Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

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:
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 Southern Command of Indian Army are conducting a major army exercise ‘Hamesha Vijayee-2017’ in the deserts of Rajasthan from December 16 to 22, 2017 to evaluate the capability of the armed forces to strike deep into enemy territory in an integrated air-land battle. The exercise being conducted in battle like conditions, aims at fine tuning surveillance and destruction mechanisms to support precision strikes and manoeuvres by network enabled forces. The Southern Command undertakes such exercises at regular intervals to ensure a high degree of battle readiness as well as validation of operational plans using modern weapons and equipment.

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The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently approved the Ministry of Railways’ trans-formative initiative to set up India’s first-ever National Rail and Transport University (NRTU) in Vadodara to skill its human resources and build capability. This innovative idea, inspired by the Prime Minister, will be a catalyst for transformation of rail and transport sector towards New India. The University will be set up as a Deemed to Be University under de novo category as per the UGC [Institutions Deemed to be Universities] Regulations, 2016. Government is working towards completing all approvals by April 2018 and to launch the first academic program in July 2018. A not-for-profit Company under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 will be created by the Ministry of Railways which shall be the Managing Company of the proposed university.

Notes:
The Birmingham city has been officially selected to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games on December 21, 2017. This will be the third Commonwealth Games to be hosted in England following London 1934 and Manchester 2002. The international multi-sports event are expected to take place between 27 July and 7 August 2022.The 2022 Commonwealth Games were originally given to Durban in 2015, but the South African city was stripped of the event this year because of financial difficulties.

Notes:
The Union Government has formally launched ‘Ganga Gram’ project at Ganga Gram Swachata Sammelan in New Delhi on December 23, 2017. As part of its clean Ganga mission – Namami Gange, Ganga Gram project is an integrated approach for holistic development of villages situated on the banks of the holy river with active participation of villagers. In August 2017, the Union Government declared all 4,470 villages on the banks of the Ganges, located in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, Open Defecation-Free (ODF). Of these villages, the Centre and the state governments have identified 24 villages to be taken up under a pilot project to transform them into Ganga Grams. The project envisages solid and liquid waste management, renovation of ponds and water resources, water conservation, organic farming, horticulture and promotion of medicinal plants.

Notes:
Lieutenant General B S Sahrawat has taken charge as new Director General (DG) of National Cadet Corps (NCC). He is a third generation army officer and is alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla & Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. The General Officer was commissioned in Dec 1980 in 13th Battalion (REZANG LA), the KUMAON Regiment. The Gen Officer has done all professional courses to include the prestigious NDC Course. He holds a Masters degree in Management Studies from Osmania University, Hyderabad and M. Phil from Madras University. He has been awarded the Sena Medal during the floods of Kosi River in Bihar in 2008.

Notes:
Jairam Thakur, the 5-time BJP MLA , has been sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh after he was elected as the leader of the BJP legislature party on Sunday. Thakur is a MLA from Seraj in Mandi district. In the recent 2017 election, the BJP ousted the Congress from power by winning 44 out of the 68 seats.

Notes:
Indian boxers have claimed three gold, a silver and a bronze medal at the 2017 Galym Zharylgapov Boxing Tournament in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. In the event that concluded on December 24, the country’s Gold Medal winners were K Shyam Kumar in 49kg, Naman Tanwar in 91kg and Satish Kumar in the +91kg category. To add to it, the19-year-old Naman Tanwar was also adjudged the best boxer of the tournament. The silver medal came through national champion Manish Kaushik in 60kg, while Mandeep Jangra accounted for the Bronze in the 75 kg category after going down in the semifinals. The season-ending tournament featured five international and 15 local teams, adding up to 154 boxers in all.