Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

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The first-ever India-US Ocean Dialogue has started in Goa on November 1, 2017, which is being hosted by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO). The purpose of the Ocean dialogue is to promote sustainable development of the Blue Economy. According to the World Bank, the Blue Economy is sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.

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The Inderkilla National Park (INP) is located in Himachal Pradesh, which is established in 2010. It covers an area of about 104 square kilometres.

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Veteran actor and playwright Girish Karnad will be honoured by Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award 2017 at the literature festival’s annual awards ceremony which will be held on November 19 at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Nariman Point, Mumbai. The festival runs from November 16-19. Karnad is also a recipient of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. His critically acclaimed plays in the era of 1960s such as ‘Yayati’ (1961), the historical ‘Tughlaq’ (1964), and his three seminal works ‘Hayavadana’ (1971), ‘Naga-mandala’ (1988) and ‘Taledanda’ (1990) have earned international praise.

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PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated the 3-day long World Food India (WFI) 2017 fair at the India Gate Lawns in New Delhi on November 3, 2017, which aimed to attract $10 billion investment in food processing sector and to generate 1 million jobs in the next 3 years in India. The purpose of the WFI 2017 is to transform food economy and realize the vision of doubling of farmers’ income by establishing India as a preferred investment destination and sourcing hub for the global food processing industry. Approx 200 companies from 30 countries, 18 ministerial and business delegations, etc are participating in the food fair.

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The bi-annual multilateral exercise ‘Blue Flag-17’ has started at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel from November 2 to 16, 2017. In it, 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos. This is the first time the IAF is operating with Israeli AF in a multilateral exercise setting. Ex Blue Flag will give an opportunity to the IAF to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from other Air Forces. The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations.

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Tamil Nadu’s historic Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam has won the UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for cultural heritage conservation. The main reasons for the temple to won the UN award are as follows: Use of traditional methods in renovating its structures and re-establishment of rainwater harvesting and historic drainage system, and to augment water and prevent flooding. With this, it has become the first temple in Tamil Nadu to be given the prestigious award from the UN body. The temple is situated on an islet between Cauvery and Kollidam rivers. It has seven prakaras and 21 towers, including the 236-feet-high rajagopuram.

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Shiv Kapur from India has won the 2017 Panasonic Open (India) Golf tournament at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on November 5, 2017. It is second Asian Tour title of the season for Kapur, who fired five birdies against one bogey to stay three strokes clear off a pack of fellow Indians, including Ajeetesh Sandhu (65), Sudhir Sharma (69) and Chirag Kumar (64).

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The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science (DIPAS) of DRDO is organizing the International Conference on Human Physiology – VII Congress of Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) “FIPSPHYSIOCON 2017” along with XXIX Annual Conference of the Physiological Society of India (PSI) in New Delhi from November 5-7, 2017. The purpose of the conference is to update the scientific community about most recent advances in human Physiology in extreme environments, Neuroscience, Yoga, Sport Physiology and translational research.

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The annual ‘Bali Jatra’ festival was started in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river, Odisha on November 4, 2017. The week-long famous fair on an area of 30 acres on the river bank will continue till November 10. The fest is celebrated to mark the day when ancient traders of Odisha would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion.  It is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima according to the Oriya Calendar. In all, Bali Jatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Odisha.

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The Union Power Ministry has constituted a 4-member committee to investigate into the causes of the recent accident that occurred on 1st November 2017 at NTPC’s Unchahar Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district. The committee, headed by PD Siwal, Member of Central Electricity Authority, will submit its report to the Ministry of Power within a month. According to the term of reference of the committee, it will investigate the causes of the accident and fix responsibility for lapses, if any. It will also suggest remedial measures to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future. More than 30 people had lost their lives after a boiler exploded at the plant.