Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
The 2017 Constitution Day (or Samvidhan Divas) is celebrated every year in India on November 26 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. From 2015, the Government of India (GoI) is observing 26th November as Constitution Day. On the occasion of Constitution Day, in 2017, the Union Ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD) has launched a Digital Signature campaign to generate awareness on fundamental duties enshrined in the Constitution. People can join the campaign by filling a form online.

Notes:
Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has chaired the 12th Standing Committee meeting of the Inter-State Council (ISC) in New Delhi on November 25, 2017. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations. The issues discussed in meeting included, financial transfers from Centre to States, GST, devolution of functions to local bodies, district planning, special provisions for Fifth and Sixth scheduled areas, communal harmony, deployment of central forces, migration and criminal justice system. The committee also finalized 118 recommendations.

Notes:
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (IDEVAW) is observed every year on November 25 is to raise public awareness on issues of violence against women and girls, including how men and boys can play a more active role in eliminating this violence. The theme of the campaign for 2017 is “Leave no one behind: end violence against women and girls.” This theme reinforces the UNiTE Campaign’s commitment to a world free from violence for all women and girls around the world, while reaching the most underserved and marginalized, including refugees, migrants, minorities, indigenous peoples, and populations affected by conflict and natural disasters, amongst others, first.

Notes:
Sathiyan Gnanasekaran, an Indian table tennis player from Tamil Nadu, has clinched the men’s singles gold medal at the 2017 ITTF Challenge Spanish Open in Almeria, Spain. Sathiyan beat Japan’s Kazuhiro Yoshimura 11-7 3-11 11-6 6-11 13-11 11-7 in the men singles final on November 26, 2017. He is currently being supported by the Go Sports Foundation through the Rahul Dravid Athlete Mentorship Programme.

Notes:
World no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei has won the women’s singles title at the Hong Kong Super Series badminton tournament by defeating P V Sindhu in the final at Kowloon on November 26, 2017. This was Tai’s 8th win against Sindhu in 11 meetings and fourth on the trot. This is also Sindhu’s second loss in the four finals that she reached this season. She had lost to Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara at the World Championship final, while clinched two titles at India and Korea this year.

Notes:
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research. It funded by the Government of India through the Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, who is the Director General (DG) of ICMR, is a globally recognised researcher on tuberculosis and HIV. Currently, Dr. Swaminathan is in news because she will assume the charge of Deputy Director General of Programmes (DDP) at the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva in December 2017. It is the second-highest position in the WHO. Dr. Swaminathan is the daughter of agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan who is hailed as the father of the ‘Green Revolution’ in India.

Notes:
Shaktikanta Das, the former Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), has been appointed as India’s G20 Sherpa till December 31, 2018 for the Development Track of the G20 summit. There are two tracks in G-20 — Finance Track and Development Track. Finance Track is managed by the secretary (economic affairs) as India’s Deputy to G-20 and the Development Track is coordinated by the Sherpa. A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at an international Summit meeting such as the G8, G20 or the Nuclear Security Summit and are responsible for thrashing out the details before the meeting of the leaders. There is only one Sherpa per Summit for each member country; he/she is assisted by several sous Sherpas. Prior to Das, former NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya, held the responsibility of the G20 Sherpa.

Notes:
The first edition of the International Symposium to Promote Innovation & Research in Energy Efficiency (INSPIRE 2017) has started in Jaipur, Rajasthan on November 27, 2017. The 5-day symposium is being organized by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) in partnership with World Bank (WB) and Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE). INSPIRE 2017 is a global conference which aims to bring together various stakeholders like policymakers, innovators, financiers to showcase best practices in the sector. It is designed to provide global and national thought-leaders and implementers to expand perspectives on energy efficiency. Approx 350 participants from 13 countries across North America, Asia, Europe and Middle East are attending the event.

Notes:
The 7th International Military Sports Council (CISM) Military World Games will be hosted from Oct. 18 to 27, 2019 in Wuhan, capital city of central China’s Hubei Province. The games, which are top sporting gala for military personnel, consist of 329 competitions in 27 categories and are expected to attract around 8,000 participants from more than 100 countries and regions. It will be an international event with great significance and far-reaching influence and it will also be an opportunity for foreign military personnel to learn more about China and its military. The emblem consists of a dove, a star, ribbons and other elements and the mascot is called Bing Bing, the design of which is based on the Chinese sturgeon, a critically endangered fish known as the “panda in water”. The slogan is of the games is “Military glory, world peace”. The games, which were inaugurated in Rome in 1995, is a multi-sport event organized every four years by the CISM.

Notes:
Thodupuzha Vasanthi (65), the veteran Malayalam film and theatre actor, has passed away at Vazhakulam in Kerala on November 28, 2017. She was known for character roles in over 400 Malayalam movies in her four-decade-old acting career. Vasanthi was better known for her roles in God Father, Alolam and Karyam Nissaram.