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 Gautala Autramghat Sanctuary (GAS) is a protected area of Aurangabad District and Jalgaon District of Maharashtra and covers an area of 26,061.19 hectares. It houses a variety of wildlife including chinkara, nilgai, sloth bears, jungle cat, wanderoo, leopard cat, etc.

Notes:
The 2017 World Habitat Day (WHD) is observed on October 2 with theme “Housing Policies: Affordable Homes” to bring attention to UN-Habitat’s mandate to promote sustainable development policies that ensure adequate shelter for all. The purpose of day is to reflect on the state of our towns and cities, and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter. It is also intended to remind the world that we all have the power and the responsibility to shape the future of our cities and towns. The United Nations (UN) has officially designated the first Monday of October of every year as World Habitat Day.

Notes:
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment Minister, has launched SECURE Himalaya project in association with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the Global Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference in New Delhi. The purpose of the 6-year project is to secure livelihoods, conservation, sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems, which is meant for specific landscapes. It includes Changthang (Jammu and Kasmir), Lahaul – Pangi and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh), Gangotri – Govind and Darma – Byans Valley in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) and Kanchenjunga – Upper Teesta Valley (Sikkim). The focus of the project will be on protection of snow leopard and other endangered species and their habitats, while securing livelihoods of the people in the region and enhancing enforcement to reduce wildlife crime

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Year Celebrations of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) in New Delhi on October 4, 2017. The event assumes significance as it comes close on the heels of the government action of de-registering over 2.1 lakh dormant, shell companies and disqualifying over one lakh directors as part of a clean up of the corporate system and tackling the menace of shell companies. Originally, the ICSI was set up as not-for-profit organisation on 4th October 1968. In 1980, the institute was converted into a statutory professional body under an Act of Parliament, ‘The Company Secretaries Act 1980’. The headquarters of ICSI is located in New Delhi. 

Notes:
Bangladesh has signed $4.5 billion third line of credit (LoC) agreement with India for its infrastructure and social sector development on October 4, 2017. The new Indian line of credit will be used to fund 17 major projects in Bangladesh, which include electricity, railroads, roads, shipping and ports. As with previous LoC agreements, Bangladesh will pay an interest rate of 1 % a year. It will have 20 years to pay back the loans, with a grace period of five years. Under the agreement, Bangladesh would have to purchase 65 to 75% of the services, goods or works from the Indian market with the money to be provided under the third LoC following the precedence of the previous two nearly identical agreements. Bangladesh has two other LoCs open with India: the first one was signed in 2010, and the second one in 2016. These LOCs are collectively worth Tk3.06 billion, but till last year, Bangladesh government has been able to use only USD 576 million.

Notes:
Kannada journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was shot dead in Bengaluru on September 5, 2017, has been awarded a prestigious global Anna Politkovskaya Award, which is given in the memory of a slain Russian reporter and political activist. With this, she became the first person from India to receive the honour. Lankesh shared the award with Gulalai Ismail, a Pakistani peace activist who has faced death threats for speaking out against the Taliban. The award marks the 11th anniversary of the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative reporter and activist who uncovered state corruption and rights abuses, especially in Chechnya. The award is presented annually by Reach All Women in War (the RAW in WAR organisation) and honours women human rights defenders from around the world.

Notes:
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt has clinched the men’s singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series Badminton tournament on October 9, 2017. Gurusaidutt, who has been out of action since the US Open in July 2016 due to an injury, defeated Muhammed Ali Kurt in the final by 21- 17, 21-16.

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:
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, has won the 2017 China Open Tennis tournament by defeating Nick Kyrgios in the final by 6-2, 6-1 in Beijing, China. It is his 6th ATP title of the year. Nadal’s six trophies this year include a record 10th title at the French Open and a third at the US Open.