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.

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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.

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The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 was awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution. It’s a method of simplifying and improving the imaging of biomolecules.

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The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics has been jointly awarded to three US scientists – Rainer Weiss, Kip S. Thorne and Barry C. Barish – for the detection of gravitational waves. The ripples were predicted by Albert Einstein and are a fundamental consequence of his General Theory of Relativity. The winners are members of the Ligo-Virgo observatories, which were responsible for the breakthrough. The winners join a prestigious list of 204 other Physics laureates recognised since 1901. The trio will share the prize sum of nine million kronor prize. Prof Weiss gets half of the prize money, while Barish and Thorne will share the other half. Gravitational waves describe the stretching and squeezing of space-time that occurs when massive objects accelerate.

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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”.

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The Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary is located in Ballari district in Karnataka and covers an area of 82.72 square kilometers. The sanctuary’s flagship species is the Indian sloth bear (Melursus ursinus). Some species of mammals recorded in this sanctuary are leopards, monitor lizards, mongoose, pangolins, star tortoises, etc.

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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.

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Filmmaker Kundan Shah (69), the director of the romantic drama ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’, has passed away in Mumbai on October 7. He is most known for his comedy classic ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ and his 1985–1986, TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza. He will be remembered for his wonderful usage of humour and satire to showcase the life & struggles of common citizens.

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The 48th Conference of Governors has started at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on October 12, 2017. The 2-day conference is being attended by 27 Governors and 3 Lt. Governors of States and Union Territories. The two-day Conference will deliberate on distinct agenda items in different sessions. The theme of the opening session was ‘New India-2022’. The second session is on the subjects of ‘Higher Education in States’ and ‘Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to Make Youth Employable’. In the third session, to take place on October 13, 2017, Governors will make brief remarks on any special issues pertaining to their respective States/Union Territories. In the concluding session, a brief report on the deliberations will be presented by the respective conveners.

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The Andhra Pradesh government has tied up with financial services company Visa for Vizag Digital Dhan Sankalp (VDDS) project, which is an initiative to develop Visakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city as well as a Fintech valley. In collaboration with Visa, the state government will make efforts to enable digital payments to educational institutions, small and micro merchants, street market vendors, etc.