Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
Neelmani N. Raju, a 1983 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Karnataka’s first-ever woman Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP). She will take over from Rupak Kumar Dutta, who is retiring from service.

Notes:
The 14-day joint training exercise “PRABAL DOSTYK – 2017” has started between the Indian Army and the Kazakhstan Army at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh. The purpose of the joint exercise is to enhance the military ties between the two countries as also at achieving interoperability between the two armies. The training contingents comprise of platoon strength from the 11th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army and a similar strength of the Kazakhstan Army.

Notes:
K Satchidanandan, noted Malayalam Poet and literary critic, has been selected for the prestigious 2017 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala, him for his contributions to Malayalam literature and poetry. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation. Satchidanandan is the former Editor of Indian Literature journal and the former Secretary of Sahitya Akademi. He is also a public intellectual of repute upholding secular anti-caste views, supporting causes like environment, human rights and free software and a well known speaker on issues concerning contemporary Indian literature. Moreover, he is the festival director of Kerala Literature Festival.

Notes:
The 21st World Congress of Mental Health has started in New Delhi with theme “Partnerships for Mental Health” on November 2, 2017, which is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with Caring Foundation and other institutions. It was inaugurated by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. The 4-day WFMH World Congress is hosted in the SAARC region for the first time and will witness participation of over 1000 delegates from across the world. It will have sessions on yoga, meditation and traditional approaches to mental health.

Notes:
Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang won a silver medal in the men’s 50m rifle prone event of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships on November 2, 2017. Another Indian, Swapnil Suresh Kusale bagged the bronze in the same event, while Dane Sampson of Australia won the gold. In women’s 25m pistol final, India’s Suraj Singh won the bronze, while the gold and silver went to host country’s L Yaumleuskay and E Galiabovitch respectively.

Notes:
The book titled “Dreamnation: Uniting a Country with Handwritten Dreams” has been co-authored by Saji Mathew and Jubie John and is published by Bloomsbury. Its’ an illustrative book containing inspiring words of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which was released online by Indian women cricket team captain Mithali Raj on the 86th birth anniversary of the former Indian President. It has been neatly divided into four sections — Spark, Resilience, Decision, and Take-off, each based on a dream-quote of the Missile Man of India. The book includes a collection of 200-plus handcrafted and handwritten postcards from across India

Notes:
The Samaspur Sanctuary is located near Salon in Rae Bareli district of Uttar Pradesh, which is established in 1987, and covers an area of about 780 hectares of land. The best time to visit the place is between November to March. More than 250 varieties of birds can be seen here such as Greylag Goose, Pintail, Common Teal, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Shoveler and Ruddy Shelduck (Surkhab).

Notes:
India’s first-ever conservation reserve for black buck will come up on over 126 hectares in the trans-Yamuna region of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The State cabinet has recently approved a Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in the Meja forest division that is known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain. For this, the U.P. government evoked Section 36 A (1) and (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the conservation reserve. With this, the conservation of blackbuck can be done in an effective way. It will also create awareness about biodiversity conservation and provide opportunities for people’s participation. Eco-tourism will be encouraged and locals will get opportunities for employment.

Notes:
Goa has topped the 2017 Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) with score 0.649, which is recently released by the Child development NGO Plan India during its national conference in New Delhi on November 1. Kerala has acquired 2nd position followed by Mizoram and Sikkim. Bihar ranked the lowest at 30, with Delhi faring only slightly better at 29 and Uttar Pradesh at 28. The highest ranking north Indian state is Himachal Pradesh at the sixth position. The composite index has been developed within research for the NGO’s Plan for Every Child campaign which is aimed at comprehensively understanding the dimensions of various problems affecting children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances. This index provides a state-wise ranking which is calculated by analysing four issues pertinent to the situation of girls — child safety/protection, poverty, health and education.

Notes:
Kenneth Juster, a top economic expert on India, has been appointed as the new US Ambassador to India, which is unanimously confirmed by US Senate on November 3, 2017. He will replace Indian-American Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India. The position has been lying vacant since January 20 after Mr. Verma resigned from the post after the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the U.S.