Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The Union Power Ministry has constituted a 4-member committee to investigate into the causes of the recent accident that occurred on 1st November 2017 at NTPC’s Unchahar Thermal Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh’s Rae Bareli district. The committee, headed by PD Siwal, Member of Central Electricity Authority, will submit its report to the Ministry of Power within a month. According to the term of reference of the committee, it will investigate the causes of the accident and fix responsibility for lapses, if any. It will also suggest remedial measures to avoid the recurrence of such incidents in the future. More than 30 people had lost their lives after a boiler exploded at the plant.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of India International Cherry Blossom festival, which is the World’s only autumn cherry blossom festival, has started on November 8, 2017 in Shillong, Meghalaya. The 4-day festival is being organized by Government of Meghalaya, Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development with support from the Indian Council of Cultural Relations. According to Meghalaya government, such festivals will not only boost tourism but also protect and preserve the forest and wildlife biodiversity. The festival has successfully attracted a large number of tourists from different parts of the country and abroad. The festival will also have guided night walks under illuminated cherry blossoms, live music, and stalls showcasing the cuisine, wine, arts and craft of the region. In it, the state government has also released the special cover of the 2nd India International Cherry Blossom Festival Postage Stamp.

Notes:
Air Force Sportsmen Sergeant Shahzar Rizvi has won a gold medal in 10 mtrs Pistol for India at recently conducted Commonwealth Shooting Championship held at Gold Coast, Australia. Sergeant Deepak Kumar won Bronze medal in 10 mtrs Air Rifle at the same event. Both are outstanding Sportsman in shooting and they have performed consistently well in their career as well. Sergeant Rizvi had also won Gold and Silver medal in 2014 & 2015 in the Senior National Shooting Championship respectively.

Notes:
The Nordic-Baltic embassies will host the first-ever Nordic-Baltic Youth Film Festival in collaboration with the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi from November 13-18, 2017. The festival will offer a diverse mix of some of the most celebrated and Oscar nominated movies from the Nordic-Baltic region. This platform offers a great opportunity for Nordic-Baltic countries to reflect on the similarities and appreciate their differences. It will also prove to be a platform to enhance people-to-people relations and share the thrill, excitement and experience of watching films together. The Nordic-Baltic countries — Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden, or NB8 — are tied together geographically and historically through trade, culture and many common yet diverse value systems.

Notes:
The Udaypur Wildlife Sanctuary (UWS) is located in West Champaran district of Bihar and covers an area of 8.74 square kilometres. It is home to a variety of water birds, both resident and migratory. The sanctuary has areas of swamp forest, dry riverine forest, and khair-sissoo forest. It is in the Lower Gangetic Plains moist deciduous forests eco-region.

Notes:
Ace Indian cueist Pankaj Advani clinched his 17th world title after thrashing his arch-rival Mike Russell of England in the 2017 IBSF World Billiards Championship at Doha on November 12, 2017. In the best-of-11 summit clash, Advani beat Russell 6-2 to defend the 150-up format title he had won in Bengaluru last year. Advani will be eyeing a ‘Grand Double’ as the lengthier format (long-up) of the IBSF World Billiards Championship 2017, which will begin on November 13, 2017 at Doha.

Notes:
Audrey Azoulay, a former Minister of Culture and Communication of France, has been appointed as the new Director-General (DG) of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). She will succeed outgoing DG Irina Bokova on November 15, 2017. The new Director will set priorities for the organization’s World Heritage program that protects cultural sites and traditions. Ms Azoulay is the 11th Director-General of UNESCO and the second woman to occupy this position. She was born in Paris to a Moroccan Jewish family from Essaouira, and is the daughter of Andre Azoulay, who is current adviser to king Mohammed VI of Morocco.

Notes:
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is organizing a National Conference with the State Governments and Service Providers to brainstorm and showcase various utilization models leveraging BharatNet infrastructure in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Conference will be attended by IT Ministers and IT Secretaries from States. In it, DoT will sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with states for the implementation of BharatNet Phase II. Under BharatNet Phase I, Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connectivity has reached in over 1, 00, 000 Gram Panchayats (GPs) across different States in the country. By Dec 2017, all 1, 00, 000 GPs will be operational on the BharatNet infrastructure. As of today, almost 90,000 installations have been completed and Services are expected to commence in 80,000 GPs shortly.

Notes:
The 4th India-Canada Annual Ministerial Dialogue has started in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Indian delegation is led by the Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu and the Canadian International Trade Minister, François-Philippe Champagne is leading the Canadian delegation. As per official release, India and Canada will focus on some of the key commercial drivers to enhance the India-Canada partnership in the current round of the Ministerial Dialogue. The efforts would be made to work towards the expeditious conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement for a progressive, balanced, and mutually beneficial agreement covering both goods and services. The trade ministers of both countries are likely to discuss issues to explore ways of expediting the early conclusion of the CEPA and the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement.

Notes:
The Public Service Broadcasting Day (PSBD) is observed every year on November 12 to commemorate the first and last visit of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi to the studio of All India Radio, Delhi in 1947. He addressed the displaced people, who had temporarily settled at Kurukshetra in Haryana after partition. This year, in 2017, a function was organized at the premises of Broadcasting House, All India Radio in New Delhi to mark the occasion. Artists of All India Radio (AIR) recited favourite bhajans of Gandhiji and students of two Delhi Schools sung couple of songs on National Unity.