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 Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary (GAS) is a protected area of Aurangabad District and Jalgaon District of Maharashtra and covers an area of 26,061.19 hectares. It houses a variety of wildlife including chinkara, nilgai, sloth bears, jungle cat, wanderoo, leopard cat, etc.

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:
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 sixth edition of the World Government Summit (WHS) is scheduled to be held from February 11th – 13th, 2018 in Dubai, UAE. India will be the guest of honour in this summit. The summit is the largest movement to review and share the best experiences, and the first global forum for governments, countries, organizations and private sector leaders interested in the industry of the future. At its 5th session in February 2017, the World Summit of Governments attracted more than 4,000 participants from 139 countries and 150 speakers attended 114 sessions.

Notes:
The Karlapat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is located in Kalahandi district of Odisha and covers an area of 75 square kilometres. This sanctuary is home to many wildlife species like tiger, leopard, sambar, nilgai, barking deer, mouse deer, a wide variety of birds like green munia, Great Eared-nightjar and various reptiles.

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:
Rajnish Kumar, the Managing Director of SBI, has been appointed as the new chairman of the State Bank of India (SBI) for a period of three years. He will succeed Arundhati Bhattacharya, whose tern is going to end on October 6, 2017.

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.