GK & Current Affairs Quiz: December 27, 2017

Notes:
Abhay, the senior IPS officer, has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). On December 27, 2017, the appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his appointment to the post till 18th of November 2019. Mr.Abhay is at present working in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). The post was lying vacant after R R Bhatnagar took over as DG of CRPF in April 2017.

Notes:
As per recently released report ” 2018 World Economic League Table”, India will overtake the United Kingdom and France in 2018 to become the world’s fifth-largest economy in terms of the United States dollar. The report was published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), an economics consultancy based in Britain. The report also stated that Asian economies will dominate the list of the top ten largest economies over the next 15 years.

Notes:
Dr Jitendra Singh , the Union Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), has launched the electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS) in New Delhi for central government employees to apply for leave and access their service-related information. Through e-HRMS, employees will be able to not only see all their details with respect to service book, leave, GPF, salary, etc. but also apply for different kind of claims / reimbursements, loan / advances, leave, leave encashment, LTC advances, tour etc. on a single platform.

Notes:
Smartphone manufacturer Samsung has recently launched its ‘Bill Payments’ on its flagship payments service “Samsung Pay” in partnership with Axis Bank. The new feature launched by the company will enable users to pay their utility bills seamlessly via Samsung Pay’s secure and convenient platform. With the introduction of ‘Bill Payments’, consumers will be able to pay their utility bills seamlessly via Samsung Pay. It will offer users a secure, hassle free, and instant payment option on-the-go. Consumers can view due amount, details of previous bills and location-based suggested billers while paying bills through Samsung Pay. One can also set ‘reminders’ for bill payments.

Notes:
Ramendra Kumar, the renowned Indian author, an inspirational speaker and storyteller, has been felicitated by the Writers and Publishers of Sri Lanka in Colombo for his contribution to children’s literature. His stories feature in Sri Lankan text books. Kumar is an award-winning writer with 32 books to his credit. His writings have been translated into 14 Indian and 13 foreign languages and have found a place in school text books and anthology also in India and abroad. His book “Dilemma and other stories” , translated into Sinhala, was also released at the felicitation ceremony. This is his fourth book in Sinhala. Since 2011, Ramendra’s stories have been included in school text books brought out by the Sri Lanka government every year. The books are distributed to over 10,000 schools across the country.

Notes:
The Simbalbara National Park (SNP) is located in the Paonta Valley of Sirmour District, Himachal Pradesh, along its border with Haryana and covers an area of about 27.88 square kilometres. The vegetation consists of dense Salforests with grassy glades. Goral, Sambhar and Chittal are the common animals found here. October and November are the best times to visit the park.

Notes:
The 25th edition of National Children Science Congress (NCSC-2017) has inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Ahmedabad on December 27. The theme of the five-day Congress is ‘Science and Innovation for Sustainable Development’ with the special focus on persons with disabilities. 50 children and teachers from Asian nations will participate in the event this year. Apart from science exhibition, the event will witness various activities such as hands-on demonstrations, presentations by child scientists, poster session and cultural programmes. The NCSC is an ideal and innovative programme for children to inspire, empower and expand their minds to world. It is a flagship programme of department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has formally inaugurated the 100th annual conference of Indian Economic Association (IEA) at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh on December 27. The focus of the 3-day conference will be on economic growth of the country and growth in agriculture, industry and service sectors. Approx 1,300 dignitaries are expected to attend the conference. Apart from this, President also inaugurated fibernet at the temporary Secretariat in Velagapudi.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) is an autonomous organization engaged in agricultural research related to spices in India. The institute has its headquarters in Kozhikode, Kerala and is a subsidiary of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-New Delhi), under the Ministry of Agriculture.