Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2018

Notes:
Harmanpreet Kaur has been named captain of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 XI, which also featured opener Smriti Mandhana and leg-spinner Poonam Yadav. A selection panel of ICC in Dubai picked up the team on the basis of the players’ performances in the 2018 ICC Women’s World Twenty-20 tournament , which concluded recently with Australia winning the title.Three players from England, two from Australia and one each from Pakistan, New Zealand and the Windies have also been named in the eleven. The next ICC World T20 tournament will take place in Australia in 2020.

Notes:
Renowned scientist Nageshwara Rao Guntur appointed as Chairperson of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for the period of 3 years. Guntur is the chairman at Project Design Safety Committee, Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) and former distinguished scientist Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL). The mission of AERB is to ensure that the use of ionising radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to health and the environment. Its headquarters is located in Mumbai.

Notes:
The United Nations has officially selected Uttar Pradesh’s Noida and Greater Noida to participate in its Global Sustainable Cities 2025 initiative. The twin-cities in Gautam Buddh Nagar district have been selected in the “University City” category ahead of Mumbai and Bengaluru as the only invitee from India. Overall 25 cities across the world have been selected in five categories by the UN Global Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) cities initiative. The SDGs, otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Notes:
The West Bengal Assembly has recently passed the West Bengal Green University (Amendment) Bill 2018 to rename the West Bengal Green University as Rani Rashmoni Green University. The decision to rename the university was taken to commemorate the 225th birth anniversary of Lokmata Rani Rashmoni. Rani Rashmoni had played an important role in the spread of education in the state. She was the founder of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Kolkata. Her other construction works include the construction of a road from Subarnarekha River to Puri for the pilgrims, Babughat (also known as Babu Rajchandra Das Ghat), Ahiritola Ghat and Nimtola Ghat for the everyday bathers at the Ganges. She also offered considerable charity to the Imperial Library (now the National Library of India), the Hindu College (now Presidency University).

Notes:
The Kerch Strait is a strait that connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. Its’ also a narrow sea passage that divides Crimea from mainland Russia. The strait is spanned by the recently completed 11.8 mile Kerch Bridge, connecting Crimea to Russia. Recently, it is in news because Russia’s coast guard opened fire on & seized three Ukrainian ships after a tense standoff in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula. Russia blamed Ukraine for provoking the incident, which sharply escalated tensions that have been growing between the two countries since Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Now, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko implement martial law for 30 days over the incident. The imposition of martial law permits the Ukrainian government to impose a range of drastic measures, if deemed necessary, including placing a ban public gatherings, restricting media freedoms, limiting the movement of Ukrainian nationals as well as foreign nationals and suspending elections. Hence, the confrontation at sea has raised fears of a wider military escalation and the UN Security Council (UNSC) hold an emergency session to consider a response.

Notes:
The National Milk Day (NMD) is celebrated every year on November 26 to mark the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien, the father of India’s White Revolution. Dr Kurien was the architect of Operation Flood, the programme which led India from being 50th in the world in terms of milk production to become the largest producer in just a couple of decades.

Notes:
The Ministry for Human Resource Development (MHRD) has launched a unique initiative called Bhasha Sangam to introduce school students to all 22 Indian languages of Schedule VIII of the Constitution. The initiative, under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat, was launched on 22nd of November and will continue till the 21st of December. The aim of the programme is to enhance linguistic tolerance and respect, and promote national integration. During the Bhasha Sangam programme, the school authorities have to introduce students to five sentences of the language fixed for that particular day/date by reading out the sentences in the morning assembly and asking the students to repeat them. Hnce, Bhasha Sangam is a programme for schools and educational institutions to provide multilingual exposure to students in Indian languages.

Notes:
‘Walking with the Wind’, directed by Praveen Morchhale, has won the 2018 ICFT –UNESCO Gandhi Medal. The award is instituted by the International Council for Film, Television and Audiovisual Communication (ICFT), Paris and UNESCO. The criteria for the Gandhi Medal reflect UNESCO’s fundamental mandate of building peace in the mind of men and women, particularly human rights, intercultural dialogue, promotion and safeguard of diversity of cultural expressions. ’Walking with the Wind’ tells the story of a 10 year old boy in Himalayan Terrain, who mistakenly breaks his friend’s school chair. His daily 7 km long journey to school in mountainous terrain on a donkey, turns mammoth and challenging when he decides to bring the chair to his village.

Notes:
Himachal Pradesh has become the first Indian state to launch a pan-India single emergency number ‘112’ where all kinds of immediate help can be sought in urgent matters. Under this project, an Emergency Response Centre (ERC) has been established in Shimla along with 12 District Command Centres (DCCs), covering the entire state. The ERC has been integrated with police (100), fire (101), health (108) and women (1090) helpline numbers to provide emergency services through the emergency number ‘112’. The service is part of the Emergency Response Support System (ERSS) which includes a ‘112 India’ mobile app integrated with panic button of smartphones and ERSS state website for ease of citizen in availing immediate assistance. To ensure safety of women, ‘SHOUT’ feature has been introduced in ‘112 India’ mobile app to seek immediate assistance from registered volunteers in the vicinity, apart from immediate assistance from ERC. Soon, the single number for various emergency services will be gradually rolled out across the country.

Notes:
The 13th edition of G20 summit 2018 will be held at Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina on November 30 under the theme ‘Building Consensus for Fair and Sustainable Development’. The annual meeting is being attended by leaders of the top 20 economies of the world and will cover the entire gamut of economic issues, including the agricultural sector reform, the challenges climate change poses and health-care issues faced by the world. From India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to highlight problems of oil price volatility which has a direct impact on the Indian economy in the G 20 platform. Digital revolution and skill India are also among the issues to be discussed during the summit.