Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The Union Environment ministry has constituted a 7-member committee to continuously monitor the short-term and long-term solutions to air pollution. It will be headed by C.K Mishra, the Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The committee will meet at regular, short intervals to draw up a plan and ensure enforcement.

Notes:
Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister of Kerala, has launched the She Pad scheme for school girls on November 8, 2017, which will be implemented in 300 government schools across 114 panchayats in Kerala. The scheme will facilitate free sanitary napkins, storage spaces for napkins and environment-friendly incinerators at all government & aided schools in the state. It is a first-of-its-kind scheme in India, which aims to raise awareness about the need for menstrual hygiene and break the taboo around the subject. The financial cost for the project, about Rs30 crore, is provided by local panchayats and Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation.

Notes:
The 5th meeting of Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was held at Kathmandu on November 8, 2017. A comprehensive review of the progress achieved in the implementation of bilateral projects in last 4 months was made in the meeting. Both sides reiterated their commitment to the early completion of all bilateral economic and development cooperation projects within specified time frame by providing required facilities and resolving difficulties in an expeditious manner. Foreign Secretary of Nepal Shanker Das Bairagi and Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri jointly chaired the meeting. The Nepal-India Oversight Mechanism was set up as agreed during then Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal India visit in September 2016. The next meeting of the mechanism will be held at Kathmandu on a mutually convenient date.

Notes:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) will celebrate the Child Rights Week Hausla 2017 between 16 and 20 November. To mark the occasion various events will be held including Bal Sansad, painting competition, athletics meet, football, chess competition and speech writing. The country celebrates the Children’s Day on 14 November and the International Child Rights Day on 20 November every year. The period between the two important events will be celebrated as Child Rights Week by WCD Ministry by hosting an Inter CCI Festival for the children who reside in Child Care Institutions (CCIs). The fest “Hausala 2017” will provide an occasion to showcase the talents of children from CCIs from various child care institutions across the country and provide them with a space to express their dreams and aspiration.

Notes:
Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), has released the India Youth Development Index (YDI) and Report 2017 in New Delhi on November 13, 2017. The Index enables recognizing the high and low performing states, identifies the weak domains and informs the policy makers the priority areas of intervention for youth development in the states. The purpose of constructing the index is to track the trends in youth development across the States. The Index will enable the policy makers track the national and the regional progress as well setbacks in youth development policies, planning, priority identification and implementation strategies. The ministry stated that the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD), Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu has come out with Youth Development Index and Report 2017. This is a pioneering attempt made by the Institute in 2010 which it followed up with the India YDI in 2017.

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:
Slovenia’s internet-savvy President Borut Pahor has been re-elected for a second term after winning the 2017 Slovenian presidential election on November 12, 2017. Centre-left ex-premier Pahor won the run-off with roughly 53% of the vote, but the voter turnout was the lowest in any presidential election since independence in 1991.

Notes:
The 10th South Asia Economic Summit (SAES-2017) has started in Kathmandu, Nepal on November 14, 2017 with theme “Deepening Economic Integration for Inclusive and Sustainable Development in South Asia”. The 3-day summit is organised by National Planning Commission and Ministry of Commerce of Nepal and South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Nepal. Approx 200 participants including ministers, members of parliament, former MPs, ambassadors, government officials, researchers, eminent experts and thinkers will attend the summit. The summit is a regional platform for discussing and analyzing economic and development issues and challenges faced by South Asian countries and advancing the cause of regional integration and cooperation.

Notes:
The Chail Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is located at Chail, a hill station which is abode of wildlife, in Himachal Pradesh and covers an area of 110 square-kilometre. It houses rhesus macaque, leopard, Indian muntjac, goral, porcupine, wild boar, langur and Himalayan black bear. It also has prevented few endangered species of reptiles and birds. The sanctuary is well connected with major routes of Shimla and Chandigarh.

Notes:
Scientist Dr Vijay Prasad Dimri has been appointed as the president of the 36th International Geological Congress (IGC), a global platform for the advancement of earth science, to be held in New Delhi from March 2 -8, 2020. He succeeded Shailesh Nayak. India is hosting the IGC in 2020 after a period of 56 years. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) is the nodal agency for organizing this conference with active support of Indian National Science Academy (INSA) and the support of science academies of Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.