Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
Birendra Sasmal, a Ghana-based Indian entrepreneur, has won a prestigious International Business Person of the Year at the Asian Achievers Awards in London for his efforts to bring innovative IT solutions to Africa. Sasmal is CEO of Subah Group, which employs around 350 people with offices in Guinea, Sierra Leone, New York City and Dubai. Under Sasmal’s leadership, the group’s revenues have increased by over 3,000% and it has been named among one of Africa’s fastest growing tech companies.

Notes:
Rajni Kant Mishra, a U.P. Cadre IPS officer of 1984 batch, has taken charge as new Director General (DG) of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). He succeeded Archana Ramasundaram, who is set to retire on September 30, 2017. The decision was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. Mishra will hold the post till his superannuation on August 31, 2019, from the date of assumption of charge of the post or until further orders. Mr R. K. Mishra is a recipient of Police Medal in 2003 and Prestigious President Police Medal in 2009.

Notes:
The National Hard Court Tennis Championship has started in New Delhi on October 2, 2017. Among the men players, Tamil Nadu led Dhakshineswar Suresh, who last year won the Under-16 National championship, Aryan Goveas and Paramveer Singh Bajwa are participating in the tournament. Among the women players, Zeel Desai will head the field. Other players to watch out for would be Mihika Yadav, Sai Samhita, Snehadevi S Reddy and Mahak Jain. Tennis is the only sport in the country where the top players do not compete at the Nationals.

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 2017 World Habitat Day (WHD) is observed on October 2 with theme “Housing Policies: Affordable Homes” to bring attention to UN-Habitat’s mandate to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all. The purpose of day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. The United Nations (UN) has officially designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day.

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:
British writer Kazuo Ishiguro has won the 2017 Nobel Prize for Literature. The novelist was praised by the Swedish Academy as a writer “who, in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world”.The prize of 9 million Swedish kronor will be awarded to him. The literature prize is given for a lifetime of writing rather than for a single work. Ishiguro has written eight books, which have been translated into over 40 languages. His most famous novels “The Remains of the Day” and “Never Let Me Go” were adapted into highly acclaimed films. He won the Booker Prize in 1989 for The Remains of the Day and made an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1995.

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:
The Union government has set up a high-level committee for proper management of water resources in the North-Eastern region. The Committee will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar. It will facilitate optimising benefits of appropriate water management in the form of hydro-electric power, agriculture, bio-diversity conservation, reduced flood damage erosion, inland water transport, forestry, fishery and eco tourism. The committee is also tasked with spelling out actionable steps for optimizing water resources in the region and chalking out an action plan for dovetailing of Central schemes. The high-level committee will submit its report by June 2018.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Tourism has started a festival of Tourism ‘Paryatan Parv’ from Humayun’s Tomb in Delhi from October 5, 2017 & will continue across the country till 25th of this month. The event is being organized by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with other Central Ministries, State Governments and Stakeholders. The objective is to draw focus on the benefits of tourism, to showcase the cultural diversity of the country and reinforce the principle of Tourism for All. It will have three main components, Dekho Apna Desh, Tourism for All and Tourism & Governance. The components aims to encourage Indians to visit their own country, tourism events at sites across all states and interactive Sessions and workshops with stakeholders on varied themes.