Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
Rinku Hooda (18) from India has won silver in the F46 javelin throw event at the World U-20 Para Athletics Championships in Nottwil, Switzerland on August 7, 2017. He got disabled as a three-year-old when his left arm got stuck in a paddy-sowing machine. He won his first national level medal in 2013 during a para nationals meet at the Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Rohtak.

Notes:
Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, has launched a new awareness drive called Namami Gange Jagriti Yatra from his official residence in state capital Lucknow. The drive will be focusing on cleanliness along the banks of Ganga river and maintain hygiene. The yatra will be organized by the Uttar Pradesh Home Guards and will help in spreading awareness in about 25 districts situated on the banks of river Ganga in the state. It will urge people to maintain the cleanliness and hygiene of the Ganga river. The drive will be covering a total area of around 1,025 kms and will conclude on September 6, 2017.

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.

Notes:
Upendra Kushwaha, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, has launched the NCERT’s Web portal for supply of textbooks to schools and individuals at a function in New Delhi on August 9, 2017. The portal will ensure better distribution of textbooks across the country and address the concerns of schools and parents, regarding unavailability of textbooks. The Web Portal can be accessed at www.ncertbooks.ncert.gov.in. The schools will be able to log on to the portal, by entering their respective Boards’ affiliation numbers and other details, till 8th of next month for placing their orders for the session 2018-19. Soon, the portal will also be opened to the individual buyers. They can place their orders by login in onto the portal, and books will be delivered at their doorsteps with nominal postal charges. The NCERT textbooks can also be downloaded, free of cost, from its website.

Notes:
Davinder Singh Kang from Punjab has become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw at the IAAF World Athletics Championships in London. He was under pressure to touch the 83 m in his final attempt and he was the last man to take the throw. He did it in style by sending the spear beyond the qualification mark to the huge relief of the Indian camp. Kang’s best effort of 84.22m put him in the seventh position among the final round qualifiers.

Notes:
Indian Shooter Maheshwari Chauhan has won a bronze at the 7th Asian Shotgun Championship to earn India’s first women’s skeet individual medal in Astana, Kazakhstanon on August 11, 2017. Before that, Maheshwari also led India to the team silver alongside compatriots Rashmmi Rathore and Saniya Sheikh in the tournament. Besides Maheshwari , Indian shooter Ankur Mittal clinched the individual as well as the team gold medal in men’s double trap in the championship. And, Kynan Chenai from Hyderabad won a bronze in men’s trap event as well as also won bronze in mixed team trap event with partner Shreyasi Singh in the championship. Now, India’s tally stands at two gold, silver and three bronze medals.

Notes:
The Government of India will soon launch a new sub-scheme named “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)” as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Initially, AGEY will be implemented in 250 Blocks in the country on pilot basis with each Block provided upto 6 vehicles to operate the transport services. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) under DAY-NRLM will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities (such as access to markets, education and health) for the overall economic development of backward rural areas. This will also provide an additional avenue of livelihood for SHGs.

Notes:
The Canara Bank has recently launched two digital products: ‘Bharat QR’, a platform for payment settlement at merchant locations, and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an integrated bill payment system for Net banking customers. The first service is a mobile application, which enables a merchant to accept payments as settlement for sale of goods or services. The second product (BBPS), an initiative of the RBI offers bill payment services to the bank’s net banking customers with network of agents.

Notes:
Vijay Nambisan (54), the well-known poet, writer and journalist of India writing in English, has passed away on August 10, 2017. He was the first-ever All India Poetry Champion in 1988 for his poem Madras Central. He co-authored a book of poems ‘Gemini’ with Dom Moraes and Jeet Thayil. Nambisan passionately championed the ethical use of language and made an appeal to readers, writers and enthusiasts of literature in his monumental book ‘Language as an Ethic’. His poetry served keen observations about politics — both internal and external — with gentle wit, often directed at himself.

Notes:
The World Elephant Day (WED) is observed every year on August 12 to focus the attention of various stakeholders in supporting various conservation policies to protect elephants, including improving enforcement policies to prevent illegal poaching and trade in ivory. On the occasion of 2017 WED, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister has launched a nationwide campaign “Gaj Yatra” in New Delhi to protect elephants in the country. The campaign is planned to cover 12 elephant range states.