Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
India has been ranked 53rd among 60 countries in the 2017 Digital Evolution Index (DEI). The list is topped by Norway, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Denmark and Finland. The Fletcher School at Tufts University, in partnership with Mastercard, presented the Digital Evolution Index (DEI) 2017. The Index is a comprehensive research that tracks the progress of the digital economy across 60 countries, taking into account more than 100 different indicators across four key drivers: supply, consumer demand, institutional environment, and innovation. It reflects the state and rate of digital evolution on the one hand, while also identifying avenues for investment, innovation and policy priorities.

Notes:
Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar (78), maestro and custodian of the venerable Dhrupad tradition of Hindustani classical music, has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on July 30, 2017. He was known affectionately to his legions of disciples and admirers as ‘Saeed Bhai’. He was born in Alwar in Rajasthan in 1939 and was a part of the Dagar family of musicians. He represented the 19th generation of Dagar Tradition. Dhrupad – a Sanskrit portmanteau of Dhruva (immovable) and Pad (verse) has its roots since ancient times, mentioned as early as the 3rd Century B.C. in the Natyashastra.

Notes:
The Gangotri National Park (GNP) is located in the upper catchment of Bhagirathi river in the Uttarkashi District of Uttrakhand and covers an area of about 2,390 square km. The park is home to the snow leopard, ibex, tahr, himalayan barbet, serow, pheasants, partridges, doves, pigeons, etc. It provides majestic beauty of coniferous forests and grandeur of glacial world combined with lush green meadows.

Notes:
Dr. Sanjaya Baru has been named as the new secretary general of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). He will assume the charge from September 1, 2017 and will succeed A Didar Singh.

Notes:
The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is observed every year from August 1st to 7th to focus attention on the important aspect of promotion and support of breastfeeding. The 2017 theme is “Sustaining Breastfeeding Together”. To intensify the efforts for promotion of breastfeeding in India, the Union Health Ministry has initiated a nationwide programme called “MAA-Mother’s Absolute Affection’’ to bring undiluted focus on promotion of breastfeeding and provision of services towards supporting breastfeeding, along with ongoing efforts of routine health systems. In addition, “National Guidelines on Lactation Management Centres in Public Health Facilities” have been recently released to facilitate establishment of lactation management centres for ensuring that the sick and pre-term babies are fed with safe human breast milk.

Notes:
According to recently released report-ICT Facts and Figures 2017, India and China are home to 39% of the 830 million young people worldwide who use the Internet. The report, released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), shows that of the 830 million young people online worldwide, 320 million ( or 39%), are in China and India. The ICT data shows that youths (15-24 years old) are at the forefront of Internet adoption. In Least Developed Countries (LDCs), up to 35% of individuals using the Internet are aged 15-24, compared with 13% in developed countries and 23% globally. The ITU is the United Nations (UN) specialized agency for Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). It has 193 countries as its members and also 800 private-sectors.

Notes:
The Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS) is located in Somwarpet taluk of the Kodagu district in Karnataka and spread across an area of 102 kms. It is home to rare and endangered birdlife such as Nilgiri Flycatcher, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Grey Headed Bulbul, blue winged parakeet, small sunbird, white-bellied blue flycatcher, etc. One can spot varieties of animal species that includes Indian Hare, Spotted Deer, Giant Flying Squirrel, Otter Species, Indian Wild Dog, Travancore Flying, Brown Palm Civet, Wild Pig, Indian Giant Squirrel, etc. It is a must-visit sanctuary to hear the heartwarming sounds of the birds.

Notes:
The high level committee under the Chairmanship of Justice BN Srikrishna has recently submitted its on review of the Institutionalization of Arbitration Mechanism in India. The committee has recommended for setting up an Autonomous Body, Arbitration Promotion Council of India (APCI) having representatives from all stakeholders for grading arbitral institutions in India. The APCI may recognize professional institutes providing for accreditation of arbitrators. The APCI may hold training workshops and interact with law firms and law schools to train advocates with interest in arbitration and with a goal to create a specialist arbitration bar comprising of advocates dedicated to the field. It has also recommended for creation of a specialist Arbitration Bench to deal with such Commercial disputes, in the domain of the Courts. 

Notes:
The Chimmini Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is located along the Western Ghats in Mukundapuram taluk of Thrissur District of Kerala. The sanctuary is an important bird area with 192 recorded avian species such as grey-headed bulbul, Indian rufous babbler, white-bellied blue-flycatcher, Ceylon frogmouth, Indian edible-nest swiftlet, Malabar trogon and Loten’s sunbird. The sanctuary also offers trekking paths for the adventure traveller.

Notes:
The researchers at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have developed a low-cost highly sensitive nanometre-scale carbon monoxide sensor by employing an innovative fabrication technique. It is known that Carbon Monoxide (CO) can have adverse effects on the health of people exposed to it. Thus, it becomes necessary to have good, low-cost carbon-monoxide sensors. Typically, a sensor would be a thin, current carrying plate whose resistance changes on exposure to carbon monoxide. This in turn changes the value of the current flowing through it. This change when measured indicates the level of carbon monoxide in the air. The research is published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.