Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
Sergio Ramirez Mercado, the Nicaraguan author and former politician, has won the 2017 Cervantes Prize, the Spanish-speaking world’s highest literary honor. He has written more than 20 novels, including “Margarita, esta linda la mar” (Margarita, How Beautiful the Sea), which won Spain’s prestigious Alfaguara award in 1998. The 125,000-euro ($148,000) Cervantes Prize is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. It is named after Miguel de Cervantes, author of Don Quixote.

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Jana Novotna (49), a professional tennis player from the Czech Republic, has passed away in Brno, Czech Republic on November 19, 2017. She won the women’s singles title at Wimbledon in 1998, 12 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles and four mixed doubles titles. She was also inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2005. She reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 2 in 1997, and achieved the No. 1 ranking in doubles.

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Popular Bengali writer Nabaneeta Dev Sen has been has been declared winner of the 2017 Big Little Book Award in the “Author in Bengali Language” category for her contribution to the children’s literature. The Big Little Book Award, a first-of-its-kind initiative in India, seeks to recognise and honour authors and illustrators who have contributed to children’s literature that are global in appeal and contextual in nature. The award has been instituted under Parag initiative of Tata Trusts to promote children’s literature.

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The sixth edition of India’s premier open water swimming competition ” Swimmathon” will be held at Colva beach in South Goa on December 3, 2017. The event had been accredited by the Swimming Federation of India (SFI) as the national selection trials. This year, the event will have four categories for both men and women. Around 1000 participants are expected to participate in the event across various categories.

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Veteran journalist Manik Banerjee, who is also an acclaimed mountaineer, has been conferred with the 2017 Nain Singh-Kishen Singh Life Time Achievement (LTA) award by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) on November 19 for his achievements in mountaineering over a period of four decades and invaluable contribution in promotion of mountaineering. Beside him, Lt col RS Jamwal was presented the IMF Gold Medal. Lt. Col Jamwal has the distinction of reaching the top of Mt. Everest thrice (in 2013, 2016 and 2017) besides climbing many other peaks in Indian Himalaya.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
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 European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is an international financial institution founded in 1991. Its headquarters are located in London, England.

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David Cassidy (67), the teen and pre-teen idol who starred in the 1970s sitcom ‘The Partridge Family’, and sold millions of records as the musical group’s lead singer, has passed away in Florida, United States on November 21, 2017.

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Nine States and the Union territory of Lakshadweep have entered into collaboration with the Film Facilitation Office (FFO) of Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry and National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) to showcase their shooting locations to filmmakers from India and abroad. These States are Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Karnataka and Delhi. The Film Offices of these States entered into collaboration with FFO and NFDC at Film Bazaar, which was organized under the banner of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) at Panaji in Goa. The focus of the 5-day event of Film Bazaar was on discovering, supporting and showcasing South Asian content and talent in filmmaking, production and distribution. The headquarters of NFDC is located in Mumbai to encourage high quality Indian cinema.