 2017

Notes:
National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 in India. This day marks the birthday of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand, regarded as one of the greatest field hockey players of all time. National Sports Day aims to raise awareness on the importance of sports and physical fitness.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Xiamen in China’s Fujian province to attend the 9th BRICS summit, which will be held from September 3-5, 2017. Subsequently, the Prime Minister will pay a State visit to Myanmar from September 5th to 7th. This will be Prime Minister Modi’s first bilateral State visit to Myanmar. During the visit, Prime Minister will hold discussions with State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on matters of mutual interest and also call on President U Htin Kyaw. Apart from his engagements in the capital city of Nay Pyi Taw, Mr Modi will visit Yangon and Bagan.

Notes:
Ahmed Khan (90), legendary footballer and Olympian, has passed away in Bengaluru on August 27, 2017. He is best remembered for his role in the 1948 Olympics in London, where India lost its first-round match in heartbreaking fashion to France but made a deep impression on the public. He was also part of the Indian sides that won gold at the Asian Games of 1951 and went to the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, will be remembered as a gifted inside-left who mesmerised spectators with his ball control. Khan was also known for being an East Bengal legend and was a part of the famous ‘Pancha Pandavas’ of red and gold. The other four were Venkatesh, Saleh, Appa Rao and Dhanraj.

Notes:
The Defence Accounts Department (DAD) has organized its first Synergy Conference on Defence Pensions in New Delhi on August 28, 2017. The conference was attended by all Defence Pensioners Associations and was open to all Defence Pensioners. The purpose of the conference was to obtain feedback from the pensioners that would help the department to serve them better with constantly improving systems and procedures. Digitization of pension data and implementation of a pensions app were also discussed in detail.

Notes:
India and Germany has recently signed pact on technical cooperation under the Indo-German Energy Programme – Green Energy Corridors (IGEN-GEC). The main purpose of this programme component is to improve the sector framework and conditions for grid integration of renewable energy. As per the pact, both the countries will work on improving market mechanisms and regulations for integration of renewable energies, advancing technical and institutional conditions in specified target states, regions and on a national level, adding human capacities to handle systemic (strategic, managerial, financial, technical) renewable energies integration in an efficient and effective manner.

Notes:
The Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) has become the world’s first derivatives exchange to launch diamond futures contract. Initially, the contracts are launched in size of 1 carat with compulsory delivery. This will create an entirely new market for the diamond players where sellers can deliver their certified diamonds to different buyers.The launch will also lead to efficient price discovery based on demand and supply and a nationwide market participation. Till date, over 100 members and around 4,000 clients have registered with the exchange. The exchange will offer a fair, transparent and nationwide market, bringing in large market participation into diamond trade. It will result in efficient price discovery and provide an effective hedging platform for all stakeholders. The new exchange will be able to make a meaningful contribution towards further development of commodity markets.

Notes:
The Nungthaang Tampak village in Manipur has become North-East (NE)’s first 100% computer literacy village. The training program was organised by Mangaal Rural, an NGO working for rural development, as a part of the Digital India program and is affiliated to All India Society for Electronic and Computer Technology (AISECT). Kerala’s Chamravattom village is the India’s first 100% computer literate village.

Notes:
Ashish kumar Chauhan has been re-appointed as the new Managing Director and CEO of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for the period of 5 years from November 2, 2017 to November 1, 2022. For this, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has recently gave its approval to re-appoint Chauhan as MD and CEO of the company for next 5 years.

Notes:
The Government Nepal has launched the world’s first climate-smart snow-leopard management plan to safeguard this endangered species of snow leopard and its habitat. The Nepal’s conservation plan addressed key current and emerging threats to snow leopards including climate change and will be used as a model for other range countries to adopt. It was discussed in the 2017 International Snow Leopard Summit and Ecosystem Forum in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, where world leaders hold critical talks to strengthen previous commitments to safeguard the future of the snow leopard and its habitat.

Notes:
Lawachara National Park (LNP) is located at Kamalganj Upazila, Maulvi Bazar District of Bangladesh and covers an area of 12.5 km2. It is a major national park and nature reserve in Bangladesh. There are 460 species, of which 167 species are plants, 4 amphibian species, 6 reptile species, 246 bird species, 20 mammal species, and 17 insect species. The park is considered of critical importance because the last viable population of critically endangered Western Hoolock Gibbons survive here.