Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - December, 2017

Notes:
Manoj Sinha, the union minister of communications, has launched project “DARPAN – The Digital Advancement of Rural Post Office for A New India” in New Delhi on December 21, 2017. The project has an outlay of Rs 1400 crore and intends to provide a low power technology solution to each Branch Postmaster (BPM). This will enable each of approximately 1.29 lakhs branch post offices to improve service delivery. DARPAN offers core banking services to the account holders. The project will improve the quality of service, add value to services and achieve financial inclusion of un-banked rural population. It is targeted to complete the project by March 2018.

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:
The Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary (PABS) is located in in Gonda district of Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 10.84 square kilometers. It is home to 212 species of angiosperms, belonging to 152 genera and 57 families, and three 3 species of pteridophytes, belonging to 3 genera and 3 families. The sanctuary harbours a number of birds including Sarus crane, Northern pintail, Bar-headed goose, Little grebe, Eurasian wigeon, Mallard, Red-crested pochard, etc.

Notes:
The National Sugar Institute (NSI) is located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh and is involved in research, training and advisory services to the sugar and allied industry, and functions under the Department of Food and Public Distribution of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. The institute provides technical education and training in research in all branches of sugar chemistry, sugar technology, sugar engineering and allied fields. It also provides assistance to central and state governments in matters relating to sugar and allied industries.

Notes:
Smartphone manufacturer Samsung has recently launched its ‘Bill Payments’ on its flagship payments service “Samsung Pay” in partnership with Axis Bank. The new feature launched by the company will enable users to pay their utility bills seamlessly via Samsung Pay’s secure and convenient platform. With the introduction of ‘Bill Payments’, consumers will be able to pay their utility bills seamlessly via Samsung Pay. It will offer users a secure, hassle free, and instant payment option on-the-go. Consumers can view due amount, details of previous bills and location-based suggested billers while paying bills through Samsung Pay. One can also set ‘reminders’ for bill payments.

Notes:
President Ram Nath Kovind has formally inaugurated the 100th annual conference of Indian Economic Association (IEA) at Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU) near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh on December 27. The focus of the 3-day conference will be on economic growth of the country and growth in agriculture, industry and service sectors. Approx 1,300 dignitaries are expected to attend the conference. Apart from this, President also inaugurated fibernet at the temporary Secretariat in Velagapudi.

Notes:
Experienced shooter Anisa Sayyed from Haryana has won the women’s 25m pistol gold with a new record at the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions ( NSCC-2017) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on December 27, 2017.

Notes:
Veteran singer K S Chitra has been selected for the prestigious 2017 Harivarasanam award, instituted by the Kerala government. Chitra has been selected for the award in recognition of her contribution to propagate the spirit of secularism, equanimity and universal brotherhood. The award carrying a cash prize of Rs one lakh, citation and plaque would be presented to the veteran playback singer at a function at Sabarimala Sannidhanam on January 14, 2018.

Notes:
Sue Grafton (77), an American author of detective novels, has passed away in Santa Barbara, California on December 28, 2017. According to author’s webpage, she started the alphabet novels in 1982. The mystery writer penned best-selling novels with alphabet-based titles, starting with “A Is for Alibi” and ending with “Y Is for Yesterday”. Her last alphabet mystery was published last August. “Z Is for Zero” was tentatively scheduled to come out in 2019.

Notes:
The Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary (NWS) is located near Lailad village in the Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya and covers an area of 29 square kilometres. The animals here include the Bengal tiger, the black bear, the leopard and many such species at the verge of extinction such as the necked hornbill and the brown hornbill bird.