Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
Snehlata Shrivastava, a 1982 batch IAS officer from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as new Secretary-General of Lok Sabha. She succeeded Anoop Mishra on December 1 and her tenure will end on November 30, 2018. With this, she has become the first woman Secretary-General of Lok Sabha. Snehlata’s appointment was approved by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. Prior to this post, she was working as Secretary Law in Central government. Ms Shrivastava has 35 years of rich and varied administrative experience.

Notes:
Uhuru Kenyatta has been sworn-in for a second and final five-year term for the post of President of Republic of Kenya, a month after winning a bitterly disputed election rerun marked by delays and boycott. Several heads of states and tens of thousands of his supporters attended the inauguration at a stadium in the capital, Nairobi, on 28th November 2017. Kenyatta won 98% of the votes cast in October’s poll, which was boycotted by the main opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who alleged the poll wouldn’t be free and fair.

Notes:
The International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on December 3 to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The annual observance of the day was proclaimed in 1992 by a United Nations General Assembly resolution. The 2017 theme is “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”.

Notes:
Salil S Parekh has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Infosys, with effective from January 2, 2018. Parekh joins Infosys from Capgemini, where he was a member of the Group Executive Board. He has Master of Engineering degrees in Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University, and a Bachelor of Technology degree in Aeronautical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay.

Notes:
The Indian Navy Day (IND) is observed every year on 4th December every year to remember the courage and determination that Indian Navy had shown during the 1971 war. During the India-Pakistan war of 1971, the Indian Navy played a significant role in the bombing of the Karachi harbor and sank Pakistan Naval Ship PNS Ghazi. The Navy Day celebrations not only display the nation’s technological progress but also the maritime achievements of India. The Indian Navy plays a great role in securing the marine borders of the country as well as enhancing the international relations of the country through foreign port callings, joint exercises, humanitarian missions and calamity relief.

Notes:
The International conference on climate change has inaugurated by Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari to draw attention towards the adverse effects of global warming in the Hindu Kush mountain range. The conference ‘Resilient Hindu Kush Himalaya: Developing Solutions towards a Sustainable Future for Asia’ is organized by Nepal’s Ministry for Environment in collaboration with International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). The 4-day conference is attended by more than 300 experts from different countries of Asia including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and Myanmar. V K Saraswat, member of India’s Neeti foundation is leading the Indian delegation in the conference. The Hindu Kush Himalaya, a mountain range that spans from Afghanistan to Myanmar sources 10 major river systems in Asia that provide water, ecosystem services and livelihoods to more than 210 million people. The region holds and distributes water for more than 1.3 billion people living in downstream river basins.

Notes:
The Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) is located in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh and is spread over an area of 6.14 square kilometers. It is home to a varied set of faunal and avifaunal species such as foxes, jackals, bonnet macaques, jungle cats, sloth bears and black bucks. It also houses 132 bird species with the Alganur reservoir near the sanctuary frequented annually by migratory species.

Notes:
The Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh has been included in the National Capital Region (NCR). With this, the total number of districts in the NCR goes to 23. The decision to include Shamli in the NCR was taken at the 37th meeting of the National Capital Region Planning Board held in New Delhi on December 4, 2017. Besides Delhi, there are at present 22 districts- 13 of Haryana, 7 of Uttar Pradesh and two of Rajasthan in the NCR. Cities in the NCR get funds at attractive interest rates from NCRPB for infrastructure development. The meeting was chaired by Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. The meeting also decided that the forests should be identified as per the order of the Supreme Court and the ‘Aravallis’ are to be delineated in the entire NCR, as per the earlier decisions of the Board.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved debt financing and partial risk guarantee of $583 million to develop Reliance Power’s 750MW LNG based combined cycle power plant and LNG terminal project in Bangladesh. ADB’s financing package includes loans and partial risk guarantees for the power generation facility, as well as for the LNG terminal. The total project cost is approximately $1 billion.

Notes:
The World Soil Day (WSD) is observed every year on December 5 to communicate messages on the importance of soil quality for food security, healthy ecosystems and human well-being. The 2017 theme is “Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground”. It is celebrated annually at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, the regional offices and through national and local events.