Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Global Clubfoot Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on November 1, 2017. The 2-day conference is organised by the CURE India in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Clubfoot is one of the most common orthopaedic birth defects, which can cause permanent disability if not treated early. This affects the child’s mobility and confidence. Inevitably, education and schooling suffer – and the child cannot fulfil his or her potential.

Notes:
Yogesh Chander Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has taken charge as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2021. He succeeded Sharad Kumar Sinha, who completed his tenure on October 30, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Modi was special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Apart from this, Modi was also part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Gujarat riots cases in August 2010 and remained part of the team till July 2012. NIA was set up after an Act was enacted on December 31, 2008. The federal probe agency is tasked with probing terrorism and terror-financing related cases.

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:
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 International Conference on “Ramayan Circuit and Mithila-Awadh Relations” has started at Janakpur in Nepal on November 3, 2017. Eminent experts from India and Nepal are participating in 2 day event. It must be noted that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Nepal Visit in 2014, an agreement was signed between India and Nepal to develop Ayodhya and Janakpur as twin cities.

Notes:
The Pan India scholarship program for school children “Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana” has launched by Union Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha to increase the reach of Philately. Under the scheme of SPARSH, the annual scholarships will be awarded to children of Standard VI to IX having good academic record and also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles. Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of 40 scholarships representing 10 students each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX. The amount of Scholarship will be Rs. 6000/- per annum @ Rs. 500/- per month. The acronym ‘SPARSH’ stands for “Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby”.

Notes:
The Punjab government will soon start a campaign to organise village level sports tournaments across the state in order to wipe out the menace of drugs. These tournaments will promote sportsmanship amongst the youth besides channelizing their unbounded energy in a positive direction. In these games, the dope test will be made mandatory in order to ensure free and fair competition in these tournaments.

Notes:
The India women’s national field hockey team has won the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup Tournament by defeating China in the final by 5-4 via a shootout at Kakamigahara in Japan on November 5, 2017. Savita was adjudged Goalkeeper-of-the-Tournament while Monica won the Woman-of-the-Match award. With this win, Indian team has qualified for the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup i.e. scheduled to be held in England. South Korea secured third place with a 1-0 win over Japan. India had to wait long for their second Women’s Asia Cup title with the last one coming way back in 2004, when they had beaten Japan in New Delhi for the trophy. The triumph of the Indian women’s team follows the Asia Cup victory of the men’s side in October 2107.

Notes:
The awards for the ‘Best Urban Transport Practices’ were announced by Central Government at UMI Conference in Hyderabad on November 6, 2017 . In it, Surat Municipal Corporation has been chosen for the ‘Best City Bus Services Award’ by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for succeeding in attracting 87% of the private vehicle and auto rickshaw users to use city buses. Mysuru’s Public Bicycle Sharing has won the ‘Best Non-Motorised Transport’ Award while Kochi (Kerala) has been chosen for the ‘Best Urban Transport Initiative’ Award for completing its Metro Rail Project in a quick time besides integrating the metro with other modes of transport.

Notes:
Dr Anil K. Tripathi, scientist at Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, has been honoured with the prestigious “Bharat Gaurav Award” – 2017 in Science and Technology stream at India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi on October 4, 2017. He won the award in recognition for his meritorious achievements, outstanding performance and individual excellence throughout his life.