Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
India and Switzerland have signed two pacts for technical cooperation in the field of Railways after delegation level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting President of Swiss Confederation Doris Leuthard in New Delhi. The aim of pacts is to cooperate in the areas of traction rolling stock, EMU and Train sets, traction propulsion equipments, freight and passenger cars, etc. To boost bilateral ties, Swiss president, Doris Leuthard is on a 3-day visit to India. The visit is significant as Switzerland is the chair of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) where India has been seeking membership. The main theme of the presidential visit is the Treaty of Friendship signed between Switzerland and India in 1948, in which the two countries gave assurances of “perpetual peace” and “unalterable friendship”.

Notes:
The state-owned NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs. 3,000 crore with ICICI Bank for partially funding its capital expenditure. The loan which has a door-to-door tenure of 15 years will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of NTPC.

Notes:
The Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is located at Ponda taluka in northeastern Goa and covers an area of 8 km2. It is a popular destination for both tourists and schoolchildren. It is home to sambar deer, Indian bison, Malabar giant squirrel, Indian peafowl and many species of snakes. Bondla zoo is known for its successful breeding of gaur. The zoo provides an excellent environment to breed and do research on animals.

Notes:
Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat, has been formally accorded the status of India’s first World Heritage City (WHC) by UNESCO. Irina Bokova, the Director General of UNESCO, has handed over the certificate declaring Ahmedabad as a ‘World Heritage City’ to Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in Gandhinagar on September 1, 2017. The 606-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah on the eastern bank of the Sabarmati River, presents a rich architectural heritage. It has 28 Archaeological Survey of India’s centrally protected monuments. The city was also the center for India’s non-violent freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. In July 2017, the UN agency had inscribed Ahmedabad as India’s first World Heritage City (WHC) at the 41st session of UNESCO’s world heritage committee at Krakow in Poland.

Notes:
Raj Kumar Singh has recently take charge as new Union Minister of State (IC) in Ministries of Power & New & Renewable Energy after latest reshuffle in the Union Cabinet on September 3, 2017. He succeeded Piyush Goyal, who is now Cabinet Minister for Railways. Singh is the Member of Parliament (MP) from Arrah Lok Sabha constituency. Singh is also the Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.

Notes:
The Assam government has recently set up a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Cell for implementation of DBT across schemes in the Country and to coordinate efforts at the State Level in taking the DBT initiative forward with immediate effect. The Chief Secretary will be the chairman of the cell and the Additional Chief Secretary/Principal Secretary, Finance Department will be the convenor. The Cell will Coordinate with Central Ministries & disseminate the directives to the respective Departments in States. It will closely monitor & evaluate the progress of various Departments on DBT related indicators and in addition, the Cell will also function as the research unit to explore possibility of using information technology for better service delivery across range of Govt. Services in the State.

Notes:
The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) has started at Russky Island, which is part of Russia’s city of Vladivostok, on September 6-7, 2017. The delegates from at least 24 countries including the US, Japan, China, Australia, Canada, Britain and Germany are attending the gathering. From India, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is attending the forum. The EEF is considered as the biggest international communication platform for cooperation between businesses leaders and senior government representatives from Russia, the Pacific Region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Notes:
The book “How India Sees the World: Kautilya to the 21st Century” has been authored by former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, which is launched by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on September 6, 2017. The book records the crucial meeting of the CCS (Cabinet Committee on Security) on the eve of India-Pakistan Defence Secretary-level talks in May 2006.

Notes:
The Kalesar National Park (KNP) is a protected area in Yamunanagar district of Haryana and covers 13,000 acres. It is a popular destination for Leopard and home to red jungle fowl among other birds. Other animals recorded were leopard cat, rusty-spotted cat, jungle cat, Indian jackal, Asiatic elephant, chital, sambar, barking deer, etc.

Notes:
India’s first Hyperloop project will come up in Andhra Pradesh, which will connect the city centres of Vijayawada and Amaravati. It will supposedly cover the distance of over 35 km only in five minutes. The Andhra Pradesh – Economic Development Board (AP-EDB) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyperloop Transportation Technologies (HTT) for developing the project. The Hyperloop Technology is a brainchild idea of Tesla founder Elon Musk, who dubs it as the 5th mode of transportation. It is a system of magnetically levitating capsules (pods) that are sent at high speeds through low-pressure tubes.