GK & Current Affairs Quiz: December 16-17, 2017

Notes:
The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (BOCOG) has recently launched the official emblems for the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at a ceremony held at the National Aquatic Center in the Chinese capital on December 15, 2017. The emblems for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have been named “Winter Dream” and “Flying High”, respectively. The emblems combine traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture, as well as features embodying the passion and vitality of winter sports. The chief designer of the two emblems is Lin Cunzhen, deputy dean of China Central Academy of Fine Arts’ Design School.

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared Gabon a “polio-free country” because of lack of new reported or suspected cases in the central African country. Polio is a highly-infectious viral disease which mainly affects young children and can result in permanent paralysis. There is no cure and it can only be prevented through immunization. The cases of polio have decreased by 99% since 1988, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide. Now the disease is endemic only in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where the WHO recorded four cases this year—two in each country. Last year, there were 37 cases globally.

Notes:
The Gita Research Institute will soon be set up by the Uttar Pradesh government in Mathura for research on Gayan (singing), Vadan (the art of music) and Nratya (dance) of the Krishna age. It is a research institute for the study of the ‘Bhagavad Gita’.

Notes:
The Lakh Bahosi Sanctuary (LBS) is a bird sanctuary spread over two jheels near the villages of Lakh and Bahosi in Kannauj district, Uttar Pradesh and is spread over 3 square kilometres. The sanctuary is home to various migratory birds from November to March. Jackal, blue bull, mongoose, fishing cat and monkeys may also be spotted here. The best time to visit is December to February.

Notes:
Meghalaya has become the India’s first state to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice. Chief Minister Mukul Sangma launched ‘The Meghalaya Community Participation and Public Services Social Audit Act, 2017’, at a national convention in Shillong on December 15, 2017. The event was attended by more than 200 people from state departments, citizens from audited villages and eminent citizens associated with social audits. The legislation — applicable to 11 departments and 21 schemes — was passed on April 4, and was followed by pilot social audits for 26 schemes in 18 villages of the northeastern state.

Notes:
R Hemalatha has been appointed as the new Director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), Hyderabad. She has served as secretary of the Nutrition Society of India, is a fellow of the National Academy of Medical Sciences and a fellow of the International Union of Nutritional Sciences. The NIN is an Indian Public health, Biotechnology and Translational research, which houses the best testing facilities for food and toxicology and has international collaborations.

Notes:
The Vijay Diwas is commemorated every year on December 16 to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, which had led to the creation of Bangladesh. On 16 December 1971, nearly 93,000 Pakistani Forces under the command of Lieutenant General AAK Niazi raised white flags and surrendered to the Indian Army at Dhaka, in the presence of the tri-service Commanders of Indian Armed Forces. It was on this day in 1971, that a declaration of cease-fire was brought into force, ending the Indo-Pak War and resulting in the birth of the sovereign country of Bangladesh.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has recently approved the establishment of International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography, as a Category-2 Centre (C2C) of UNESCO, in Hyderabad. The purpose of this Agreement is to establish a training centre towards development of capacity for the countries on the Indian Ocean Rim (IOR), African countries bordering the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, small island countries under the framework of UNESCO. The operational oceanography is an activity of conducting systematic oceanographic studies towards providing information services to various sectors viz. fisherman, disaster management, shipping, ports, coastal states, navy, coast guard, environment, offshore industries for conducting their day-to- day operations.

Notes:
The 8th edition of bilateral military exercise “EKUVERIN 2017” has started between India and Maldives from December 15 in Belagavi, Karnataka. It is a 14-day joint military training between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), which is held alternatively in India and Maldives since 2009. ‘Ekuverin’ means ‘friends’ in the Maldivian language. The focus of the exercise is to acquaint both armies with each other’s operating procedures in the backdrop of a counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist operations in an urban or semi-urban environment under the United Nations (UN) Charter, with an overall aim to enhance interoperability between the two armies. The 7th edition of the exercise was held at Kadhdhoo, Lammu Atoll, Maldives in December, 2016.

Notes:
The headquarters of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is located in New Delhi. It is in news because the first national-level Training of Trainers programme for Sendai Framework will be organise by NDMA in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI) from December 18-20, 2017. The 3-day programme will sensitise various Central Ministries and Departments on utilisation of Sendai Monitor for developing action plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority actions towards reducing disaster risks and implementing development that is both resilient and sustainable. India, being a signatory to the SFDRR, is committed to work towards achieving the targets enshrined in the Framework.