Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
The Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (PABS) is located in in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 10.84 square kilometers. It is home to 212 species of angiosperms, belonging to 152 genera and 57 families, and three 3 species of pteridophytes, belonging to 3 genera and 3 families. The sanctuary harbours a number of birds including Sarus crane, Northern pintail, Bar-headed goose, Little grebe, Eurasian wigeon, Mallard, Red-crested pochard, etc.

Notes:
The Betla National Park (BNP) is located in the Chota Nagpur Plateau of the Latehar district of Jharkhand and covers an area of 226.33 square kilometers. It is home to sloth bear, panther, and wolf, jackal, hyena, etc. The park’s rich bird life features the hornbill, peafowl, red jungle fowl, black partridge, white-necked stork, black ibis, swamp grey, quail, the pied hornbill, etc. The famous Kamaldah lake attracts several varieties of water birds including the common whistling and cotton teal, the knob-billed duck, snipe and geese.

Notes:
Dr Jitendra Singh , the Union Minister of State (I/C) of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), has launched the electronic-Human Resource Management System (e-HRMS) in New Delhi for central government employees to apply for leave and access their service-related information. Through e-HRMS, employees will be able to not only see all their details with respect to service book, leave, GPF, salary, etc. but also apply for different kind of claims / reimbursements, loan / advances, leave, leave encashment, LTC advances, tour etc. on a single platform.

Notes:
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)-manufactured Dornier 228 to be used for civilian flights. Till now, the 19-seater aircraft has been used by defense forces and is the first plane to be made in the country for commercial flights. With a maximum cruise speed of 428 kmph, the non-pressurised plane has a range of 700 km and is also capable of night flying. Now, HAL can sell this plane to airlines in India and it can be used for regional flights under the Government of India (GoI)’s ambitious UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme. The DGCA is the regulatory body for civil aviation under the Ministry of Civil Aviation and is headquartered at New Delhi.

Notes:
The 78th session of the Indian History Congress (IHC) has started at the Jadavpur University campus in Kolkata, West Bengal on December 28, 2017. The 3-day IHC will have six sections this time – Ancient India, Medieval India, Modern India, Countries Other than India, Archaeology and Contemporary India. The aim of conducting Indian History Congress is for promotion and encouragement of the scientific study of Indian History, holding Congresses and publishing of the proceedings, bulletins, memoirs, journals and other works.

Notes:
Pluto Exchange will launch the India’s first bitcoin trading app for transacting in virtual currencies. The Pluto Exchange mobile app offers a solution to the coordination problem between payment processors, financial gateways and banks. Pluto Exchange will enable transactions using mobile numbers only. With this, by using a four-digit personal identification number (PIN), users can now buy, sell, store and spend bitcoins via a mobile number. The app would permit a range of transactions, including payments, remittances, business-to-business commerce, supply chain finance, asset management and trading.

Notes:
India has signed a loan agreement worth $40 million with the World Bank (WB) for UP Pro-Poor Tourism Development Project on December 28, 2017. The purpose of the project is to increase tourism-related benefits for local communities in Uttar Pradesh. The total project cost is around $57.14 million, out of which $40 million will be financed by the World Bank, and the remaining amount will be funded out of the state budget. The programme duration is five years. The project is expected to have far-reaching social, economic and environmental benefits by targeting local communities and entrepreneurs near some of the main tourist and pilgrimage attractions in Uttar Pradesh, namely, Agra as well as Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana and Govardhan in the Braj region.

Notes:
In Shooting, ace Indian marksman Jitu Rai won the men’s 50-metre pistol national title, setting a new record score of 233 at the 61st National Shooting Championships Competition (NSCC-2017) in Thiruvananthapuram. Rai also won the team gold in the event combining with Jai and Omprakash Mitherwal for a total of 1658, besting Team Air Force, who managed a total of 1626. Arjun Singh Cheema of Punjab won the junior men’s 50-metre pistol event. A total of 4800 men and women shooters from across the country are participating in the Championship including 200 wildcard entries.

Notes:
Israel has has officially confirmed withdrawal from United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) over an anti-Israel bias. Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO chief, stated that she had been officially notified that Israel would leave on December 31, 2018. Earlier in October 2017, the US formally notified the UNESCO that it would withdraw from the organization on December 31, 2018. The 195-member body is best known for producing a list of World Heritage sites that have become tourist favourites. UNESCO also runs science, educational and cultural programmes, including programmes to educate people about the Holocaust and promote intercultural dialogue.

Notes:
The National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) is a medical institution located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It is the apex centre for mental health and neuroscience education in the country, and operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Recently, it is in news because President Ram Nath Kovind participated in the 22nd Annual Convocation of the NIMHANS and gave away degrees & awards to 150 post graduate students on December 30, 2017. The President also dedicates three projects at a cost of Rs 200 crore at NIMHANS.