GK & Current Affairs Quiz: November 01, 2017

Notes:
The first-ever India-US Ocean Dialogue has started in Goa on November 1, 2017, which is being hosted by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO). The purpose of the Ocean dialogue is to promote sustainable development of the Blue Economy. According to the World Bank, the Blue Economy is sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.

Notes:
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Global Clubfoot Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on November 1, 2017. The 2-day conference is organised by the CURE India in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Clubfoot is one of the most common orthopaedic birth defects, which can cause permanent disability if not treated early. This affects the child’s mobility and confidence. Inevitably, education and schooling suffer – and the child cannot fulfil his or her potential.

Notes:
The 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2017 has open at the Expo Centre in Sharjah on November 1 with theme “A World inside My Book”. The book fair will see the participation of 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries. More than 15 lakh titles will be on display throughout the 11 day celebration of literature, knowledge and culture. The 2017 edition will feature 393 guests from 48 countries who will take part in more than 2,600 events. The United Kingdom (UK) will be the ‘Country of Honour’ at the Book Fair. The SIBF is an annual event and is considered the 3rd largest book Fair in the world. The most extensive of the programmes on offer at this year’s edition is the Kids’ Programme, which will see 1,632 activities presented by 44 guests from 20 countries. Publication Division is also participating in the SIBF 2017 with its latest collection of books.

Notes:
Yogesh Chander Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has taken charge as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2021. He succeeded Sharad Kumar Sinha, who completed his tenure on October 30, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Modi was special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Apart from this, Modi was also part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Gujarat riots cases in August 2010 and remained part of the team till July 2012. NIA was set up after an Act was enacted on December 31, 2008. The federal probe agency is tasked with probing terrorism and terror-financing related cases.

Notes:
Neelmani N. Raju, a 1983 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Karnataka’s first-ever woman Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP). She will take over from Rupak Kumar Dutta, who is retiring from service.

Notes:
Japanese lawmakers have reelected Shinzo Abe as the country’s 95th Prime Minister on November 1, 2017 after his party won a landslide victory in last month’s general election. Abe was reelected by both Houses of the Diet. The prime minister will now form his cabinet. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has reappointed all of his Cabinet Ministers, following his reelection by the Diet as country’s leader, to ensure continuity of his policies.

Notes:
India has gained 30 places to rank 100th among 190 countries in the latest ease of doing business ranking by the World Bank (WB), in its Doing Business 2018 report. The improvement was due to a slew of reforms in taxation, licensing, investor protection and bankruptcy resolution. New Zealand has topped the list, followed by Singapore, Denmark, South Korea, Hong Kong, United States and United Kingdom.

Notes:
The Inderkilla National Park (INP) is located in Himachal Pradesh, which is established in 2010. It covers an area of about 104 square kilometres.

Notes:
The Haryana government has recently announced lifetime monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for ‘Hindi Satyagrahis’ and those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency. For this, the state government has identified 194 ‘Satyagrahis’ who were imprisoned during the ‘Hindi Satyagraha’ launched by the Punjab Arya Pratinidhi Sabha in 1957 to promote the language. Apart from this, the state government has also announced financial assistance to soldiers from Haryana who took part in the World War-II, and their widows, from Rs 4,500 to Rs 10,000.

Notes:
Veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher has been honoured with the 2017 Pramod Mahajan Smriti Award in Pune, Maharashtra on October 29, 2017. Kher is awarded along with Saira Banu, who is UN ambassador for HeforShe. The award was instituted by Pune-based organization ‘Muktachhand’ in memory of Late former Union Minister Pramod Mahajan.