Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
Veteran writer-lyricist Javed Akhtar has been honoured with the 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award at an event in Mumbai which marked the 28th anniversary of Hridayesh Arts and the 80th birthday of veteran music composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Notes:
The Sai Yok National Park (SYNP) is located in in Sai Yok district of Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand and covers an area of 500 Sq. Km. The park is home to mountains, waterfalls and caves. Animal species include elephants, tiger, barking deer, sambar deer, wild pig, gibbon, Malayan porcupine, slow loris and serow. It is home to Kitti’s hog-nosed bat, a rare bat species considered to be the world’s smallest mammal (weighing around 2 grams).

Notes:
The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka along with the 11th SAARC Chief Justices Conference on October 27, 2017. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and will see participation from South Asia’s top Judges, legal practitioners and academics. The conference provides a platform for legal professionals to meet and discuss issues of mutual interests and emerging legal trends in the South Asian countries. The conference will deal with issues like artificial intelligence, human trafficking, FDIs and environmental protection concerns. The 11th Chief Justices conference will be held tomorrow with a closed-door session attended only by the Chief Justices or their representatives.

Notes:
The Infantry Day is celebrated every year in India on October 27 to commemorate the first Infantry action post independence. On this day 70 years ago, in response to the threat posed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation, the leading elements of the Indian Army from the 1st Battalion of the SIKH Regiment, air landed at Srinagar. This bold action by Indian Army and resolute fighting by the Infantrymen reversed the tide of events and thwarted the nefarious designs of Pakistani Raiders aided by Pakistan Army.

Notes:
Gautam Adhikari (67), the chairman and whole time director of the SAB group, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on October 27, 2017. The group is behind the successful SAB TV channel, most popularly known for the show ‘Tarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah’. Adhikari produced and directed several films and television series, including Hello Inspector, Commander, Marshall, Silsila and Waqt ki Raftar.

Notes:
Patna Pirates (PTP) has won the 5th edition of Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) by defeating Gujarat Fortunegiants in the final by 55-38 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It is their third consecutive Pro Kabaddi title. The PTP team is led by Pardeep Narwal and coached by Ram Mehar Singh. The league is organised by Mashal Sports and Star India.

Notes:
The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered by hydrogen fuel cells has started running in China to give big boost to green energy in public transport. The tram was put into commercial operation for the first time in Tangshan, north China’s Hebei Province. With water being its only emission, the tram emits no pollutants. No nitrogen oxides will be produced as the temperature of the reaction inside hydrogen fuel cells is controlled under 100 degrees Celsius. The tram, having three carriages with 66 seats, can run for 40 kilometers at a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour after being refilled with 12 kilograms of hydrogen.

Notes:
The Karnataka government will sign MoU with Microsoft Corporation India Private Limited with an intention to empower smallholder farmers with technology-oriented solutions that will help them increase income. The solutions would use cloud based technologies, machine learning and advanced analytics. The MoU will experiment with Karnataka Agricultural Price Commission (KAPC) and Department of Agriculture to help improve price forecasting practices to benefit farmers.

Notes:
Giriraj Singh, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), has launched MSME Delayed Payment Portal – MSME Samadhaan (http://msefc.msme.gov.in) on October 30. The purpose of the portal is to empower Micro and Small Entrepreneurs (MSEs) across the country to directly register their cases relating to delayed payments by Central Ministries/Departments/CPSEs/State Governments. The information on the portal will be available in public domain, thus exerting moral pressure on the defaulting organisations. The CEO of PSEs and the Secretary of the Ministries concerned will also be able to monitor the cases of delayed payment under their jurisdiction and issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues. The MSEs will also be empowered to access the portal and monitor their cases.

Notes:
Roger Federer, a Swiss professional tennis player, has won the 2017 Swiss Indoors men’s singles tennis tournament by defeating Juan Martin del Potro in the fiinal by 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 at the St. Jakobshalle in Basel, Switzerland. With this, he earned his 8th Basel title that led him to achieve his 95th career title. Now, Federer surpassed Ivan Lendl in number of career titles, only trailing Jimmy Connors, who owns 109 trophies.