Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
The 3rd edition of Women of India Organic Festival has started at Dilli Haat in New Delhi on October 1, 2017. The purpose of the 15-day festival is to promote women entrepreneurs and farmers in the organic sector. Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD) has inaugurate the festival. The theme of the festival is – Good for Women, Good for India, Good for You.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently released its 4th bi-monthly monetary policy statement for the year 2017-18. As per the monetary policy statement, the policy repo rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) has remain unchanged at 6%. The reverse repo rate, at which RBI borrows from banks will continue to be at 5.75%.

Notes:
The Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary (KWS) is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 75 square kilometers in the Terai of the Bahraich district. It is home to a number of endangered species including gharial, tiger, rhino, Gangetic dolphin, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, the white-backed and long-billed vultures.The sanctuary is one of the best places in the world for seeing the gharial in its natural habitat is the Girwa River, where it is found sympatric with the mugger.

Notes:
The 8th Conference of the Association of SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka from October 4, 2017, which is inaugurated by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. In the 3-day conference, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is leading the Indian delegation. She delivered the lead speech on the topic Association of the SAARC Speakers and Parliamentarians, a platform for the Parliamentarians of South Asia to work together to reach the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development. She is accompanied by a delegation of MPs and senior officials of Lok Sabha.

Notes:
India’s first-ever Industrial Training Institute (ITI) for the Divyangans will come up in Assam. Recently, the foundation stone for the institute was laid at Dibrugarh ITI Complex at Borboruah in Assam. As per the guidelines of National Council for Vocational Training (NCVT), the ITI will have sixty seats for three different trades with 20 seats per trade. The three different trades included in the curriculum are Computer Operator and Programming Assistant, Cutting and Sewing Technology and Hair & Skin Care.

Notes:
The HDFC Life Insurance Company has launched ‘Neo’, that uses artificial intelligence for customer service. This is the second bot put in operation by HDFC Life, after the launch of SPOK, which was an email bot to answer customer queries. The Neo bot will be available 24/7 and has the capability to authenticate customers and give frequently sought details, like fund value, sum assured and premium amount.

Notes:
The first-ever conference of Partner NGOs will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of Women & Child Development (MoWCD) Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in New Delhi on October 9, 2017. The subject of the conference is “Implementation of Policies, Schemes and Programmes for Women and Children: Challenges and Way Forward”. The aim of the conference is to sensitize partner NGOs across the country for the implementation of various WCD schemes and to give them an opportunity to share their experiences and insights. Approx 250 NGOs across the country, Line Ministries and experts will participate in the conference.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae on a petition seeking reprobe into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The matter is posted for further hearing on October 30, 2017. The petition filed by Mumbai-based Dr. Pankaj Phadnis , a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, has sought reopening of the probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of the biggest cover-ups in history. According to petition, there is possibility of involvement of more people in the murder. Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.

Notes:
Rajesh Nath, the managing director of VDMA India, has been conferred the ‘Cross of the Order of Merit’, the highest civilian honour awarded to individuals for their services to Germany. The award, also known as Bundesverdienstkreuz or Federal Cross of Merit was instituted in 1951 and is Germany’s only honour that is awarded to both Germans and foreigners for achievements in the economic, social, political or intellectual realms.

Notes:
The Uttarakhand Government and a charitable funding agency ‘Swan Cultural Center and Foundation’ launched ‘Solar Briefcase’ in Kedarnath Dham to provide electricity to far-flung areas in the hill state.