Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
The Karnataka government has recently decided to provide free education for girls across the state from Class 1 up to graduation in all public and aided private schools and colleges, excluding professional institutions. The scheme will be able to avail free education without paying a penny from the next academic year. According to officials, the government would reimburse all fees except examination fees of girl students of Class 1 to graduation level, irrespective of their family’s annual income. The students will have to pay the fees first and the same would be reimbursed by the government. The entire tuition fee will be reimbursed, according to the minister. The purpose of the scheme is to help underprivileged and lower middle-class sections of the state. Currently, the girls are given free education in government schools and colleges up to undergraduate level in the state. Karnataka is not the only state in India to start this grand scheme. Telangana and Punjab have also launched similar schemes. Telangana has announced free education for girls from kindergarten to post-graduation, and Punjab has extended the scheme until PhD.

Notes:
J Y Pillay, an Indian-origin veteran civil servant, has been appointed as the acting president of Singapore. He succeeded Tony Tan Keng Yam, who completed a six-year term. He will act as the president until after polling day on Septemeber 23 – or after nomination day on September 13, if a candidate is elected unopposed. According to the report, this is the first time the office has fallen vacant since the elected presidency was introduced in 1991.

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:
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:
Lewis Hamilton, a British racing driver who races in Formula Onefor the Mercedes AMG Petronas team, has won the 2017 Italian Formula One Grand Prix tournament on September 3, 2017 at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in Monza, Italy.

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:
Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra has become the first Indian woman ambassador for Tourism Australia to encourage Indians to visit the country. She was presented the Friend of Australia (FOA) recognition by Australian Consul General Tony Huber for her contribution to promote Australia recently. Prior to Chopra, famous chef Sanjeev Kapoor and cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle have been great advocates for Australia, encouraging Indians to visit Australia.

Notes:
Gauri Lankesh, the noted journalist and activists, was shot dead at her Rajarajeshwari Nagar’s residence in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 5, 2017. She was the editor of popular Kannada tabloid Lankesh Patrike founded by her father and well-known writer P Lankesh. Lankesh was also part of a panel formed by State government to help surrender Naxals to reform. She was known to be a notable social and political commentator and acclaimed for her lifelong support for free speech and strong journalistic ethics, her works were popular in all quarters, her critics alike. The state government has formed a three team comprising of senior police officer to investigate the crime. AIR correspondent reports that killing of senior journalist known for her out spoken views, is being compared with the murder of rationalist, liberal thinkers, M M Kulburgi, Pansare and Dabholkar in recent years. Several associations of writers and journalists are holding protest in the state demanding immediate arrest of the perpetrators of crime.

Notes:
Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and K Sanjita Chanu has recently qualified for 2018 Commonwealth Games after winning a gold each in their respective weight categories (48kg & 53kg) at the Commonwealth Senior (men & women) weightlifting championships at Gold Coast in Australia. Mirabai lifted 85kg in snatch and 104kg in clean & jerk for an overall total of 189kg to finish on top of the podium in women’s 48kg weight division. She broke Commonwealth record in snatch event with a lift of 85kg, bettering her own record by one kilogram. Meanwhile, Sanjita also bagged the yellow metal in women’s 53kg with a total effort of 195kg and qualified for the Commonwealth Games which would be held at the same venue next year.

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.