Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
The 3rd edition of Women of India Organic Festival has started at Dilli Haat in New Delhi on October 1, 2017. The purpose of the 15-day festival is to promote women entrepreneurs and farmers in the organic sector. Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) has inaugurate the festival. The theme of the festival is – Good for Women, Good for India, Good for You.

Notes:
The International Day of Older Persons is observed every year on October 1, 2017 to raise awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. The 2017 theme “Stepping into the Future: Tapping the Talents, Contributions and Participation of Older Persons in Society” will explore effective means of promoting and strengthening the participation of older persons in various aspects of social, cultural, economic and civic and political life.

Notes:
Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, has launch the nationwide Free Eye Check-up Campaign and distribution of spectacles for truck drivers, cleaners and helpers on October 2, 2017 at Panjari Toll Plaza, Nagpur Bypass in Maharashtra. The objective of this initiative is to ensure clearer vision and safe travel for truck drivers who are the most frequent users of national highways. The campaign will continue for five days. The cleaners can also avail of this facility by producing a valid driving license. Fifty free eye check-up camps will be set up on identified national highways on either side and will be manned by eye specialists and support staff volunteers. Any other defect like cataract will be identified and medicines will be prescribed. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), governments, social enterprises and private businesses are being roped in for facilitating the provision of these facilities.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has recently appointed a Commission to examine the sub-categorisation of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini will be the chairperson of the Commission which will present its report to the President within 12 weeks. The Commission will examine the extent of inequitable distribution of benefits of reservation among the castes or communities included in the broad category of OBCs with reference to such classes included in the Central List. It will work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such OBCs. On receipt of the report, the Central Government will consider ways and means for equitable distribution of the benefits of the reservation in Central Government jobs and admission in Central Government Institutions amongst all strata of the OBC.

Notes:
Ganga Prasad, the former member of Bihar Legislative Council (BLC), has been sworn-in as the new Governor of Meghalaya at Raj Bhavan in Shillong on October 5. Prasad has been a member of the legislative council in Bihar for 18 years. He was a businessman by profession, joined politics as a Jan Sangh member in 1967 and held various organisational posts in it as well as in the BJP.

Notes:
The World Teachers’ Day (WTD) is observed every year on October 5 to 1994 to commemorate the anniversary of the signing of the 1966 UNESCO/ILO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers. The day also aims to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers. The 2017 theme is “Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers”.

Notes:
Banwarilal Purohit, a veteran political leader from Vidarbha district of Maharashtra, has been sworn-in as the new Governor of Tamil Nadu in a function held at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on October 6, 2017. Mr Purohit was sworn in as the State’s 20th Governor. The Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to him.

Notes:
The World Space Week (WSW) is an international celebration of science and technology, and their contribution to the betterment of the human condition, which is held every year from October 4-10. The 2017 theme “Exploring New Worlds In Space” is an outward facing theme that serves to inspire the world.

Notes:
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed the Finance Contract with India to € 300 million for Bangalore Metro Rail Project Phase II Line R6. The objective of the project is to bring in a quantum improvement in the transportation sector in the city in tandem with the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) and other modes of urban transport. This project will be jointly financed by the European Investment Bank (€500 million) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (€300 million). The agreement signed recently was for first tranche of €300 million. The project implementation period is five years from date of commencement of the work.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae on a petition seeking reprobe into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The matter is posted for further hearing on October 30, 2017. The petition filed by Mumbai-based Dr. Pankaj Phadnis , a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, has sought reopening of the probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of the biggest cover-ups in history. According to petition, there is possibility of involvement of more people in the murder. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.