GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 1, 2017

Notes:
Anthony Lianzuala, a 1982-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Officer, took over as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in New Delhi on May 1, 2017. With this, he became the first person from the North-Eastern Region to hold this position. The CGA is the apex Accounting Authority of the Central Government and exercises the powers of the President under Article 150 of the constitution for prescribing the forms of Accounts of the Union and State Governments on the advice of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Notes:
Ueli Steck (40), a renowned Swiss rock climber and mountaineer, has passed away on April 30, 2017 in an accident at a camp near Mount Everest in Nepal. At the time of his death, he was trying to climb the 25,791-foot Himalayan peak of Nuptse in preparation for an ambitious ascent of Everest. Steck was known as “Swiss Machine” for his rapid ascents of some of the world’s most imposing peaks. He was best known for his speed-climbing, including setting several records for ascending the north face of the Eiger, a classic mountaineering peak in the Bernese Alps that he climbed in two hours and 47 minutes without using a rope.

Notes:
The South Asia satellite “GSAT-09” will be launched by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on May 5, 2017 to boost the development and economy of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations in the region. It will be launched into the orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota using a Geostationary Launch Vehicle (GSLV) Mk-II launch vehicle. The 2,230 kg satellite has 12 Ku-band transponders. It is cuboid in shape and built around a central cylinder has a mission life of over 12 years. The satellite will enable full range of applications and services in the areas of telecommunication and broadcasting applications viz. Television, Direct-to-Home (DTH), Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Tele-education, Telemedicine and Disaster Management Support. The beneficiaries of GSAT-09 are as follows: Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Maldivies.

Notes:
The Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day (GCPD) will be observed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on May 2, 2017 to spread awareness and to promote active involvement of public for the Ganga swachhta abhiyan. The main objective of this day is to develop a sense of pride and ownership among citizens to engender support for Namami Gange programme. The day, which is also known as Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas, will be organised at 12 locations, namely- Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Raj Ghat (Hardoi), Bithoor, Srinagar ( Uttarakhand), Vidhur Kuti (Bijnor) and Devprayag. The event would also be organized at more than 30 other locations through Ganga Vichaar Manch (a volunteer wing of NMCG), local NGOs and volunteer support.

Notes:
India’s first-ever Blind Football Academy (BFA) with full time training & rehabilitation for the visually impaired persons is expected to come up at Kochi in Kerala. The Society for Rehabilitation of Visually Challenged (SRVC) and the Indian Blind Federation (IBFF) are making an effort to establish the academy. The purpose to set up BFA is to train and develop the best players to create a national team of world class standard and to qualify for the Paralympics by 2024.

Notes:
Karnataka is the India’s most corrupt state on the basis of people’s experience in paying bribes for public services, as per latest survey conducted by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) on corruption perception. Andhra Pradesh has acquired second position, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab. The annual corruption survey “CMS India Corruption Study 2017”, which covered 20 states, found Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Chhattisgarh to be the least corrupt. The report stated that around one-third of the households experienced corruption in public services at least once during the last one year in comparison to about 53% of households that admitted to paying bribes during a similar study in 2005. The study further found that the total bribe paid by households across 20 states and 10 public services was Rs 6,350 crore in 2016 as against Rs 20,500 crore in 2005.

Notes:
India will give Rs 35 crore to children of freedom fighters in Bangladesh during the next five years under the new ‘Muktijodha scholarship’ scheme. As per the scheme, all freedom fighters are eligible for five years multiple entry Indian visa and 100 of them will be provided free medical treatment in Indian hospitals every year. Apart from this, the students at higher secondary level will get a onetime grant of Taka 20,000 (Rs 15, 3700) and those at under graduate level will get Taka 50,000 (Rs 38,430). Students are selected on the basis of merit from every district for the scheme. India initiated the Muktijodha Scholarship Scheme in 2006 for descendants of the 1971 Freedom Fighters. Up to now, more than 10,000 scholarships worth Tk150 million have been disbursed.

Notes:
The Aymanam grama panchayat of ward No. 15 in Kerala has become the India’s first-ever digitised Panchayat ward. For this, Krishan Pal Gurjar (the Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment) has launched the website of the first digitalized panchayat ward number 15 of Aymanam grama panchayat “www.digitalaymanam.com” at a function held at a temple premises in Kottayam district. The website also contains information about blood donors’ forum and telephone directory of the people of the ward.

Notes:
The National Anti-Child Labour Day is observed every year in India on April 30 to create awareness and educate the citizens about the hardships of the child labourers. It is also an effort to surface the responsibility we hold as social citizens. Apart from this, the International Labour Organization (ILO) also observes World Day against Child Labour every year on June 12 to raise awareness and activism to prevent child labour worldwide.

Notes:
The top-seeded Indo-American pair Leander Paes and Scott Lipsky has won the 2017 Tallahassee Challenger title of the men’s doubles by defeating Argentine third seeds Leonardo Mayer and Maximo Gonzalez by 4-6, 7-6, 10-7 in the summit clash in Florida. This is Paes’ 2nd Challenger level title of the season.