Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
Neelmani N. Raju, a 1983 batch IPS officer, has been appointed as the Karnataka’s first-ever woman Director General and Inspector General of Police (DG-IGP). She will take over from Rupak Kumar Dutta, who is retiring from service.

Notes:
K Satchidanandan, noted Malayalam Poet and literary critic, has been selected for the prestigious 2017 Ezhuthachan Puraskaram, the highest literary award of the Government of Kerala, him for his contributions to Malayalam literature and poetry. The award carries a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh and a citation. Satchidanandan is the former Editor of Indian Literature journal and the former Secretary of Sahitya Akademi. He is also a public intellectual of repute upholding secular anti-caste views, supporting causes like environment, human rights and free software and a well known speaker on issues concerning contemporary Indian literature. Moreover, he is the festival director of Kerala Literature Festival.

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:
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:
Goa has topped the 2017 Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI) with score 0.649, which is recently released by the Child development NGO Plan India during its national conference in New Delhi on November 1. Kerala has acquired 2nd position followed by Mizoram and Sikkim. Bihar ranked the lowest at 30, with Delhi faring only slightly better at 29 and Uttar Pradesh at 28. The highest ranking north Indian state is Himachal Pradesh at the sixth position. The composite index has been developed within research for the NGO’s Plan for Every Child campaign which is aimed at comprehensively understanding the dimensions of various problems affecting children, particularly girls, in difficult circumstances. This index provides a state-wise ranking which is calculated by analysing four issues pertinent to the situation of girls — child safety/protection, poverty, health and education.

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 2017 World Youth Forum has started at Sharam El Shiekh in Egypt on November 4, 2017. The 5-day forum has inaugurated by the President of Egypt Mr Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. From India, Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Col Rajyavardhan Rathore is participating in the forum. The Forum aims to provide a platform to the youth from all over the globe to engage with the key global policy makers. It will also cover role of youth in business and innovation, challenges and making of future leaders, gender equity and women empowerment among other things. The Summit segment is expected to be attended by the Heads of State/Government, Ministers of youth from 14 countries and representatives of UN, Arab League and the African Union.

Notes:
The annual ‘Bali Jatra’ festival was started in the city of Cuttack at Gadagadia Ghata of the Mahanadi river, Odisha on November 4, 2017. The week-long famous fair on an area of 30 acres on the river bank will continue till November 10. The fest is celebrated to mark the day when ancient traders of Odisha would set sail to distant lands of Bali, as well as Java, Sumatra, Borneo (all in Indonesia), and Sri Lanka for trade and cultural expansion.  It is celebrated every year from the day of Kartika Purnima according to the Oriya Calendar. In all, Bali Jatra bears testimony to the rich maritime legacy of ancient Odisha.

Notes:
India has pledged additional 100 million towards India-UN Development Partnership Fund to help the poorest nations achieve the world organisation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce poverty and raise the quality of life. This contribution would be in addition to 10.582 million India is contributing to various other UN programmes. Anjani Kumar, a Counsellor in India’s UN Mission, announced the multi-year contribution at the 2017 UN Pledging Conference for Development Activities on November 6, 2017.