Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
National Handloom Day is celebrated annually on August 7 to honor the handloom weaving community of India and to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement. On this day in 1905, the formal proclamation of the Swadeshi Movement was made in a meeting at the Calcutta Town hall.

Notes:
The Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar has been appointed as the brand ambassador for Swachh Bharat Mission in Uttar Pradesh. It was recently announced by Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. Apart from this, Yogi Adityanath has also made Kumar’s upcoming film “Toilet: Ek Prem Katha” tax free. The movie stresses on the importance of building toilets and ending open defecation in the country.

Notes:
Sajan from India has bagged a bronze medal in Greco-Roman 74kg class category after defeating Ali Osman Erbay of Turkey by 6-1 at the Junior World Wrestling Championships in Tampere, Finland on August 6, 2017. He is the lone Indian Greco-Roman wrestler to bag a medal at this championship.

Notes:
India’s first helicopter-taxi (heli-taxi) service will be started in Bengaluru, Karnataka for those who cannot afford to spend time battling traffic to travel across the city. The Kempegowda International Airport will become the first airport in India to have this facility. The service will be operated by Thumby Aviation Private Limited and is expected to take off within three months. Initially, the helicopter service will be operated between Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and the Electronics City area. The travel time will be cut down to 15 minutes instead of the two hours taken by road.

Notes:
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has won the 91st edition of All-India MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup hockey tournament by defeating Bengaluru Hockey Association (BHA) by 4-2 in the final at Mayor Radhakrishna stadium Egmore at Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Man of the match: Rajkumar Pal.

Notes:
Amazon India has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Telangana Department of Handloom and Textiles to educate, train and enable weavers and artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon customers across the country. Amazon India will not only provide an online marketplace for marketing but will also engage with weavers and artisans across the state to train them on making the products more attractive, appealing and marketable across the online domain. The partnership also intends to empower and generate livelihood opportunities and income for the artisans and boost their economy

Notes:
Indian shooter Kynan Chenai from Hyderabad has won a bronze in men’s trap event at the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun at Astana, Kazakhstan on August 8, 2017. It was his first international medal at the senior level. So far, India has won two golds and a bronze in the competition. Before Chenai, Indian shooter Ankur Mittal clinched the individual as well as the team gold medal in men’s double trap in the championship. Mittal shot 71 in the six-man final to finish at the top of the podium. With scores of Sangram Dahiya (43) and Mohammad Asab (34) added to Mittal’s final total, India managed to bag the top prize in the team event also.

Notes:
Prof Sanwar Lal Jat (62), the BJP MP from Ajmer and former Union minister, has passed away in New Delhi on August 9, 2017. He was member of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly for five terms. He also served as Minister in the Rajasthan Government thrice. In 2014, he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Ajmer. He served as Union Minister of State for Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation till July 2016.

Notes:
India has been ranked 43rd among 43 nations in the 2017 Global Retirement Index (GRI). The list is topped by Norway, followed by Switzerland, Iceland and Sweden. The multi-dimensional index is compiled by Natixis Global Asset Management with support from CoreData Research, a U.K.-based financial research firm. The index ranks 43 countries on the basis of four factors viz. material well-being, health, finances and quality of life. The purpose of the index is to provide a global benchmark for retirees and future retirees so that they can evaluate and compare the suitability of various nations, and plan their retirement according to their expectations and needs.

Notes:
The Parliamentary Panel headed by Maj. General (Retired) B C Khanduri has recently tabled its report in Parliament. In the report, the panel has recommended the 100% pension to widow of deceased soldier so that she can take care of her family. The report stated that after the death of a soldier, the pension of the spouse comes down to 60% of his pension. The committee feels that after the death of a soldier, the spouse usually faces severe problems due to the loss of the breadwinner. The committee also recommended that liberalized and special family pensions to be exempted from income tax for the widows of war like counter insurgency situations or on the line of control as is being given to disabled soldiers. The panel also supported the demand of Defence Forces representative should be included in the Central Pay Commission to address the grievances in respect of pay and allowances and their issues.