Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - November, 2017

Notes:
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.

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:
Rajkummar Rao has won the best actor award for his movie “Newton” at the most prestigious 11th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA-2017). Beside this, the best screenplay award was also goes Amit V Masurkar and Mayank Tewari for “Newton”. Newton is India’s official entry for the foreign language film category at the Academy Awards 2018. The movie is produced by Drishyam Films and directed by Masurkar. It revolves around a young government clerk who is sent on election duty to a Maoist-controlled town and how the ideological struggle puts him in an awkward situation.

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:
Pradeep Singh Kharola, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre, has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. He will succeed Rajiv Bansal, who has been serving as the interim CMD for a little over 3 months. Currently, Mr. Kharola is the Managing Director of Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.

Notes:
Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan has been conferred with the 3rd Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Distinguished Indologist Award -2017 by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, for his exemplary contribution to Indology at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. Professor Marui has spent over 40 years working on Indian philosophy and Buddhist Studies. His many acclaimed publications and research papers are considered a final authority on several subjects the world over.

Notes:
Mirabai Chanu from Manipur has become the first Indian in over two decades to claim a gold medal at the International Weightlifting Federation World Weightlifting Championship (IWFWWC) in Anaheim, USA on November 30, 2017. Chanu lifted 85kg in snatch and 109kg in clean and jerk to total an impressive 194kg in the women’s 48kg, in the process setting a new national record. Two decades earlier, Olympic bronze medalist Karnam Malleshwari had won the top prize in worlds twice – in 1994 and 1995.

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:
India’s first crypto-currency exchange “Coinome” has been launched by Mumbai-based payment gateway Billdesk. Coinome is incorporated under Hatio Innovations Pvt. Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of BillDesk. It will allow users to be on-boarded via Instant e-KYC. It means that users can start transacting in crypto-currencies almost immediately upon registering. The exchange supports instant deposits using payment gateway and instant withdrawals, thereby allowing transactions even on weekends or business holidays. Currently, Coinome offers the trading of Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash, but the exchange plans to support 20 mainstream crypto-currencies by 2018.