Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
The Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS) is located 10 km from the city of Jamshedpur in Jharkhand and covers an area of 195 square kilometers. It is home to elephants, barking deer, sloth bear porcupines and many other animals. Commonly seen birds in the sanctuary are the falcons, golden oriole, Indian tree pie, paradise fly catchers, grey hornbills, Indian peafowl, etc. The best time to visit is from October to June. The forest cover is denuded up to 90% because of selective pilferage by timber mafia over many years.

Notes:
Lillian Ross (99), a pioneer of literary journalism, has passed away in New York, United States. She was a staff writer at The New Yorker from 1945 until she retired. Her close narrative style defined a memorable and influential 70-year career, including a revealing portrait of Ernest Hemingway, a classic Hollywood expose and a confession to an adulterous affair.

Notes:
Amit Masurkar’s acclaimed political satire “Newton” has been selected as India’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars 2018. Rajkummar Rao played a role of Newton Kumar, a presiding officer who is determined to hold a free and fair election in a Chhattisgarh village despite the threat of Naxalite violence and all-round cynicism. The movie, produced by Drishyam Films and distributed by Eros Entertainment, also stars Pankaj Tripathi, Anjali Patil and Raghubir Yadav, and was released on September 22, 2017.

Notes:
India’s first electric bus service has launched by Himachal Pradesh Government for Rohtang Pass, a tourist destination near Manali. The electric bus, which is built by Goldstone Infratech, has been certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), after extensive testing at the parts and vehicle level. With this initiative, Himachal has become the first in the world to ply electric buses at an altitude of 13 thousand feet. These buses will ply on 51km eco fragile stretch between Manali and Rohtang. Each electric bus has a capacity to carry 30 passengers and can cover 200 km with the fully charged batteries. The fare is yet to be fixed but it would be marginally higher than diesel buses.

Notes:
The 9-day Bathukamma festival is a colourful and vibrant festival of Telangana that has started on September 20, 2017. This fest is celebrated by women with flowers that grow exclusively in each region. This festival is a symbol of Telangana’s cultural identity. On this occasion, the Telangana government has began free distribution of over one crore sarees for women below the poverty line.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sanctioned $300 million loan facility to continue a comprehensive series of fiscal reforms in West Bengal to bring about more accessible, affordable, and high quality public services. The new loan programme, which will be undertaken over two years, will carry forward reforms such as linking medium term expenditure plans to actual budgets, supported by strengthening internal audit system, and enhancements in the integrated financial management system (IFMS). Other activities under the program include improved tax monitoring and continued support for information technology systems in strengthening tax and land administration.

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:
Arun Sadhu (75), the veteran Marathi writer and journalist, passed away in Mumbai on September 25, 2017. He was known for his work Mumbai Dinank, Kakasaheb Gadgil, Simhasan and many more novels in Hindi, English and Marathi, has also won the Sahitya Academy award. He has written on rise of Shiv Sena, Vietnam War and Chinese revolution and also written several short stories. As a journalist, he has won several awards including Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, NC Kelkar and Acharya Atre award.

Notes:
The 57th National Open Athletics Championships 2017 has started at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on September 25, 2017. Around 1200 athletes from various states and departments and public sector undertakings would be taking part in the four-day meet. Besides, state teams, numerous athletes will also participate on behalf of their institutions. Among the institutions to be represented include All India Police Sports Board, ONGC, LIC, apart from the Railways and Services. The host state, Tamil Nadu, would be represented by 41 men and 35 women athletes.

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.