Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

Notes:
The Search-cum-Selection Committee headed by Prasar Bharati Chairman A Surya Prakash has been formed to select the candidate for the post of editor-in-chief of Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV). The other members of the 5-member committee are Rajya Sabha MP Swapan Dasgupta, Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Additional Secretary (Personnel) in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat PPK Ramacharyulu and journalist Rahul Srivastava. Rajya Sabha TV is owned and operated by the Upper House of Parliament and the vice-president is its chairman.

Notes:
The National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) Tiruchi has recently signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Andhra Pradesh government to develop technologies relating to banana production. As per the agreement, NRCB will be the knowledge partner in developing technologies towards value chain management, supporting banana export, organic production and waste utilisation. It will provide training, human resource development and hand hold growers and entrepreneurs to promote indigenous and commercial varieties for domestic and export markets. NRCB is an institution under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Notes:
The World Development Information Day (WDID) is observed every year on October 24 to draw the attention of the world to development problems and the necessity of strengthening international cooperation to solve them.

Notes:
The Topchanchi Wildlife Sanctuary (TWS) is located in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand and covers an area of 8.75 Sq. Km. It is home to Leopard, Jungle Cat, Cheetal, Barking Deer, Wild Boar, Mongoose, Langur, Jackal, Fox, Wild Dog, etc. The Topchanchi Lake increases the richness of the habitat and is visited by migratory winter birds such as pochards, red crested pochards and coots. The forests here are of Dry Mixed Deciduous type with Dry Peninsular Sal in Baneshpur and Bawardaha, the other tree species being Asan, Bijasal, Dhow, Semal, Kendu, Piar, Karam, Siris, Sidha etc. The grassland and bamboo crops are also present.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of AYUSH hosted the first-ever meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine (BITFM) on October 24-25, 2017 at Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi. India being a major stake holder in the field of Traditional Medicine plays an important role in influencing the policies and strategies related to the Traditional Medicine in the BIMSTEC Forum. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an International Organisation involving a group of countries in the South Asia and South East Asia namely, Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Notes:
The 2017 Vigilance Awareness Week (VAW) will be observed by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) from 30th October to 4thNovember, 2017 with theme “My Vision-Corruption Free India”. The Vice President of India Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will be the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Function to be held on 30th October 2017. The purpose of observing VAW is to educate the public at large about the corruption related practices and also educating them how to report about it.

Notes:
The global conference on consumer protection has inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on October 26, 2017 with theme “Empowering Consumers in New Markets”. This is the first time that an international conference on consumer protection is being organised by India for countries of the region which account for a majority of the global consumers and share common challenges and experiences. The 2-day conference will deliberate upon steps taken by Asian countries to implement the United Nations guidelines on consumer protection as well as challenges faced by consumers of financial services and e-commerce. Experts from different countries and India will present their papers and views. Twenty two countries from East, South and South-East Asia are participating in the conference. These include China, South Korea, Singapore, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Notes:
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is observed every year on October 27 to raise general awareness of the need to preserve and safeguard important audiovisual material for future generations, and for urgent measures to be taken to conserve this heritage and ensure it remains accessible to the public now, and to future generations. The 2017 theme is “Discover, remember and share”.

Notes:
Chile has been named the best country to visit in 2018 by Lonely Planet in its ‘Best in Travel 2018’ list and is followed by South Korea, Portugal, Djibouti and New Zealand. Apart from this, Belfast and the Causeway coast of Northern Ireland has been named by Lonely Planet as the best region to visit in 2018, while Seville of Spain has been named as best city to visit in 2018.

Notes:
Dr Digamber Singh, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, has passed away in Jaipur, Rajasthan on October 27, 2017. He served as cabinet minister in Government of Rajasthan led by Vasundhara Raje. He represented Deeg-Kumher constituency of Bharatpur district in the assembly. He is currently President of “Bees Sutri Karyakram” and has a status of Cabinet Minister.