Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
Dr Jitendra Singh, the Minister of State for Public Grievances and Pensions, will inaugurate the first Pension Adalat in New Delhi on September 20, 2017. The Pension Adalats is being convened with the objective of bringing the aggrieved pensioner, the concerned department, the bank on a common table so that such cases can be settled within the framework of extant rules. Dr Singh will also award the pensioners for their outstanding contribution towards Anubhav- a platform for retiring employees for sharing their experience of working with government. The workshop on Pre-Retirement Counseling (PRC) of 300 retiring central government employees is also scheduled to be held. The objective of this workshop is to create awareness about the post-retirement entitlements as well as an advance planning for life after retirement.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted a GST Committee on Exports headed by revenue secretary Dr Hasmukh Adhia to look into issues of export sector and to recommend suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario to the GST Council. On September 19, the Adhia – headed panel is meeting in New Delhi to deliberate on the issues faced by the industry under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and holding discussion with representatives from 8 export promotion associations the difficulties faced by the exporters. Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia is also attending the meet. The panel is mandated to recommend to the GST Council a suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST set-up.

Notes:
Tripura has become the India’s first state to set up family welfare district committees to examine the complaints of women against their husbands, in-laws and relatives of the husband and to find an amicable solution through negotiation. The Tripura High Court is the first high court among 24 high courts of the country that has constituted the family welfare district committees. The new system would be valid for the next six months and after that National Legal Services Authority (NLSA) would submit a report of its performance to the apex court, on the basis of which a new course of action would be decided.

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:
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:
Qatar Airways has become the world’s first Airline to launch double beds in its brand new business class suite “Qsuite” from London to Doha in Qatar. Such suites will allow passengers to recline two middle seats into a fully flat bed and features partition panels to create a private bedroom with two entertainment screens inside. This new initiative marks a world-first for the industry and looks to set a precedent for rival carriers. Qatar Airways has launched the feature on a daily Boeing 777 service from London Heathrow.

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:
P Alli Rani has been appointed the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) Ltd. Presently, she is Director (Finance) in Container Corporation of India (CCI) Ltd. According to Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), Rani has been appointed to the post for a period of five years.

Notes:
The Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS) is located in Wayanad, Kerala and covers an area of 344 square kilometers. It is home to elephants, tigers, panthers, jungle cats, civet cats, monkeys, wild dogs, bisons, deer, bears, etc. The sanctuary is one of the safest havens for different species of vultures like the White-rumped Vultures and the Red-headed Vultures. It is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

Notes:
Dharmendra Pradhan, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, has launched a nation-wide ‘Pradhan Mantri LPG Panchayat’ at Mota Ishanpur village in Gandhinagar district of Gujarat on September 23, 2017. The new scheme is a backup to the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana to distribute LPG connections among the rural areas where conventional fuel is used for domestic purposes. The purpose of the LPG Panchayat is to spread awareness among the LPG users about how to properly use the clean fuel and its many benefits. Under the scheme, one lakh LPG Panchayats will be activated across the country during the next one and a half years. The idea of this platform is to trigger a discussion through sharing of personal experiences on the benefits of use of clean fuel compared to traditional fuels like cowdung, charcoal or wood. India has over 21 crore LPG connections, with 51% reach in the rural areas and nearly 100% penetration across the urban centres.