Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
India’s first offshore desalination plant will be set up by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) about 40km from the Ennore coast in Tamil Nadu with a capacity of about 10 million litres of water per day. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the plant, which is estimated to cost Rs 2,000 crore, has been submitted to the Centre for approval. The offshore plant is designed and built by NIOT scientists. The plant will operate on the indigenously developed Low Temperature Thermal Desalination (LTTD), a low cost and environment friendly technology to get potable water. The technology is based on the temperature difference in seawater at different depths.

Notes:
India’s longest expressway from Agra to Lucknow will soon provide free Wi-Fi services on the entire 302-kilometre stretch. As per officials, the UP government has offered to provide space to lay an optical fiber cable (OFC) along the expressway. The plan is to earn revenue to maintain the expressway and gain from the agreement with the private firm by leasing rights to lay the OFCs to offer free WiFi along the entire stretch. this will also help the state to have a world-class advanced traffic management system (ATMS) for convenience and safety. Safety will be assured by the usage of traffic monitoring and event detection along with speed enforcement through a network of CCTV cameras and phone helplines at every two kilometers.

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.

Notes:
The National Press Day (NPD) is celebrated every year on November 16 as a symbolic of a free and responsible press in India. This was the day on which the Press Council of India (PCI) started functioning as a moral watchdog to ensure that not only did the press maintain the high standards expected from this powerful medium but also that it was not fettered by the influence or threats of any extraneous factors.

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The UN Climate Change Conference (COP23) has concluded on November 17, 2017 after two weeks of talks in Boon, Germany. Envoys from nearly 200 countries, including delegates from Washington, negotiated on implementing the Paris climate change agreement including a rulebook to be adopted next year and for enacting the global deal reached to cheers and champagne in 2015. The Paris pact commits countries to limiting average global warming to under two degrees Celsius over Industrial Revolution levels, and 1.5 Celcius if possible, to avert worst-case-scenario climate change. The November 6-17 conference is the first of the UN’s climate body since US President Donald Trump announced in June that the US will withdraw from the agreement. Meanwhile, United States again expressed its desire to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.

Notes:
International rating agency Moody’s Investors Service has recently upgraded the Government of India (GoI)’s local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from its lowest investment grade (Baa3) and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive. Moody’s has also upgraded India’s local currency senior unsecured rating to Baa2 from Baa3 and its short-term local currency rating to P-2 from P-3. The decision to upgrade the ratings is underpinned by Moody’s expectation that continued progress on economic and institutional reforms will enhance India’s high growth potential. Though, the global ratings agency cautioned that high debt burden remains a constraint on the country’s credit profile. Moody’s has revised the sovereign rating of India a notch above investment grade after a long gap of 14 years. Interestingly, the last time the global rating has revised the rating was when the BJP government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee was in power.

Notes:
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will set up Next Gen-Bioscope Village at Panaji in Goa on 21st November 2017, as part of the IFFI Next Gen side bar program aimed at involving greater participation from the local Goan audience. It will be inaugurated by actress Shraddha Kapoor. The Bioscope Village is open to all with a entry fee of Rs. 50 from 21st to 27th of November. The Village is a concept based on the theme New Age Cinema for allowing non-delegates to watch films at the IFFI. The Bioscope Village will screen new and classic films including Children movies. In addition, ‘Katta’ talk session will also be held with some noted celebrities like Nana Patekar, Sachin Khedekar, Sonali Kulkarni, Dilip Prabhavalkar and Sushant Singh Rajput. The village will also host a skill studio aimed at honing cinematic skills through special sessions on a diverse range of topics. It will also host a short film competition for all delegates who are participating in the Festival. The theme for the short film festival is ‘IFFI as never seen before’. The winners will be announced on 27th of November.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has constituted a 7-member committee headed by Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Sudhir Shrivastava to recommend ways to stop the custodial deaths. The formation of the panel comes in the wake of the custodial death of Aniket Kothale in Sangli city earlier in November 2017. The committee will also recommend measures so that people get proper treatment at police stations. It will also take into account the government circulars issued in the past as well as the judgments of the high court and Supreme Court.

Notes:
France will host the 2023 Rugby World Cup , according to the global governing body “World Rugby”. The country beat strong bids by South Africa and Ireland. Interestingly, the 2023 World Cup will take place in the year of the 200th anniversary of the legendary ‘invention’ of the sport by William Webb Ellis.The Rugby World Cup is a men’s rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. Japan will host the 2019 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held from September 20 to November 2.

Notes:
Dr Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, will be honoured with the 2017 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for his leadership of the country between 2004 and 2014 and for enhancing India’s stature globally. According to a statement from the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust, Dr Singh was unanimously chosen for the award by an international jury chaired by former President Pranab Mukherjee. The Trust stated that Dr Singh is only the third Indian prime minister to complete two full terms as the PM between 2004 and 2014. The award, named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was announced on the eve of Gandhi’s birth anniversary on November 19, 2017.