Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Non-Violence is observed every year on October 2 to mark the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement and pioneer of the philosophy and strategy of non-violence. The day is an occasion to disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness. This day is referred to in India as Gandhi Jayanti.

Notes:
The Bihar government has launched a state-wide campaign against child marriage and dowry on the occasion of Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary. In it, people pledged not to get married a girl below 18 years or a boy below 21 or participate in a child marriage or a wedding with dowry. They also took a pledge to stop such marriage if they come across any as a part of their social responsibility and make their state free of these two social evils. In case of any information on child marriage or dowry they can contact the district magistrates, SP, local elected representatives, block development officer or the police station or call on the toll free number 181. Bihar accounted for 15% of the total dowry deaths as per 2015- 16 national crime record bureau data. 25% girl children were getting married below 18 years age in the state.

Notes:
The 8th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from October 4, 2017. The 3-day conference will be inaugurated by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. The Indian delegation will be lead by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, who will deliver the lead speech on the topic Association of the SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians, a platform for the Parliamentarians of South Asia to work together to reach the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. She is accompanied by a delegation of MPs and senior officials of Lok Sabha.

Notes:
The Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference has started in New Delhi on October 2, 2017. India is hosting the programme jointly with World Bank (WB) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to address illegal wildlife trade across 19 Asian and African countries. In it, Environment Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan unveiled the 3rd National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) for 2017-2031 to spell out the future road map for wildlife conservation. The 4-day conference will act as a platform for knowledge exchange and coordination on the action taken on the ground to combat illegal poaching of wildlife and improve governance on wildlife conservation. It will provide an opportunity for India to showcase its conservation efforts through joint forest management, vana sanrakshan samitis, eco-development committees in and around protected areas.

Notes:
For the first time, Nepal and India will conduct a joint tiger census in their national parks, forests and protected areas adjoining the two countries by using a globally-recognised method – camera tapping procedure from November 2017. By using this method, officials can avoid chances of repeated counting of the same tiger. The Chitwan National Park and Parsa Wildlife Reserve, which are the habitats of tigers in Nepal, are adjacent to the Balmiki Tiger Reserve in Bihar. Similarly, Nepal’s Bardiya National Park is close to India’s Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary while the Shuklaphanta National Park in Nepal adjoins India’s Dudhwa Tiger Reserve. The tiger is regarded as an endangered animal and is listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) in New Delhi on October 4, 2017. The event assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of the government action of de-registering over 2.1 lakh dormant, shell companies and disqualifying over one lakh directors as part of a clean up of the corporate system and tackling the menace of shell companies. Originally, the ICSI was set up as not-for-profit organisation on 4th October 1968. In 1980, the institute was converted into a statutory professional body under an Act of Parliament, ‘The Company Secretaries Act 1980’. The headquarters of ICSI is located in New Delhi. 

Notes:
In Rajasthan, Dungarpur has become the first Open Defecation Free (ODF) tribe district of the state. With this, Dungarpur has also become the first ODF district of Udaipur division. The district administration has achieved the goal of building 2 lakh 85 thousand toilets in 291 panchayats. This is the result of the extraordinary efforts made in Dungarpur towards Swachch Bharat Abhiyan. Having more than 65 percent tribal population, objective of making the district ODF has been acquired before the time limit by the District Administration with continues awareness campaign and public participation. Dungarpur city has also been declared the cleanest city of the state for two consecutive years for the year 2016 and 2017.

Notes:
Purushottam Lal Kaushik (87), the former Minister for Information and Broadcasting, has passed away in Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh on October 5, 2017. He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice in 1977 and 1989. The departed leader was the Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation in the Morarji Desai Ministry and later, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting in the Charan Singh government.

Notes:
The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a mass marriage scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah Yojana’. In it, the state government will spend Rs 35,000 on each couple, besides gifting them mobile phones and household items, and the social welfare department will conduct the mass marriages. The marriage programs regarding the scheme will be organized by urban local bodies like Nagar panchayat, Nagar Palika and Nagar Nigam, kshetra panchayats, Zila panchayats, overnment/semi-government organizations and NGOs, which will be authorized by district magistrates of respective districts. As per the scheme, the parents of the brides must be the residents of Uttar Pradesh and must belong to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in order to avail the benefits of the scheme. There must be minimum 10 couples in the mass marriage ceremony.

Notes:
Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017, has been awarded a prestigious global Anna Politkovskaya Award, which is given in the memory of a slain Russian reporter and political activist. With this, she became the first person from India to receive the honour. Lankesh shared the award with Gulalai Ismail, a Pakistani peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against the Taliban. The award marks the 11th anniversary of the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative reporter and activist who uncovered state corruption and rights abuses, especially in Chechnya. The award is presented annually by Reach All Women in War (the RAW in WAR organisation) and honours women human rights defenders from around the world.