Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - October, 2017

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:
Odisha will be the ‘Focus State’ in the mega international food event “World Food India (WFI) 2017”, which is scheduled to be held at New Delhi on November 3-5. In the WFI 2017, Japan, Denmark and Germany are partner countries, and Italy & Netherlands are ‘Focus Countries’. More than 200 global companies and 41 global CEOs from 30 countries will participate and will also see 21 ministerial and business delegations. Besides, 450 domestic companies and leading Research and Development (R&D) institutes along with 95 Indian industry captains are likely to participate in WFI.

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:
The 14th South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka along with the 11th SAARC Chief Justices Conference on October 27, 2017. The three-day conference was inaugurated by Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and will see participation from South Asia’s top Judges, legal practitioners and academics. The conference provides a platform for legal professionals to meet and discuss issues of mutual interests and emerging legal trends in the South Asian countries. The conference will deal with issues like artificial intelligence, human trafficking, FDIs and environmental protection concerns. The 11th Chief Justices conference will be held tomorrow with a closed-door session attended only by the Chief Justices or their representatives.

Notes:
Punathil Kunjabdulla (77), the renowned writer and Malayalam novelist, has passed away in Kozhikode, Kerala. His works includes more than 45 books, including 7 novels, 15 short story collections, memoirs, an autobiography and travelogues. His masterpiece ‘Smarakashilakal’ published in 1977, is one of the most significant novels of all time in Malayalam. It won the both the Kerala and Central Sahitya Akademi Awards.

Notes:
The Anamalai Tiger Reserve, which is earlier known as Indira Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park (IGWLS&NP), is located in the Anaimalai Hills of Pollachi, Valparai and Udumalpet taluks of Coimbatore District and Tiruppur District, Tamil Nadu. It is home to golden jackal, leopard cat, jungle cat, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, wild boar, common langur, bonnet macaque, Asian palm civet, etc. It is also home to 15 of 16 species of birds endemic to the Western Ghats. Over 250 species of birds have been identified in the park such as cormorants, ducks, teal, darter, partridge, quail, etc.

Notes:
N.J.Gangte (IFS:1994) has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of India to the Republic of Zambia. He is presently the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs and is expected to take up his assignment shortly.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted a ministerial panel headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to oversee merger proposals of state-owned banks. The other members of the panel include Railway and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. This alternative mechanism has been set up by the government to fast-track consolidation among public sector banks to create strong lenders. The move to create large banks aims at meeting the credit needs of the growing Indian economy and building capacity in the PSB space to raise resources without dependence on the state exchequer. The mechanism will oversee the proposals coming from boards of PSBs for consolidation.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) and the World Bank (WB) has signed a $200 million Loan Agreement for the Assam Agribusiness and Rural Transformation Project. The Project will support the Government of Assam to facilitate agri-business investments, increase agriculture productivity and market access, and enable small farm holders produce crops that are resilient to recurrent floods or droughts in the state. The $200 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 7-year grace period, and a maturity of 16.5 years.

Notes:
The United Nations’s World Cities Day (WCD) is observed on October 31 to promote the international community’s interest in global urbanization, push forward cooperation among countries in meeting opportunities and addressing challenges of urbanization, and contributing to sustainable urban development around the world. This year, in 2017, the United Nations has selected the theme “Innovative Governance, Open Cities” to highlight the important role of urbanization as a source of global development and social inclusion. The general theme of World Cities Day (WCD) is ‘Better City, Better Life’, while each year a different sub-theme is selected, to either promote successes of urbanization, or address specific challenges resulting from urbanization.