Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
The 56th Liberation Day of Goa was celebrated with great pomp & show in Panaji on December 19, 2017. Several programmes and events have been organised to mark the occasion. The state was liberated on this day in 1961 from Portuguese control after almost 450 years of colonial rule. The armed action “code name – Operation Vijay” was carried out by the Indian Armed Forces in December 1961. The operation involved air, sea and land strikes for over 36 hours, and was a decisive victory for the Republic of India that ended 451 years of rule of Portugal over its remaining exclaves in India. The engagement lasted two days resulting in twenty-two Indians and thirty Portuguese killed in the fighting. The brief conflict drew a mixture of worldwide praise and condemnation.

Notes:
The festival of Losar has started in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir on December 19, 2017 to mark the Tibetan New Year. The celebrations will continue for 3 to 9 days in different parts of Ladakh. The fest is regarded as the most important socio-religious event in Ladakh. Because of several ancient ritual performances and traditional events during the celebrations, it has now turned into one of major events for visitors in winter. It is celebrated by making symbolic meals and offerings. Houses are decorated with good luck signs. Prayer flags are hoisted in important religious places to welcome the new year. Thus, Losar Festival is an important festival in winter months.

Notes:
India will host a meeting of WTO member countries in February 2018 to muster support for food security and other issues. This was stated by Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu while speaking at an event organised by Apparel Export Promotion Council, AEPC in New Delhi on December 18, 2017. He further stated that the government is trying to call a meeting of almost 30 to 40 countries in Delhi to help multi-lateral process. India has been keenly pushing agriculture issues at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). It has also been raising its voice against bringing new issues, especially those which are not directly linked to trade, on the negotiating table.

Notes:
India has recently signed a financing agreement of $125 million with the World Bank (WB) in New Delhi for the Skills Strengthening for Industrial Value Enhancement Operation (STRIVE) Project. The purpose of the project is to improve access to quality and market-driven vocational training provided in it is and apprenticeships. The result areas for the project include Improved Performance of Industrial Training Institutes; Increased Capacities of State Governments to Support Industrial Training Institutes and Apprenticeship Training; Improved Teaching and Learning; and Improved and Broadened Apprenticeship Training. The closing date for the project is 30th November, 2022.

Notes:
Priyanka Chopra has won the Global icon award at the Zee Cine Awards 2018 on December 19 in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The excerpts of the awards are as follows: Sridevi and Varun Dhawan won the trophies of Best Actor (Female) for Mom and Best Actor (Male) for Badrinath Ki Dulhania , respectively. The Best Film award was conferred to Rohit Shetty directorial comedy ‘Golmaal Again’ and Extraordinary Legend Award was goes to Amitabh Bachchan.

Notes:
India and Myanmar has signed a MoU on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State, from where thousands of Rohingya Muslims recently fled to Bangladesh following incidents of violence against the community. The MoU is intended to help the Government of Myanmar to achieve its objective of restoration of normalcy in Rakhine State and enable the return of displaced Muslim Rohingyas. Under this MoU, the Government of India (GoI) proposes to take up a project to build prefabricated housing in Rakhine State so as to meet the immediate needs of returning people. This is the first Government to Government (G to G) pact inked by Myanmar with a cooperation partner focused on socio-economic development and livelihood initiatives in the Rakhine State. In addition to the Rakhine State project proposals, a number of ongoing friendship projects were reviewed. Issues regarding the operation and maintenance of Sittwe port and the road from Paletwa- Zorinpui were reviewed. Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar is on an official visit to Myanmar.

Notes:
On December 21, 2017, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced the women’s ODI and T20I teams of the year with England’s Heather Knight named as captain of the 50-over side and Stafanie Taylor of the West Indies appointed skipper of the 20-over side. The teams were selected taking into consideration player performances from September 21, 2016 to date. In it, India’s left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht is the lone cricketer to feature in both the ODI and T20 Teams of the year announced by the ICC. Bisht is ranked 14th in ODIs and 12th in T20Is, and took 34 wickets in 19 matches and 11 wickets in seven T20Is in the period under consideration. Indian captain Mithali Raj has been named in the ICC Women’s ODI Cricket Team of the Year. Besides the duo, Harmanpreet Kaur has found out a place in the ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year.

Notes:
The United Kingdom (UK) has topped the Forbes’ rankings of best countries in the world for business in 2018. It is the first time this country has taken the top spot in the Forbes 12th annual survey after rising from 5th in 2016. The UK scored well on technology plus the size and education of the workforce although ‘political risk’ was seen as the weakest point. The list ranks 153 countries on 15 factors including property rights, innovation, taxes and red tape. New Zealand ranked second overall for the third straight year, followed by Sweden and Canada. India was ranked 62nd on the list.

Notes:
Jatilshwar Mukhopadhyay (82), the acclaimed Bengali singer has passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal on December 21, 2017. Mukohpadhyay, who had learnt music under the guidance of doyens of Bengali light classical music Chinmoy Lahiri and Sudhin Dasgupta, carved his own individual style, which enriched Bengali music in the 70s-80s. Among his popular numbers were E kon sakal, Tomar Sange Dekha Na Hole, Aamar Swapan Kinte Paare and Bondhuya Amar Chokhe Jal Enechhe. The state government had conferred him with the Sangeet Samman award in 2012.

Notes:
The Good Governance Day (GGD) is celebrated every year in India on December 25 to mark the birthday anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The day was established in 2014 to honor Mr Vajpayee by fostering awareness among the people of accountability in government. On December 23, 2014, Mr Vajpayee, and Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya (posthumously) were announced as recipients of the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award.