Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

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 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:
H. M. Marathe (77), the renowned writer and journalist, has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on October 1, 2017. He was well-known journalist and worked with various regional periodicals like Lokprabha, Marmik, and Pudhari.

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 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:
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.

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:
The Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 75 square kilometers in the Terai of the Bahraich district. It is home to a number of endangered species including gharial, tiger, rhino, Gangetic dolphin, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, the white-backed and long-billed vultures.The sanctuary is one of the best places in the world for seeing the gharial in its natural habitat is the Girwa River, where it is found sympatric with the mugger.

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.