GK & Current Affairs Quiz: December 19, 2017

Notes:
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama “Mo” Farah, who is Britain’s most successful-ever distance runner, has won the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award. Farah, a four-time Olympic champion, has won his third successive world 10,000m gold medal in London in August 2017. He is the first athlete to win ten global outdoor long-distance titles on the track and the first Briton to win outdoor titles in four World Championships (both consecutively and outright). With this award, he became the first long-distance runner to win the Sports Personality award since Paula Radcliffe in 2002.

Notes:
Eminent Bengali poet Joy Goswami has been chosen for the 31st Moortidevi Award for the year 2017 for his poetry collection titled “Du Dondo Phowara Matro”. It is an autobiographical account of the poet’s life featuring his close ones including a pet cat. The work also echoes secret trysts, chance loves and more of the fantastical quotidian which makes up the poets consciousness. The award consists of a Saraswati Statue, a Citation Plaque and cash award of Rupees 4 lakh. It is first time that this award is given to Bengali poet.

Notes:
The Samsung India has signed pact with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) to launch 360 video and virtual reality (VR) content of two magnificent Indian heritage sites – the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha and Taj Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh. The project will provide experiential educational content to students across the country. The immersive content will also be available to students at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), where Samsung Smart Classes have been set up in over 500 schools since 2013. The content on Indian heritage sites will be available freely across all social media channels in both 360 and VR formats. VR content will also be provided to the Union Ministry of Tourism and State Tourism Boards to be used for tourism promotion in India and across the world. There are 36 UNESCO heritage sites in India at present.

Notes:
The Union government has engaged private lender ICICI Bank to enable online payments at 470 mandis integrated with national portal of electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). At present, e-NAM participants are doing payments through traditional ways via bank branches, debit cards and net banking. Now, ICICI Bank will enable BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) on the e-NAM portal for making cashless payments. The effort is to provide seamless experience for making online payment of trade and services undertaken on the e-NAM platform. At present, 470 mandis across 14 states are live and 90 commodities are being traded on e-NAM platform, which was launched in April 2016. The target is to connect 585 mandis with e-NAM by March 2018. The e-NAM model aims at revolutionising agri markets by ensuring better price discovery, bringing in transparency and competition to enable farmers to get improved remuneration for their produce moving towards ‘One Nation, One Market’.

Notes:
To promote digital transactions, the union cabinet has recently decided to bear the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) applicable on digital payments via debit cards, etc., up to Rs 2,000. The MDR applicable on transactions made through debit cards, the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Aadhaar-Enabled Payments System (AEPS) up to and including a value of Rs 2,000 will be borne by the government for a period of two years with effect from 1 January, 2018. MDR is the charge paid by a merchant to a bank for accepting payment from customers via credit or debit cards. It is expressed as a percentage of the transaction amount.

Notes:
G. Satheesh Reddy, the scientific adviser to Raksha Mantri and Director General of Missiles and Strategic Systems, has been conferred with the prestigious National Design Award. He has bagged this award for his significant national contribution towards indigenous design and development of diversified missile systems, guided weapons, avionics technologies and for his sustained efforts leading to the advancement of aerospace technologies and industries in India.He is known for being a navigation expert and is the only scientist from India holding the distinction of being inducted as Fellow of Royal Institute of Navigation, London and Royal Aeronautical Society, UK.

Notes:
The 56th Liberation Day of Goa was celebrated with great pomp & show in Panaji on December 19, 2017. Several programmes and events have been organised to mark the occasion. The state was liberated on this day in 1961 from Portuguese control after almost 450 years of colonial rule. The armed action “code name – Operation Vijay” was carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. The operation involved air, sea and land strikes for over 36 hours, and was a decisive victory for the Republic of India that ended 451 years of rule of Portugal over its remaining exclaves in India. The engagement lasted two days resulting in twenty-two Indians and thirty Portuguese killed in the fighting. The brief conflict drew a mixture of worldwide praise and condemnation.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has signed an agreement with Maruti Suzuki Ltd to impart training to youth and enhance their employment potential. The Flexi MoU was signed by Vijay Kumar Dev, Director General, DGT (MSDE) and Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Vice President (Maruti Suzuki India Limited) in New Delhi on Dec 18, 2017. As part of the agreement, Maruti Suzuki in consultation with Directorate General of Training (DGT) will develop specific training modules as per need of the automobile industry. The company shall conduct courses at pan-India locations leveraging the facilities and services available at ITIs, regional training centers, training centers of training partners, vendors and dealers associated with Maruti Suzuki. The courses include Manufacturing, Automotive Service & Repair, Automotive Body Repair and Automotive Paint Repair.

Notes:
The festival of Losar has started in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir on December 19, 2017 to mark the Tibetan New Year. The celebrations will continue for 3 to 9 days in different parts of Ladakh. The fest is regarded as the most important socio-religious event in Ladakh. Because of several ancient ritual performances and traditional events during the celebrations, it has now turned into one of major events for visitors in winter. It is celebrated by making symbolic meals and offerings. Houses are decorated with good luck signs. Prayer flags are hoisted in important religious places to welcome the new year. Thus, Losar Festival is an important festival in winter months.

Notes:
India will host a meeting of WTO member countries in February 2018 to muster support for food security and other issues. This was stated by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu while speaking at an event organised by Apparel Export Promotion Council, AEPC in New Delhi on December 18, 2017. He further stated that the government is trying to call a meeting of almost 30 to 40 countries in Delhi to help multi-lateral process. India has been keenly pushing agriculture issues at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It has also been raising its voice against bringing new issues, especially those which are not directly linked to trade, on the negotiating table.