Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
Banwarilal Purohit, a veteran political leader from Vidarbha district of Maharashtra, has been sworn-in as the new Governor of Tamil Nadu in a function held at Raj Bhavan in Chennai on October 6, 2017. Mr Purohit was sworn in as the State’s 20th Governor. The Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee administered the oath of office and secrecy to him.

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:
Filmmaker Kundan Shah (69), the director of the romantic drama ‘Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa’, has passed away in Mumbai on October 7. He is most known for his comedy classic ‘Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro’ and his 1985–1986, TV series Nukkad with Saeed Akhtar Mirza. He will be remembered for his wonderful usage of humour and satire to showcase the life & struggles of common citizens.

Notes:
The Union Government has set up a study group to examine the problems being faced by the people living near the International Border (IB) and the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) due to ever-present threat of cross-border firing from Pakistan. The group will meet people living in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, security forces deployed there, district administration officials and local public representatives and submit its report within two months. Special secretary in the home ministry Rina Mitra will head the team. The study group will look into broadly three issues – demand for land for relocation in case of shelling, construction of more bunkers and compensation issues related to shelling. The panel will prepare a detailed report on the issues being faced by the people living near the IB and the LoC and submit recommendations. India shares a 3,323-km long border with Pakistan of which 221 km IB and 740 km LoC fall in J&K.

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:
Indian shuttler Samiya Imad Farooqui from Hyderabad has clinched gold at the Under-15 women’s singles competition after defeating Indonesia’s Widjaja Stephani at the Asian Junior Championship in Yangon, Myanmar on October 9, 2017. Earlier, P V Sindhu had won the gold in U-19 Asia Junior championship in 2012 at Gimcheon, South Korea.

Notes:
IIT-Kharagpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Samsung India for the setting up of a digital academy on the institute’s campus. The Department of Computer Science and Engineering in the institute will host the Samsung Innovation Lab and train students on the Internet of Things (IoT) through Tizen-based operating systems, commonly used by the company for its mobile phones and home appliances. The academy was a part of Samsung’s corporate social initiative that aims at bridging the digital divide in the country by imparting skills to students on cutting-edge technology, Through this partnership with IIT-KGP, the academy planned to train over 100 students in the next three years. The course would be taught over 14 weeks through classroom lectures, assignments, lab room sessions, self-study and mini projects.

Notes:
The World Bank (WB), in its biannual economic update “South Asia Economic Focus (Fall 2017)”, has reduced India’s GDP growth forecast to 7.0% for 2017-18 from 7.2% estimated earlier. As per report, the unexpected slowdown in India’s growth story is because of the delayed consequence of demonetization, sharp decline in the growth rate of public expenditures and uncertainty created by the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Apart from WB, Both the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have also cut their growth projections for India to 7% and 6.7%, respectively, for fiscal 2017-18.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently released its October 2017 World Economic Outlook. In it, IMF slashed India’s growth forecast by 0.5% points to 6.7% in FY 18 due to the lingering effects of disruption caused by demonetisation and transition costs of GST. Earlier, in April, the IMF had pegged India’s GDP growth at 7.2% for FY18. It has also lowered the growth projection for FY 19 ( 2018-19) to 7.4% from its earlier estimate in April and June of 7.7%. Though, the IMF was more optimistic about medium-term growth prospects for India through gains from the new indirect tax levy. Apart from IMF, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also lowered its growth projection to 6.7% for the current financial year from its earlier estimate of 7.3% due to adverse impact on economic growth by the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Notes:
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, the 1988 batch of IFS officer, has been appointed as the new Ambassador to Principality of Monaco, with residence in Paris. He will take his assignment shortly. Presently, he is Ambassador of India to France.