Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has increased the maximum age of joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) Private Sector from the 60 to 65 years of age to increase the pension coverage in the country. Now, any Indian citizen, resident or non-resident, of 60-65 years of age can join the NPS and continue up to the age of 70 years. A subscriber joining NPS after the age of 60 years will now have an option of normal exit from NPS after completion of three years. In this case, the subscriber will be required to utilise at least 40% of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining amount can be withdrawn in lumpsum. However, if the subscriber wants to exit from NPS before completion of 3 years, he or she will have to utilize at-least 80% of the corpus for purchase of annuity and the remaining can be withdrawn in lumpsum. In case of death of the subscriber during his/her stay in NPS, the entire corpus will be paid to the nominee of the subscriber.

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:
Olympic bronze-medallist Gagan Narang won a silver medal in the men’s 50m rifle prone event of the Commonwealth Shooting Championships on November 2, 2017. Another Indian, Swapnil Suresh Kusale bagged the bronze in the same event, while Dane Sampson of Australia won the gold. In women’s 25m pistol final, India’s Suraj Singh won the bronze, while the gold and silver went to host country’s L Yaumleuskay and E Galiabovitch respectively.

Notes:
The book titled “Dreamnation: Uniting a Country with Handwritten Dreams” has been co-authored by Saji Mathew and Jubie John and is published by Bloomsbury. Its’ an illustrative book containing inspiring words of Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, which was released online by Indian women cricket team captain Mithali Raj on the 86th birth anniversary of the former Indian President. It has been neatly divided into four sections — Spark, Resilience, Decision, and Take-off, each based on a dream-quote of the Missile Man of India. The book includes a collection of 200-plus handcrafted and handwritten postcards from across India

Notes:
Fake news has been named official word of the year 2017 by Collins dictionary due to its widespread use around the world. The UK-based dictionary writer found that the use of this word registered a 365% rise in the last 12 months. The term-was defined as false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting. Other words on 2017 shortlist included “genderfluid”, defined as not identifying exclusively with one gender rather than another; “fidget spinner”, the toy being twirled by children around the world; and “gig economy” – the term for a system of casual, unstable employment that firms like Uber are associated with. All new words and meanings from the year will be added to CollinsDictionary.com and considered for inclusion in future print editions of the dictionary.

Notes:
India’s first-ever conservation reserve for black buck will come up on over 126 hectares in the trans-Yamuna region of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh. The State cabinet has recently approved a Blackbuck Conservation Reserve in the Meja forest division that is known for its rocky, undulating and arid terrain. For this, the U.P. government evoked Section 36 A (1) and (2) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, to declare the conservation reserve. With this, the conservation of blackbuck can be done in an effective way. It will also create awareness about biodiversity conservation and provide opportunities for people’s participation. Eco-tourism will be encouraged and locals will get opportunities for employment.

Notes:
India slipped 21 places on the 2017 World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap index to rank 108th among 144 countries, primarily due to less participation of women in the economy and low wages. According to the WEF Global Gender Gap Report 2017, India has closed 67% of its gender gap, less than many of its international peers, and some of its neighbours like Bangladesh ranked 47th while China was placed at 100th.The index is topped by the Iceland, followed by Norway, Finland, Rwanda and Sweden. As per the report, the global average annual earnings for a female stood at $12,000, while for a male it was as high as $21,000.

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:
Shiv Kapur from India has won the 2017 Panasonic Open (India) Golf tournament at the Delhi Golf Club in New Delhi on November 5, 2017. It is second Asian Tour title of the season for Kapur, who fired five birdies against one bogey to stay three strokes clear off a pack of fellow Indians, including Ajeetesh Sandhu (65), Sudhir Sharma (69) and Chirag Kumar (64).

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.