Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
The Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate supply of sand for highways construction work on December 13, 2017. The concessionaires working on highways projects have been facing a shortage of sand at many sites. The MoU aims to fill this gap by facilitating the availability of sand for these concessionaires. As per the MoU, business intermediaries will ship and store this sand at various ports in India and market it in India. NHAI will facilitate the process by displaying the availability of sand at various stockyards at the ports. The headquarters of the DCI is located at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

Notes:
The National Energy Conservation Day (NECD) is celebrated every year in India by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under Ministry of Power, on December 14 with an aim to demonstrate India’s achievements in energy efficiency and conservation, while working for its ambition of holistic development as part of the nation’s overall effort towards climate change mitigation. On the 27th edition of NECD-2017, the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, will give away National Energy Conservation Awards to industries that have demonstrated measurable reductions in their energy use as part of the National Energy Conservation Awards Programme.

Notes:
Nakul Chopra, currently President of AAAI and Senior Advisor at Publicis Communications, has been elected as the new Chairman of Television ratings agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. He will succeed Sudhanshu Vats, chief executive officer (CEO) at Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Chopra will be the 3rd chairman of the agency and has been on the board of BARC since September 2016. The BARC India is a joint industry body formed to design, commission, supervise and own country’s television audience measurement system.

Notes:
Norway has become the first country in the world to shut down national broadcasts of its Frequency Modulation (FM) network by completing its transition to digital radio. The transition, which began on January 2017, allows for better sound quality and more channels and functions at an eighth of the cost of FM radio. The digital switchover means that only the country’s local radio stations continue to use FM frequencies. Other countries, including Switzerland, Britain and Denmark, are due to follow suit in the coming years.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will formally dedicate the Tuirial Hydro Electric Power Project (HEPP) in Mizoram to the nation on December 16, 2017. On this occasion, the Prime Minister will also launch ‘MyDoNER App’ and will distribute cheques to start-up entrepreneurs in Aizawl. The 60MW Tuirial HEPP has been constructed as a Central Sector Project and implemented by North Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), under the administrative control of the Union power ministry. The project has been built at a cost of Rs 1,302 crore. It is the biggest power project in Mizoram and will feed the entire energy to be generated to the state, which will help it achieve the Centre’s ambitious and flagship Mission ’24×7 Affordable Clean Power for All’. The State’s current demand of electricity is 87 MW and this is being met by the mini power projects and availability of its share of power from central sector projects.

Notes:
The Beijing 2022 Organising Committee (BOCOG) has recently launched the official emblems for the 2022 Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games at a ceremony held at the National Aquatic Center in the Chinese capital on December 15, 2017. The emblems for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games have been named “Winter Dream” and “Flying High”, respectively. The emblems combine traditional and modern elements of Chinese culture, as well as features embodying the passion and vitality of winter sports. The chief designer of the two emblems is Lin Cunzhen, deputy dean of China Central Academy of Fine Arts’ Design School.

Notes:
The Lakh Bahosi Sanctuary (LBS) is a bird sanctuary spread over two jheels near the villages of Lakh and Bahosi in Kannauj district, Uttar Pradesh and is spread over 3 square kilometres. The sanctuary is home to various migratory birds from November to March. Jackal, blue bull, mongoose, fishing cat and monkeys may also be spotted here. The best time to visit is December to February.

Notes:
The Vijay Diwas is commemorated every year on December 16 to mark India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, which had led to the creation of Bangladesh. On 16 December 1971, nearly 93,000 Pakistani Forces under the command of Lieutenant General AAK Niazi raised white flags and surrendered to the Indian Army at Dhaka, in the presence of the tri-service Commanders of Indian Armed Forces. It was on this day in 1971, that a declaration of cease-fire was brought into force, ending the Indo-Pak War and resulting in the birth of the sovereign country of Bangladesh.

Notes:
India and Morocco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for enhanced cooperation in the health sector in New Delhi on December 14, 2017. Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare J P Nadda and Dr. Abdelkader Amara, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Morocco signed the MoU in the presence of senior officers from the Union Health Ministry and a high level delegation from Morocco. The main areas of cooperation include the following: Non-communicable diseases, including child cardiovascular diseases and cancer; Drug Regulation and Pharmaceutical quality control; Communicable Diseases; Maternal, child and neonatal health; Hospital twinning for exchange of good practices and Training in administration and management of health services and Hospitals.

Notes:
Billionaire conservative Sebastian Pinera has won the 2017 presidential election of Chile on December 17, 2017. With 98.44% of the ballots counted, Pinera had won 54.57% in the run-off vote, to 45.43% for senator Guillier, a wider than expected margin in a race that pollsters had predicted would be tight. Pinera has pledged support and stable funding for Chile’s state-run miner Codelco , and has promised to slash red tape which had bogged down projects under Bachelet.