Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has inaugurated the Global Clubfoot Conference at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on November 1, 2017. The 2-day conference is organised by the CURE India in partnership with the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The Clubfoot is one of the most common orthopaedic birth defects, which can cause permanent disability if not treated early. This affects the child’s mobility and confidence. Inevitably, education and schooling suffer – and the child cannot fulfil his or her potential.

Notes:
The 36th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) 2017 has open at the Expo Centre in Sharjah on November 1 with theme “A World inside My Book”. The book fair will see the participation of 1,650 publishing houses from 60 countries. More than 15 lakh titles will be on display throughout the 11 day celebration of literature, knowledge and culture. The 2017 edition will feature 393 guests from 48 countries who will take part in more than 2,600 events. The United Kingdom (UK) will be the ‘Country of Honour’ at the Book Fair. The SIBF is an annual event and is considered the 3rd largest book Fair in the world. The most extensive of the programmes on offer at this year’s edition is the Kids’ Programme, which will see 1,632 activities presented by 44 guests from 20 countries. Publication Division is also participating in the SIBF 2017 with its latest collection of books.

Notes:
The 21st World Congress of Mental Health has started in New Delhi with theme “Partnerships for Mental Health” on November 2, 2017, which is organised by the World Federation for Mental Health in partnership with Caring Foundation and other institutions. It was inaugurated by the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. The 4-day WFMH World Congress is hosted in the SAARC region for the first time and will witness participation of over 1000 delegates from across the world. It will have sessions on yoga, meditation and traditional approaches to mental health.

Notes:
The Assam government has recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and Terms of Reference (ToR) with Singapore for skilling over 78,000 rural youths in the state by 2019 and greening Guwahati. The MoU and ToR for setting up the North East Skills Centre (NESC) was signed between Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Department of Assam government and ITE Education Service of Singapore. The NESC will train up to 400 students each year. The MoU for Guwahati city’s greening was inked between the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and Singapore Corporation Enterprise.

Notes:
The bi-annual multilateral exercise ‘Blue Flag-17’ has started at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel from November 2 to 16, 2017. In it, 45 member contingent of the Indian Air Force (IAF) is participating with the C-130J special operations aircraft along with Garud commandos. This is the first time the IAF is operating with Israeli AF in a multilateral exercise setting. Ex Blue Flag will give an opportunity to the IAF to share and learn best practices with some of the best professionals from other Air Forces. The purpose of the exercise is to strengthen military cooperation amongst participating nations.

Notes:
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, has led the Indian delegation at the IEF  7th Asia Ministerial Energy Roundtable (AMER7), which took place in Bangkok, Thailand from 1-3 November 2017. India is the current chair of International Energy Forum (IEF) which is promoting the AMER – a biennial event bringing together Energy Ministers and experts from Asian countries.

Notes:
Kenneth Juster, a top economic expert on India, has been appointed as the new US Ambassador to India, which is unanimously confirmed by US Senate on November 3, 2017. He will replace Indian-American Richard Verma as the top American diplomat to India. The position has been lying vacant since January 20 after Mr. Verma resigned from the post after the swearing-in of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the U.S.

Notes:
The National Cycling Championship has started from the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on November 5, 2017 to promote fuel conservation. The event is organised by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA) in four categories – Elite Cycling (50km/30km), Amateur Ride (30 km), Open Ride (10 km) and Green Ride (5 km). Approx 5,000 participants are taking part in the event, which are enrol for various categories via online registration. The championship is hosted by Saksham Pedal Delhi and supported by the Cycling Federation of India (CFI). Bollywood actor Farhan Akhtar is the brand ambassador of the of Saksham Pedal Delhi. The event has prize money of Rs 8 lakh.

Notes:
The Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science (DIPAS) of DRDO is organizing the International Conference on Human Physiology – VII Congress of Federation of Indian Physiological Societies (FIPS) “FIPSPHYSIOCON 2017” along with XXIX Annual Conference of the Physiological Society of India (PSI) in New Delhi from November 5-7, 2017. The purpose of the conference is to update the scientific community about most recent advances in human Physiology in extreme environments, Neuroscience, Yoga, Sport Physiology and translational research.

Notes:
Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has been designated as the new Finance Secretary of India. Adhia is a 1981 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. The post was vacant after former Finance and Expenditure Secretary Ashok Lavasa retired on October 31, 2017. As per the convention, the senior most Secretary in the Finance Ministry is designated as the Finance Secretary. Adhia’s appointment comes ahead of the 10 November GST Council meeting in Guwahati that is likely to see a revision in the tax rates for some common use items and easier GST returns filing norms for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).