Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - August, 2017

Notes:
Melbourne has been declared the world’s most liveable city for the 7th consecutive year by The Economist’s annual global liveability survey, despite soaring housing costs and serious congestion challenges. The annual survey assesses 140 cities and ranks them according to their stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Others in the 10 most liveable cities in the world include Vienna (3rd), followed by Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Adelaide, Perth, Auckland, Helsinki and Hamburg. As per the survey, the least liveable city was Damascus at 140th place, followed by Lagos (139), Tripoli (138), Dhaka (137), Port Moresby (136), Algiers (135), Karachi (134), Harare (133), Douala (132) and Kiev (131).

Notes:
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has conferred the ‘best performance award’ for 2015-16 and 2016-17 to Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) for its work in the field of credit-linking joint liability groups (JLGs). The KVGB is sponsored by syndicate bank.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has signed Global Environment Facility (GEF) Grant Agreement with the World Bank (WB) for $24.64 million for Ecosystems Service Improvement Project (ESIP). The project is entirely be financed by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund. The project’s duration is 05 years. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) will implement the Project in the States of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh through Indian Council of Forestry Research & Education under the National Mission for Green India. The purpose of the Project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Departments of Forestry and Community Organisations to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of forest dependent communities in Central Indian Highlands.

Notes:
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory censorship and classification body under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that regulated the public exhibition of films under the provisions of the Cinematograph Act. . The headquarters of CBEC is located at Mumbai, Maharashtra. The board consists of non-official members and a Chairman, all of whom are appointed by Central Government. Any Film can be publicly exhibited in the country only after they have been certified by it. Prasoon Joshi, the famous lyricist, is the newly appointment chairperson of the CBFC. Joshi is known for putting forth his opinion on contemporary issues. He twice won the National Award for Best Lyricist – first in 2008 for ‘Maa’ (Taare Zameen Par) and then in 2013 for ‘Bolo Na’ in Chittagong.

Notes:
The Periyar National Park (PNR) is a protected area near Thekkady in the districts of Idukki, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta in Kerala and covers an area of 925 km2. It is notable as both elephant reserve and tiger reserve. The park is made up of tropical evergreen and moist deciduous forests, grasslands, stands of eucalyptus, and lake and river ecosystems. It is surrounded by agricultural regions such as tea, cardamom, and coffee. It is also home to gaur, sambar, wild pig, Indian giant squirrel, Travancore flying squirrel, jungle cat, sloth bear, Nilgiri tahr, lion-tailed macaque, Nilgiri langur, etc.

Notes:
Rahul Doshi (12), an Indian-origin boy, has been crowned as the UK’s ‘Child Genius’ in a popular television quiz competition, after answering all questions correctly. He won the Channel 4 show ‘Child Genius’ by beating his nine-year-old opponent – Ronan by 10-4 in the programme’s finale on August 20, 2017. In the final, Rahul impressed with knowledge of his chosen subject – Edward Jenner’s medical innovation and methodology in 18th Century England. He clinched the title by answering a question on 19th Century artists William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais. He has an IQ of 162, which is believed to be higher than the likes of Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, and qualifies him to be a member of Mensa club – the largest and oldest high IQ society in the world.

Notes:
Jerry Lewis (91), the famous comedian and Filmmaker, has passed away in Las Vegas, United States. He was one of the most popular comic actors of the 1950s and ’60s’ and was known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He perfected not only the role of the quirky clown but also won acclaim as a writer, actor and philanthropist in a career spanning six decades. He became the highest-paid actor in Hollywood, chalking up hits such as The Bell Boy, Cinderfella and The Nutty Professor.

Notes:
The Karnataka Government has recently launched an ambitious clouding seeding Project Varshadhari in Bengaluru to deal with poor monsoons in the state. Under the project, an aircraft will spray chemicals to induce rainfall. The purpose of the project is to condense small water particles by clouds (size less than 10 microns) to droplets of 50 microns, which can constitute rains. It is an experimental project that will cover Bengaluru, Gadag and Yadgir districts of the state. The Cloud seeding (also known as weather modification technique) is an artificial way to induce moisture in the clouds so as to cause a rainfall.

Notes:
Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched digital police portal under Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems Project (CCTNS) on August 21, 2017. The portal is a smart policing initiative to provide services to citizens and aid efficient police investigation. It is a platform for citizens to file online crime related complaints and also request for antecedent verification. The portal will also provide access to authorized persons to use National Database of crime records for the purpose of investigation. In addition, central investigating and research agencies have also been provided logins to the portal to access crime statistics. Till date, the CCTNS national database has around seven crore records of old and new criminal cases.

Notes:
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) in New Delhi to jointly conduct capacity building exercises in the fields of broadcasting and telecommunications regulation. The agreement would help both regulators to work closely in enhancing mutual cooperation and bilateral relations in telecom and broadcasting regulation. The agreement will facilitate exchange of information and regulatory best practices in the fields of broadcasting and telecommunications, including new and emerging areas.