Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
The joint military exercise “Iron Union 5” will start between United States and United Arab Emirates (UAE) exercise in Abu Dhabi on September 23, 2017 to consolidate their bilateral relations and exchange training and military expertise. The purpose of the exercise is to upgrade and boost the readiness of the UAE’s armed forces and to allow both armies to promote their international co-operation in joint military operations.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released its first tranche of emergency funding of $ 175,000 to provide essential medicines and life-saving healthcare to the vulnerable population in Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar that has witnessed an influx of thousands of Rohingyas from Myanmar. The WHO grant will support 20 mobile medical teams to provide essential services for at least two months. The grant is also being used to procure essential medicines and medical supplies to be distributed to pre-existing health facilities in Cox’s Bazar area. The WHO is also working closely with International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and other health partners in ensuring that adequate health services are provided to the vulnerable population.

Notes:
The first ‘BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise- 2017’ (BIMSTEC DMEx-2017) will be conducted by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) as the lead agency from October 10-13, 2017 in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). This exercise will be a platform for sharing best practices on all aspects of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), strengthening regional response and coordination for Disaster Management among the BIMSTEC member countries. The main focus of the exercise will be on testing the region’s preparedness and resilience towards effective activation of inter-Governmental interaction/dialogue/agreements for immediate deployment of regional resources for disaster response. The delegates from all 7 nations of the BIMSTEC grouping, – namely Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand are participating in the event.

Notes:
N. Chandrababu Naidu, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, has launched ‘People First’ mobile application at the Collectors’ conference in Vijayawada. The app will empower citizens with real-time governance. It will keep the citizens updated with the latest schemes and services of the government and the users will also be able to use the app for registering their complaints. The registered complaints will be addressed as soon as possible and selected complaints will be directly monitored by the chief minister himself.

Notes:
B Sambamurthy, the former Director and CEO of the Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), has been appointed as new interim Chairman of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). He will succeed M Balachandran, who was Non-Executive Chairman of NPCI from September 23, 2013 till September 20, 2017. Prior to the appointment, he was the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Corporation Bank.

Notes:
Jake LaMotta (95), the legendary American boxer, has passed away in Aventura, Florida. He was given the nickname “The Raging Bull” for his aggressive style in the ring, and was portrayed by Robert De Niro in the film Raging Bull, which examined his tumultuous life outside of the ring. The film, directed by Martin Scorsese, is considered one of the greatest sports movies of all time and one of the best films ever made.

Notes:
The joint military training exercise “Panda-Kangaroo 2017” was held between Chinese and Australian ground forces in Kunming, capital of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, from September 10 to 20. The exercise is an important platform for enhancing the mutual understanding and trust and deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries. This is the first joint training held in China by Chinese and Australian armies. The two ground forces have conducted such joint training in 2015 and 2016 in Australia.

Notes:
Rajiv Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has taken charge as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on September 25, 2017 and will have tenure of about three years. He administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan. He succeeded Shashi Kant Sharma. The CAG is appointed for a term of six years or till the incumbent attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. As a constitutional functionary, the CAG is primarily entrusted with the responsibility of auditing the accounts of the Union government and of the state governments. Prior to this post, Mehrishi was Home Secretary of Government of India (GoI). He had held several posts in both his state cadre Rajasthan and in the Centre. He also served as Economic Affairs Secretary and Chief Secretary of Rajasthan.

Notes:
The Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is a wildlife sanctuary and estuary situated in Andhra Pradesh. It covers an area of 235.7 square kilometers. It is the second largest stretch of mangrove forests in India with 24 mangrove tree species and more than 120 bird species. It is home to the critically endangered white-backed vulture and the long billed vulture.

Notes:
Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, has launched the beta version of an accessible and comprehensive mobile App “Divyang Sarathi” in New Delhi for easy information dissemination to Divyangjans. The unique features of the App are its audio notes embedded in it which converts the written information into an audio file. The purpose of the mobile app is to provide all relevant information pertaining to the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, including its various Acts, rules, regulations and guidelines, schemes and information about the various outreach institutions, employment opportunities in an accessible format.