Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2018

Notes:
Recently, the 19th meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) held under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reviewed the current global and domestic economic situation and financial sector performance. Apart from liquidity in NBFCs (segmental liquidity position and in mutual fund space), the FSDC discussed on various economic issues ranging from oil prices, rupee, inflation to improving cyber security in the financial sector including “progress made towards setting up of a Computer Emergency Response Team in the Financial Sector (CERT-Fin) under a Statutory Framework”. The FSDC is an apex-level body to strengthen and institutionalise the mechanism of maintaining financial stability, financial sector development, inter-regulatory coordination along with monitoring macro-prudential regulation of economy.

Notes:
S S Deswal, a 1984 batch IPS officer of Haryana cadre, has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) for a period up to his superannuation on August 31, 2021. He succeeded R K Pachnanda. Prior to this post, Deswal was the DG of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB). The ITBP was raised on 24 October 1962 under the CRPF Act, in the wake of the Sino-Indian War of 1962. It is one of the five Central Armed Police Forces of India. Apart from its primary task of guarding the 3,488-km India-China border, where ITBP troops are deployed at freezing heights of up to 18,700 feet, the paramilitary force is tasked with rendering a variety of duties in the internal security domain, including undertaking anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

Notes:
Justice Debasish Kar Gupta has recently been sworn-in as the new chief justice of the Calcutta High Court. It is the oldest High Court in India and has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The seat of the High Court is Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. The High Court building’s design is based on the Cloth Hall, Ypres, in Belgium.

Notes:
On November 1, the Union Cabinet has approved a proposal to rename the Jharsuguda airport of Odisha after eminent freedom fighter Veer Surendra Sai. Renaming of the Jharsuguda airport in his name will fulfill long-pending demand of the Odisha Government, which reflects the sentiments of the local public of the respective area. It will also be a befitting tribute to the contribution of the revered personality associated with the State. Veer Surendra Sai, who was born on 22nd January 1809 in Sambalpur district of the State, had sacrificed his life fighting against British East India company. He and his associates resisted the British and successfully protected most parts of Western Odisha region for some time from the British rule. Many of them were hanged by the British & a few died in the Cellular Jail in the Andamans. Surendra Sai died in Asirgarh Jail on 23rd May 1884.

Notes:
India and Japan has recently a Loan Agreement worth Rs. 1817 crore for the ‘Project for the Construction of Turga Pumped Storage (I)’ in the State of West Bengal. The purpose of the Project is to strengthen the capability to respond to fluctuation in supply and demand of power and to improve stability of the power supply by constructing the pumped storage facilities, thereby contributing to the Industrial Development and Living Standard Improvement in the State of West Bengal.

Notes:
Recently, the first-ever India-US Dialogue On Intellectual Property (IP) was launched in New Delhi to deepen bilateral strategic cooperation on IP policy. The dialogue was launched by US Chamber of Commerce’s Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) and FICCI in partnership with the US-India Business Council. It will be convened annually, alternating between New Delhi and Washington DC. The dialogue aims to identify solutions, and also share technical knowledge and expertise. The US-India Business Council, which was formed in 1975, is a business advocacy organisation comprised of 350 top-tier US and Indian companies advancing US-India commercial ties.

Notes:
On November 1, the Ministry of Railways has officially rolled out All-India Unreserved Mobile Ticketing facility (UTS on Mobile) with a view to promote three C’s- Cashless transactions (Digital payment), Contact less ticketing (no need to physically visit the point of sale) and Customer convenience and experience. Now, the facility of booking unreserved tickets, including season tickets and also platform tickets is available through the ‘UTSONMOBILE’ app available for Android, IOS and Windows phones. The booking of unreserved tickets on all non-suburban sections across all Zonal Railways has been made available from 1st November to enable seamless booking of unreserved tickets all over Indian Railways. The ‘UTS on Mobile’ application ‘in house’ has been developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). CRIS was established in 1986 by the Ministry of Railways and its of headquarters CRIS is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
The World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) is observed every year on November 5 to raise awareness about precautionary measures against tsunami and share innovative approaches to risk reduction. Along with risk of large loss of life, the day also highlight the economic losses tsunamis can inflict along vulnerable, densely populated coastlines, shown in red on this map. Tsunamis are rare events, but can be extremely deadly. In the past 100 years, 58 tsunamis have claimed more than 260,000 lives, which is the highest number of deaths than in any other natural hazard. The day was the brainchild of Japan, which due to its repeated, bitter experience has over the years built up major expertise in areas such as tsunami early warning, public action and building back better after a disaster to reduce future impacts.

Notes:
The book, titled ‘The Fire Burns Blue: A History of Women’s Cricket in India’, is co-authored by sports journalists Karunya Keshav and Sidhanta Pathak. This is the first comprehensive history of women’s cricket that documents the entire gamut of the women’s game starting from its humble beginnings, its spirited journey through its early years to the present-day when truly, the game has come of age. It talks about the numerous “twist and turns” of women’s cricket, including the early days of pioneers like Diana Eduljee and Shantha Rangaswamy in the early ’70s and the stars of today like Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur. The book will be launched as part of the publishing house’s new imprint, Westland Sport on November 30, 2018.

Notes:
In Bhubaneswar, the Odisha government has recently rolled out the technology-driven and citizen-friendly ‘Mo bus’ service featuring free wi-fi, CCTV surveillance, public information display system and on board announcements in the city. The service was launched as a part of state government-owned Capital Region Urban Transport’s (CRUT) ‘City Bus Modernisation’ programme.It will also provide the Mo Bus mobile app through which passengers can book their tickets and get to know the locations of the vehicle to minimise their waiting time at the Bus Queue Shelters (BQS). The BQS will have advanced features like digital screens to display the bus route numbers and their arrival times for the waiting passengers. The bus service has been launched for the residents of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Puri.