Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
Yogesh Chander Modi, a 1984 batch IPS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, has taken charge as new Director General of National Investigation Agency (NIA) and will hold the post till his superannuation, i.e. May 31, 2021. He succeeded Sharad Kumar Sinha, who completed his tenure on October 30, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Modi was special director in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Apart from this, Modi was also part of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that probed the Gujarat riots cases in August 2010 and remained part of the team till July 2012. NIA was set up after an Act was enacted on December 31, 2008. The federal probe agency is tasked with probing terrorism and terror-financing related cases.

Notes:
The 9th edition of CMS Vatavaran, India’s only International Environment & Wildlife Film Festival and Forum, has started at Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti in New Delhi on November 2, 2017. The theme of the 5-day fest is “Conservation 4 Water”. The aim of fest is to create awareness and sensitize people through films and discussions regarding water conservation and the inter-connectedness of climate change and water, water struggles in a world dealing with global warming, climate variability, bio-diversity loss, and environmental damage. It will showcase 113 films, including four from Kashmir, one of the most ecologically sensitive zones facing the threat of global warming. The event is supported and partnered by Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change, National Geographic, UNESCO, UNDP and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

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 1st Heli Expo India and International Civil Helicopter Conclave-2017 was inaugurated at the Pawan Hans Heliport, Rohini in New Delhi on November 4, 2017. The 2-day conclave was organised by Pawan Hans Limited, a Mini Ratna company of Ministry of Civil Aviation in association with PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry with theme ‘Enhancing Connectivity’.

Notes:
The Pan India scholarship program for school children “Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana” has launched by Union Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha to increase the reach of Philately. Under the scheme of SPARSH, the annual scholarships will be awarded to children of Standard VI to IX having good academic record and also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a competitive selection process in all postal circles. Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of 40 scholarships representing 10 students each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX. The amount of Scholarship will be Rs. 6000/- per annum @ Rs. 500/- per month. The acronym ‘SPARSH’ stands for “Scholarship for Promotion of Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby”.

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 Punjab government will soon start a campaign to organise village level sports tournaments across the state in order to wipe out the menace of drugs. These tournaments will promote sportsmanship amongst the youth besides channelizing their unbounded energy in a positive direction. In these games, the dope test will be made mandatory in order to ensure free and fair competition in these tournaments.

Notes:
The India women’s national field hockey team has won the 2017 Women’s Hockey Asia Cup Tournament by defeating China in the final by 5-4 via a shootout at Kakamigahara in Japan on November 5, 2017. Savita was adjudged Goalkeeper-of-the-Tournament while Monica won the Woman-of-the-Match award. With this win, Indian team has qualified for the 2018 Women’s Hockey World Cup i.e. scheduled to be held in England. South Korea secured third place with a 1-0 win over Japan. India had to wait long for their second Women’s Asia Cup title with the last one coming way back in 2004, when they had beaten Japan in New Delhi for the trophy. The triumph of the Indian women’s team follows the Asia Cup victory of the men’s side in October 2107.

Notes:
Baddam Narasimha Reddy (82), the former Lok Sabha Member and well known architect, has passed away in Hyderabad. B N Reddy, as he is known, represented Miryalaguda Constituency of Andhra Pradesh thrice. Till 2008, Miryalguda was a Lok Sabha parliamentary constituency of Andhra Pradesh.

Notes:
A theme based India-Nepal Folk Crafts Festival has started at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 7, 2017. The 5-day festival is organised by South Asia Foundation (SAF) in association with Council of Handicrafts Development Corporations (COHANDS), Embassy of India in Kathmandu, Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi and BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation. The Ministry of Textiles, Government of India (GoI), is sponsoring the event. The basic objective of the festival is to promote bilateral relations through crafts and strengthen the relationship between artisans of India and Nepal. Around 50 artisans will showcase their crafts during the event. A Khadi- fashion show will also be organized at India House, Embassy of India in Kathmandu on Nov 10 as part of the festival.