Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The Universal Children’s Day (UCD) is observed every year on November 20 throughout the world to promote international togetherness, awareness among children worldwide and improving children’s welfare. The 2017 theme is ‘Kids Take Over’. The day was established in 1954, offers each of us an inspirational entry-point to advocate, promote and celebrate children’s rights, translating into dialogues and actions that will build a better world for Children

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Professor Quarraisha Abdool Karim, an acclaimed South African Indian-origin AIDS researcher, has been appointed as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador for Adolescents and HIV. Professor Abdool Karim is one of the world’s leading AIDS researchers and has made pioneering contributions to understanding the HIV epidemic among young people, especially among young women. She is a strong advocate for the rights of people living with and affected by HIV. In her new role as a UNAIDS Special Ambassador, Abdool Karim will focus on adolescents and HIV, while also championing the involvement of young women in science.

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The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is observing ‘Vasectomy Fortnight’ from November 21 to raise awareness about male sterilisation and to promote the participation of men in family planning. Under this awareness campaign, all states and union territories will observe Vasectomy Fortnight till December 4, 2017 by providing quality of male sterilization services at public health facilities. The theme for this campaign is “Zimmedar Purush ki yehi hai Pehchan, Parivar Niyojan mein jo de Yogdaan”. The Vasectomy fortnight will be observed up to block level with a focus on family planning service delivery along with information, education, communication, and advocacy.

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The Union Cabinet has recently approved the setting up of the 15th Finance Commission which will assess the tax resources of the nation and suggest a formula for their devolution among states. Its recommendations will have to be in place before April 1, 2020 and will takes 2 years for Finance Commission to give its recommendations. As per Article 280 of the Constitution, the Commission is required to make recommendations on the distribution of the net proceeds of taxes between the Centre and the states. The Commission also suggests the principles which should govern the grants in aid of the revenues of the states out of the Consolidated Fund of India. The 14th Finance Commission was set up on January 2, 2013. Its recommendations cover the period from April 1, 2015 to March 31, 2020.

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The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) through the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) will conduct a multi-State mega mock exercise on tsunami preparedness on November 24, 2017. The exercise will be simultaneously conducted in 31 coastal districts across four States – West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu – and Union Territory Puducherry along the entire East Coast. The participants from 11 Pacific Island countries will observe the entire exercise to take away key lessons and best practices to be adopted while preparing for and responding to a disaster situation. The exercise is one of the various activities planned on the occasion of the 2nd World Tsunami Awareness Day (WTAD) held on November 5 this year. India’s eastern coast is susceptible to both floods and tsunamis and many coastal districts have conducted similar mock exercises for better preparedness over the years.

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The Rowa Wildlife Sanctuary (RWS) is located in Tripura and covers an area of only 0.86 square kilometres. The sanctuary is known for varies rare species plants and animals providing immense scope for the botany and zoology experts. According to statistics, the small sanctuary is a safe abode for 150 species of birds, wild beasts and primates.

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The Rajasthan government has launched an educational mobile app “Dishari” that will provide free study materials for youths preparing for competitive examinations. The app was developed by Imran Khan, a Sanskrit teacher and web developer from Alwar. The app has over 9,400 questions on topics ranging from current affairs and general knowledge to mathematics and reasoning. It will also send updates to students regarding exam forms, exams and job opportunities. The app will also provide the current Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) and National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) statuses of the colleges.

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The Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) has launched a Digital Signature campaign on Constitution Day affirming faith in Indian Constitution and to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. People can join the campaign by filling a form online. The Constitution Day is celebrated every year in India on 26 November to commemorate the adoption of Constitution of India. On this day in 1949, the Constituent Assembly of India adopted the Constitution of India, and it came into effect on 26 January 1950.

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The State Bank of India (SBI) has recently launched a unified integrated app YONO (You Need Only One) that would offer all kinds of financial and lifestyle products. The omni-channel platform will allow customers to meet their lifestyle needs across 14 categories from booking cabs to paying for medical needs — all under one roof. For this, the bank has partnered with 60 e-commerce players, including Amazon, Ola, Flipkart, Yatra, Swiggy and BYJU’s. Offline players such as Thomas Cook, Shoppers Stop and Cox and Kings are also part of the SBI partnership. The portal has been designed to offer maximum customer convenience and has been developed by SBI using artificial intelligence, predictive analysis and machine learning

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Ace shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who won four Super Series titles in 2017, has won the Sportsman of the Year award at the first edition of Indian Sports Honours (ISH) in Mumbai on November 27, 2017. Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu was the Sportswoman of the Year award in the individual sport category. In the Team Sport category. Ravichandran Ashwin, who has became the fastest bowler to reach ‘Club 300’ in Test cricket, was awarded Sportsman of the Year award while women’s cricket team skipper Mithali Raj was awarded Sportswoman of the Year award. The Indian Women’s Cricket Team, which ended as runners-up in the ICC Women’s World Cup, were named as the Team of the Year. The ISH is an initiative partnered by India skipper Virat Kohli and Sanjiv Goenka, in line with their vision to support the development of Indian sports.