Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
The 3-day International Hindu Conference has started in Kathmandu, Nepal with the theme of ‘Emerging spiritualism: Renaissance of Hinduism’ on August 31, 2017. The aim of the conference is to make Kathmandu the global capital of Hinduism. Approx 500 Hindu scholars, religious leaders, Hindu activists and officials from different countries including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the US and the UK are are taking part in the conference. The conference will discuss papers on various contemporary issues including, scientific basis of Hinduism, climate change and global warming.

Notes:
Shirish Pai (88), the renowned Marathi poet and activist, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on September 2, 2017. She was credited with introducing ‘Haiku’ to the Marathi speaking world. Pai was the daughter of noted writer-journalist ‘Acharya’ Pralhad Keshav Atre. She started writing ‘Haiku’ in 1975. She studied Japanese ‘Haiku’, its origin and nature and published five Marathi ‘Haiku’ books. Ms. Pai also translated some Japanese ‘Haiku’ from English to Marathi. She also worked as a journalist in the Maratha newspaper and participated in the ‘Samyukta Maharashtra’ (United Maharashtra) movement.

Notes:
Piyush Goyal has been appointed as the new Union Minister of Railways after latest Union cabinet reshuffle on September 3, 2017. He succeeded Suresh Prabhu, who has become the new Union Minister of Commerce and Industry. Prabhu resigned from the post after a series of train accidents in August 2017. Apart from Railways, Piyush Goyal retains the Ministry of coal. Along with Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Nirmala Sitharaman and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were promoted to the cabinet rank.

Notes:
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has been promoted as Cabinet Minister and got additional charge of Union Ministry of Skill Development after latest Union cabinet reshuffle on September 3, 2017. In the latest reshuffle, four Union ministers were promoted to Cabinet rank and nine new Ministers of state were inducted in the Union Council of Ministers. Excerpts are as follows: Nirmala Sitharaman has been appointed as new Union Defence Minister while Piyush Goyal is the new Rail Minister in addition to Coal. Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has been elevated to the Cabinet rank. Suresh Prabhu is now new Commerce Minister, while Nitin Gadkari has been given additional charge of Water resources.

Notes:
Nepal has recently signed a $635 million United Nations (UN) assistance package for 2018-2022 to lay out the country’s development strategy for the next five years. The package involving 26 individual UN agencies, spans interventions aimed at assisting in four broad areas: inclusive economic growth, social development, resilience, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, and governance, rule of law and human rights. The National Planning Commission, apex advisory body of the Government of Nepal, and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Nepal signed the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF). The UNDAF will lay out the development strategy for the UN Country Team for the next five years.

Notes:
The Jaldapara National Park (JNP) is located at the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar District of northern West Bengal and on the banks of the Torsa River. It is home to Indian leopard, Indian elephants, sambar, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, wild boars, gaur, etc. Jaldapara is a paradise for bird watchers. It is one of the very few places in India, where the Bengal florican is sighted. The other birds to be found here are the crested eagle, Pallas’s fish eagle, shikra, Finn’s weaver, jungle fowl, peafowl (peacock), partridge, and lesser pied hornbill. Pythons, monitor lizards, kraits, cobras, geckos, and about eight species of fresh water turtles can also be found here.

Notes:
The 2-day event ‘North East Calling’ will be organized by the Union government under its Destination North East series at India Gate lawns in New Delhi on September 9, 2017. The purpose of the event is to promote the art, culture, handicrafts, business and tourism of North East India. The event will showcase all activities and products of North-East and the entry for the general public is free. The event will include music festival for bands of North-East, Cultural night for dances of North-East and Handloom Demo Show presenting the clothes of North-East.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has constituted an Expert Task Force to provide a major thrust to job creation by enhancing India’s exports. It will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar. The panel will give recommendations on sector-specific policy interventions in key employment sectors and measures to enhance trade in services with high employment potential. It will also propose a comprehensive plan of action to generate employment and alleviate under-employment in both goods and services sectors and low wages by boosting India’s exports in key labour-intensive industries. Members of the Task force include CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretaries of Departments of Commerce, Industrial Policy and Promotion, Economic Affairs and Textiles. Leading economists and industry experts are also members of the Task Force, which will submit its report by November 2017.

Notes:
Dr Inder Jit Singh, the 1985 batch IAS officer, has been given additional charge of the post of Chairperson of National Authority Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) with immediate effect. He is an Additional Secretary in Cabinet Secretariat. According to a release issued by Ministry of Personnel stated that the Mr Singh will hold this additional charge until further orders. The NACWC has been established under the Chemical Weapons Convention Act, 2000 for implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction. Its’ headquarters is located at Cabinet Secretariat in New Delhi.

Notes:
The Gujarat Government and Gujarat Milk Marketing Federation-Amul have recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to save the children of anganwadi from malnutrition. According to the MOU, under the ‘Take Home Ration’, district dairies in cooperation with the Gujarat milk marketing federation will provide nutritive foods to more than 42-lakh children of more than 53 thousand anaganwadis, pregnant-mothers, lactating mothers and young girls. Apart from this, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has flagged off statewide ‘Narmada Mahotsav Yatra’ from Surendranagar district to create awareness about the importance of increased water supply from Narmada canal-based projects in different parts of the state. The 10 days long Narmada Mahotsav Yatra will end at Dabhoi- in Narmada district in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his birthday on 17th September.