Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
The Punjab government has recently launched its flagship ‘Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar’ scheme for jobless youth by flagging off over 100 uberMOTO bikes. Under the scheme, the state government will provide commercial two wheelers and four wheelers to unemployed youth at subsidised rates. The scheme will be a game-changer for the youth of Punjab and will play a catalysing role in encouraging micro-entrepreneurship opportunities throughout the state. The target of Uber is to create 10,000 entrepreneurial opportunities in Punjab in one year and a total of 45,000 in next five years.

Notes:
Santosh Mohan Dev (83), the veteran congress leader and former union minister, has passed away today in Silchar, Assam. He was first elected to the Parliament in 1980, the first of his seven terms in office as the Member of Parliament. Out of these seven, he has represented Silchar, Assam five times and he was elected from Tripura twice. He has the rare distinction of being elected from two different states. Dev was the eldest son of the renowned Bengali North Eastern Freedom Fighter Satindra Mohan Dev.

Notes:
In Tamil Nadu, the Aadi Perukku festival is celebrated with traditional gaiety to pay tribute to water’s life-sustaining properties. The festival, also known as ‘Aadi 18’, is celebrated on the 18th of Aadi month in Tamil calendar year to express gratitude to water bodies especially Cauvery river. The 18th day of Aadi is usually August 2, is observed as ‘Aadi pirappu’, a day of offerings and prayers to these rivers. The day is an occasion for rejoicing particularly for those living on the banks of the all the main rivers, its branches and tributaries.

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:
Hassan Rouhani has been officially sworn-in as the 7th President of Iran for his second term on August 3, 2017. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei gave his official approval for the president-elect by giving him a decree to assign him his duties. Rouhani won re-election in May 2017, after securing 57% of the votes and defeating his main contender Ebrahim Raeisi. Under Iran’s election law, a president-elect is required to gain the Leader’s official approval before being sworn in before the Parliament. Rouhani will take the oath of office in Iran’s Parliament on August 5, 2017. The oath of office will be administered by Chief Justice, Sadeq Larijani.

Notes:
B B Shivappa (89), the veteran Karnataka BJP leader, has passed away in Bengaluru, Karnataka. He is credited with building the party brick by brick in its early years in the State and served as its State president from 1983 to 88. Shivappa played an important role in the formation of the first ever non-Congress government in Karnataka, led by Ramakrishna Hegde in 1983.

Notes:
Dhirendra Swarup, who was a public interest director at the BSE, has been appointed as the new chairman of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). He succeeded Sudhakar Rao. Swarup is a former Chairman of Pension Funds Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and has over four decades of experience across finance, budgeting, public debt management, public policy and pension reforms. He was also chairman of the Cash and Debt Management Committee of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 2000 to 2003.

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Manju Kumari from India has won the bronze medal in 59kg category with a 2-0 victory over Ilona Prokopevniuk of Ukraine in the Junior World Wrestling Championship in Tampere, Finland on August 3, 2017.

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The Pin Valley National Park is located within the Lahaul and Spiti district of Himachal Pradesh. The Park forms a natural habitat for a number of endangered animals such as snow leopard and Siberian ibex with its snow laden unexplored higher reaches and slopes.

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India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility has inaugurated near Hyderabad on August 4, 2017. It has been established a line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative and Government’s policy to encourage private sector participation in defense product. It is a joint venture between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. The Kalyani Rafael Advanced Systems (KRAS) plant will make anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Spike and the production is expected to start soon within weeks.