GK & Current Affairs Quiz: December 24-25, 2017

Notes:
China’s world’s largest amphibious aircraft “AG600” has performed its maiden flight from the Jinwan Civil Aviation Airport at Zhuhai in Guangdong Province on December 24, 2017. It’s the latest step in China’s military modernization program. The 121-feet long AG600 aircraft plane, codenamed “Kunlong”, has a 38.8-meter wingspan and 4 turboprop engines. It is around the size of a Boeing 737 and can carry 50 people. The aircraft has military applications but will also be used for firefighting and performing maritime rescues. It can use conventional airports and also land and take-off from the sea.

Notes:
Jairam Thakur, the 5-time BJP MLA , has been sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh after he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday. Thakur is a MLA from Seraj in Mandi district. In the recent 2017 election, the BJP ousted the Congress from power by winning 44 out of the 68 seats.

Notes:
India’s first-ever broad gauge air-conditioned AC EMU suburban train has flagged off from Borivali station on western railway in Mumbai, Maharashtra on December 25, 2017. The AC train was depart from Andheri Station at 14.10 hrs and reached Churchgate at 14.44 hrs. It is decided that on Weekends that is on Saturday and Sunday, the rake of AC train will not be operated for maintenance purpose. The services of AC local train will replace existing 12 Non AC services. RPF constables will be present in each coach to ensure proper security. Out of 12 services of AC Local train 8 will run fast and will only halt at major station like Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivali, Bhayander and Vasai Road in both direction. Weekly, Fortnightly and monthly season ticket will be charged equivalent to 5, 7.5 and 10 single journey of AC EMU respectively. MUTP surcharges or any other charges if applicable will be levied separately as per applicable rate for the first class coach. Good and Services tax (GST) @5% shall be levied on the total fare as per the existing principle.

Notes:
The Betla National Park (BNP) is located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau of the Latehar district of Jharkhand and covers an area of 226.33 square kilometers. It is home to sloth bear, panther, and wolf, jackal, hyena, etc. The park’s rich bird life features the hornbill, peafowl, red jungle fowl, black partridge, white-necked stork, black ibis, swamp grey, quail, the pied hornbill, etc. The famous Kamaldah lake attracts several varieties of water birds including the common whistling and cotton teal, the knob-billed duck, snipe and geese.

Notes:
The Karnataka government has launched the Bengaluru city logo on December 24, 2017 for branding the city as a tourism destination. With this, Bengaluru has become the first Indian city to get its own logo. The logo was designed by Nammur, a design start-up, which won a contest and received a prize money of Rs 5 lakh from the government. The logo of the city, which is derived out of its own name, highlights the letters b, e, and u of Bengaluru in red and the other letters in white. The logo ‘Be U’ highlights the cosmopolitan culture of the city and is expected to build the city’s image on the global stage.

Notes:
The annual meeting of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2018 will be held in Davos, Switzerland from January 22. In the 5-day event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the first Indian PM in 20 years to visit the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. It was in 1997 when the then Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had attended the event. More than 100 Indian CEOs along with the hot shots of Indian business diaspora, like Mukesh Ambani, Chanda Kochhar and Uday Kotak is expected to be present at the forum. The WEF is a Swiss non-profit foundation, based in Cologny, Geneva.

Notes:
India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard – the Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND-4201) – was launched at the India Government Mint (IGM), Mumbai on December 24, 2017. The BND-4201 is the reference material for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99% pure) and will be beneficial to the consumers and public at large to ensure purity of gold. The high purity gold reference standard has been developed through collaboration between IGM, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre — National Centre for Compositional Characterisation of Materials (Hyderabad), and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research-National Physical Laboratory (New Delhi). The gold reference standard is indispensable in gold and jewellery hall marking. This will also be useful for Collection and Purity Testing Centres to certify the purity of gold deposits under the gold monetization scheme.

Notes:
Saba Karim, the former wicketkeeper of India, has been appointed as the new General Manager (GM) of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He will be responsible for implementing operational plans, budgeting, monitoring the match playing conditions and administration of Domestic program. Karim will take on the role from January 1, 2018 and will report directly to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri. The General Manager’s post has been lying vacant since the resignation of MV Sridhar in September 2017 over the issue of conflict of interest. Sridhar passed away on October 30.

Notes:
The Good Governance Day (GGD) is celebrated every year in India on December 25 to mark the birthday anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The day was established in 2014 to honor Mr Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the people of accountability in government. On December 23, 2014, Mr Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were announced as recipients of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.

Notes:
Indian boxers have claimed three gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the 2017 Galym Zharylgapov Boxing Tournament in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. In the event that concluded on December 24, the country’s Gold Medal winners were K Shyam Kumar in 49kg, Naman Tanwar in 91kg and Satish Kumar in the +91kg category. To add to it, the19-year-old Naman Tanwar was also adjudged the best boxer of the tournament. The silver medal came through national champion Manish Kaushik in 60kg, while Mandeep Jangra accounted for the Bronze in the 75 kg category after going down in the semifinals. The season-ending tournament featured five international and 15 local teams, adding up to 154 boxers in all.