GK & Current Affairs Quiz: September 8, 2017

Notes:
Kiren Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home, has launched BSF Half Marathon online registration portal “www.marathon.bsf.gov.in” at a function in New Delhi on September 7, 2017. The marathon will be held at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on October 22 and will be dedicated to martyrs and BSF will facilitate their family members on the occasion.

Notes:
India’s first Hyperloop project will come up in Andhra Pradesh, which will connect the city centres of Vijayawada and Amaravati. It will supposedly cover the distance of over 35 km only in five minutes. The Andhra Pradesh – Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) for developing the project. The Hyperloop Technology is a brainchild idea of Tesla founder Elon Musk, who dubs it as the 5th mode of transportation. It is a system of magnetically levitating capsules (pods) that are sent at high speeds through low-pressure tubes.

Notes:
The Union government has set up an online service facility that can be used by importers and exporters to resolve all foreign trade-related issues. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), which comes under Ministry of Commerce, has asked all exporters and importers to use the system – Contact@DGFT – for resolution of their matters. Traders can raise all matters related to the directorate or other agencies of the Centre and States through this facility activated at the DGFT website. Contact@DGFT system has been activated as a single point contact for resolving all foreign trade-related issues. The DGFT notice to all regional authorities, export promotion councils, commodity boards and members of trade and industry has stated that the best efforts will be made for expeditious resolution.

Notes:
Indian weightlifters Sivalingam Sathish Kumar and Ragala Venkat Rahul have qualified for 2018 Commonwealth Games after winning a gold medal each in their respective weight divisions at the 2017 Commonwealth Senior (men & women) Weightlifting Championships in Gold Coast, Australia. Two Indian women weightlifters- S.Nirupama Devi and Nikeeta Kale- also claimed gold medals in 69 kilogram weight division of junior section in the Championships.

Notes:
The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) will undertake major research works on agriculture this year (in 2017) with the World Bank (WB) fund of Rs 1100 crore. It is announced by the Deputy Director General of the national apex agricultural research body Narendra Singh Rathore in the convocation function at the Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University in Chennai yesterday. The funds will be allocated to ten each of the premier agricultural and veterinary universities in the country. It must be noted that though India ranks first in milk production in the world, the milk yield per animal is very low as compared to international standards. The headquarters of ICAR is locaed in New Delhi.

Notes:
The International Literacy Day (ILD) is observed every year on September 8 to emphasize the importance of literacy to individuals, society and communities. The 2017 theme is ‘Literacy in a Digital World’. The special 2-day event will be organized at UNESCO’s Headquarters in Paris today, with an overall aim to look at what kind of literacy skills people need to navigate increasingly in the digitally-mediated societies. The 2017 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes awards ceremony will also take place to recognize and reward excellent literacy practices from around the world in connection with 2017 theme.

Notes:
The Across Barriers-International Business Women’s Summit (ABIBWS) will be organized by the South Asian Women Development Forum (SAWDF) at Kathmandu in Nepal from September 11. The basic objective of 2-day summit is to bring together women entrepreneurs from the SAARC, ASEAN, China and some other countries. The summit will be a regional hub for connecting women SMEs (small and medium enterprises) with public and private sector for exploring opportunities to identify joint business ventures. The summit will also offer a unique opportunity for business meetings with the members of the visiting international business delegates and Nepalese women entrepreneurs. According to organisers around 75 delegates from 18 countries including India will participate in the summit.

Notes:
Harendra Singh, the hockey coach and Dronacharya Awardee, has been appointed as High Performance Specialist Coach for Indian Senior Women Hockey Team (ISWHT). The decision was recently taken jointly by SAI and Hockey India on the basis of his recent and past performance. Under his coaching, the junior men team won the Junior Men World Cup in 2016 at Lucknow. He was also the Chief Coach of the Senior Men Hockey team from 2008 to 2009 and National coach from 2009 to 2010. He is a Level III certified Coach. Harendra Singh will take over the new responsibility shortly. It has also been decided that the present Chief Coach of India senior women Hockey Team, Mr. Waltherus Norbertus Maria Marijne will take over as Chief Coach of Indian Senior Men Hockey Team on his return from the on-going Europe tour. Marijne has accepted the offer of Chief Coach of the senior Indian Men Hockey Team.

Notes:
Viveck Goenka, the CMD of Express Group, has been elected as the new Chairman of Press Trust of India (PTI). He succeeded Riyad Mathew, who is Senior Assistant Editor and a member of the Manorama management. N. Ravi, the former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, has been unanimously elected as new Vice Chairman of PTI.

Notes:
The Bhindawas Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is a protected area in Jhajjar district of Haryana and covers an area of 411.55 hectares. The major wildlife supported here are neelgai, geedar, langur and Bandar, blue peafowl, rufous treepie, greater coucal, Indian grey hornbill, coppersmith barbet, etc.