GK & Current Affairs Quiz: December 09-10, 2017

Notes:
The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry (MoHUA ) has signed an agreement with German firm GIZ for technical cooperation in the implementation of transport projects in Coimbatore, Bhubaneshwar and Kochi. The agreement has been signed by the ministry’s officer on special duty Mukund Kumar Sinha, and GIZ Country Director Wolfgang Hanning in the presence of Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. As per agreement, an amount of around Rs 29 crore through GIZ is envisaged for this purpose over a period of three years. The main objective of the agreement is to improve planning and implementation of sustainable urban transport.

Notes:
Italian coach Raffaele Bergamasco has been appointed Performance Director for senior women’s boxing. He is behind India’s best ever medal haul at the recently-concluded AIBA Women’s Youth Boxing Championship 2017. India enjoyed a gold rush at the World Women’s Youth Boxing Championships 2017 in Guwahati with the country’s pugilists grabbing five top positions to finish overall champions for the first time.

Notes:
India has become the 42nd participating State of Wassenaar Arrangement after completing the internal procedures in Vienna on December 8, 2017. The membership will facilitate high-technology tie-ups for country’s defence and space programmes. This membership is the second diplomatic success for India for the membership of export control regimes after it joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016. India’s entry into the export control regime would enhance its credentials in the field of non-proliferation despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Wassenaar Arrangement is an elite club of countries which subscribe to arms export controls, similar to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the MTCR.

Notes:
The Satpura National Park (SNP) is located in the Hoshangabad district of Madhya Pradesh and covers an area of 524 square kilometres. It has a very rich in biodiversity and is home to leopard, sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, nilgai, four-horned antelope, Chinkara, wild boar, bear, black buck, fox, porcupine, flying squirrel, mouse deer, Indian giant squirrel, etc. The flora consists of mainly sal, teak, tendu, Phyllanthus emblica, mahua, bel, bamboo, and grasses and medicinal plants.

Notes:
Kacheguda railway station in Hyderabad has become the India’s first Energy-Efficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway Station. It is operated by the South Central Railway (SCR) zone of Indian Railways. The station achieved the feat by replacing 1,312 conventional lights with Light-Emitting Diode (LED). It also replaced 370 ceiling fans with fans that run on Brushless DC Electrical motors, and installed 12 energy efficient inverter-type air conditioners. All these measures will save about 1.76 lakh units and Rs14.08 lakh per annum with reduction of the connected load by 46.18 kW for Railways. The station was built in 1916 during the reign of the last Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan.

Notes:
The World Human Rights Day (WHRD) is observed every year on December 10 to commemorate the day in 1948 when the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. It establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person. This year, in 2017, the Human Rights Day kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the upcoming 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The 2017 theme is ‘Let’s stand up for equality, justice and human dignity’.

Notes:
The ASEAN India Connectivity Summit (AICS) will held in New Delhi from December 11, 2017. The theme of the two-day Summit is “Powering Digital and Physical Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century”. The purpose of the AICS is to accelerate existing connectivity prospects, identify issues of concern, evolve suitable policy recommendations and develop strategies to enhance economic, industrial and trade relations between ASEAN and India. Its focus areas are Infrastructure, Roadways, Shipping, Digital, Finance, Energy and Aviation. In addition, the AICS will be bringing together, policymakers, senior officials from the Government, investors, industry leaders, representatives of trade associations and entrepreneurs on the same platform.

Notes:
The two-day Aadivasi Mahotsav has started in Raipur, Chhattisgarh on December 10, 2017 to display the rich and diverse tribal traditions of the central state. It was inaugurated by Union Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram and Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh. Tribal culture, literature and food festivals, tribal Olympiad and hackathon will be held during the event. The festival has been organised in the memory of 1857 revolutionary from the region, Shaheed Veernarayan Singh on his martyrdom day.

Notes:
India’s first mobile food testing laboratory, which will enable on-the-spot food safety tests to be conducted in Goa, has officially launched by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on December 10, 2017. This is the first ever ‘Food Safety on Wheel’ mobile laboratory in the country. The vehicle is equipped to conduct on-the-spot tests to check the food quality. It will also check the hygiene level of water and the results can be received within 15 minutes. The mobile lab will do away with need to get the food samples to the FDA laboratory near Panaji for tests. It will cut the delays. The mobile laboratory costs Rs 45 lakh and it has been fully funded by the Centre.

Notes:
India is hosting the ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ in New Delhi from December 8 to 10, 2017 as part of celebrations of 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC. The purpose of the fest is to emphasize and raise awareness of BIMSTEC’s rich and common heritage. It was inaugurated by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the union minister of state for Culture (Independent Charge).