Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
The Jessore Sloth Bear Sanctuary is located in the Banaskantha district of Gujarat at the Gujarat-Rajasthan border and covers an area of about 180 square kilometres. It is home to grey jungle fowl, white-bellied minivet, Indian black ibis, etc. The sanctuary is principally for protection of the sloth bear.

Notes:
India has won the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton Team Championship. In the title clash played in Guwahati on 6th December 2017, India defeated Nepal, 3-0. The Indian team, which came into the Final without losing a single match, continued their good run with Aryaman Tandon drawing first blood in the boys’ singles competition. He defeated Dipesh Dhami 21-9, 21-15. Ashmita Chaliha continued the Indian juggernaut as she danced her way to a 21-9, 21-6 win over Rashila Maharjan in the Girls’ singles event. In Boys’ Doubles, the pair of Arintap Dasgupta and Krishna Prasad came back from a game behind to beat the duo of Dipesh Dhami and Nabin Shrestha 19-21, 21-14, 21-11 to seal the deal for India.

Notes:
Mohamad Al Jounde (16) from Syria has been honoured with the International Children’s Peace Prize 2017 for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children. Al Jounde, a refugee of the Syrian civil war, set up a school together with his family in a Lebanese refugee camp that currently provides 200 children with education. The prize is an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation, an international children’s aid and advocacy organisation based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. It is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children’s rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with HIV/AIDS.

Notes:
India and Italy has signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation in Agriculture and Phytosanitary issues on December 6, 2017 that will replace the one signed in 2008. Notably, the MoU was signed between Indian Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh and Italian Minister for Agriculture H.E Maurizio Martina that will provide a good framework for cooperation in this field.

Notes:
Recently, Gurdeep Singh from India created three new senior national records in +105 Kilogram weight category in the just-concluded IWF World Weightlifting Championships at Anaheim in USA. Singh finished 13th overall with a total lift of 388kg (172 + 216) but created national records in snatch, clean and jerk, and the total lift. In snatch, he bettered his own earlier national record of 171kg by one kilogramme. In the total lift also, Gurdeep bettered the earlier national record of 384kg.

Notes:
The first International Conference on Sports Medicine & Sports Sciences “SAICON 2017” was inaugurated by the Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore in New Delhi on December 7, 2017. The SAICON 2017, which is organized by Sports Authority of India (SAI), will promote scientific temperament in the country and inspire students, researchers and educationists alike to take up sports science and research to the next level. The 3-day conference is being attended by about 1000 national and international delegates.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) has signed a MoU with Rotary India for concerted efforts towards achieving immunization target. The MoU will provide support and accelerate the efforts under Polio Eradication Programme, Routine Immunization including Mission Indradhanush, Intensified Mission Indradhanush and Measles-Rubella. It will generate awareness through innovative approaches and involving private practitioners and local leaders to achieve immunization target.

Notes:
India has become the 42nd participating State of Wassenaar Arrangement after completing the internal procedures in Vienna on December 8, 2017. The membership will facilitate high-technology tie-ups for country’s defence and space programmes. This membership is the second diplomatic success for India for the membership of export control regimes after it joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in 2016. India’s entry into the export control regime would enhance its credentials in the field of non-proliferation despite not being a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The Wassenaar Arrangement is an elite club of countries which subscribe to arms export controls, similar to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) and the MTCR.

Notes:
India is hosting the ‘Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage’ in New Delhi from December 8 to 10, 2017 as part of celebrations of 20th anniversary of BIMSTEC. The purpose of the fest is to emphasize and raise awareness of BIMSTEC’s rich and common heritage. It was inaugurated by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, the union minister of state for Culture (Independent Charge).

Notes:
Mehuli Ghosh and Tushar Mane became the first Indian shooters to secure the women’s and men’s quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) by winning a gold and bronze each at the 10th Asian Championship 10M Rifle/Pistol at Wako City, Japan on December 9, 2017. Ghosh struck gold to bag one out of three quota places up for grabs in women’s 10m Air Rifle Youth, while Mane settled for a bronze medal to secure one out of four quota places available in the men’s 10m Air Rifle Youth. Apart from booking two quota places at YOG, India bagged a total of three gold and three bronze to add to their five medals won on the first day of the competitions.