Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
Arjan Singh (98), who led the Indian Air Force in the 1965 India-Pakistan War, has passed in New Delhi on September 16, 2017. Throughout the 1965 war, Singh showed exemplary leadership, and was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his leadership during the war and subsequently the rank of the CAS was upgraded to that of Air Chief Marshal. Thus, Singh became the first Air Chief Marshal of the Indian Air Force. Till date, he is the only Air Force officer to have been promoted to the five-star rank. After his retirement in July 1969, he was appointed Indian ambassador to Switzerland.

Notes:
The 13th edition of joint military training exercise “Yudh Abhyas-2017” has started between Indian and US armies at Joint Base Lewis McChord in Washington, USA on September 16, 2017. During the two week long exercise soldiers from both countries will hone their tactical skills in counter insurgency and counter terrorist operations under a joint brigade headquarter. Both sides will jointly train, plan and execute a series of well-developed tactical drills for neutralization of likely threats that may be encountered in UN peace keeping operations. Experts from both sides will hold detailed discussions to share their experience and expertise on varied operational topics.

Notes:
Mercedes Araoz, who is also a lawmaker and one of Peru’s two Vice Presidents, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Peru by the Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski on September 17, 2017. Araoz succeeded Fernando Zavala, who lost vote of confidence by lawmakers. All 19 ministers in the previous Cabinet were forced to resign under Peru’s constitution because of the no-confidence vote. Kuczynski reappointed six of the 19 ministers in the previous Cabinet.

Notes:
India have signed off with a rich haul of one gold, four silver, and three bronze medals at the Ahmet Comert Boxing Championships for youth women boxers in Istanbul, Turkey. Soniya (48kg) gave India the lone gold medal by defeating Kazakhstan’s Zhazira Urakabeva in her summit clash. The rest of the four Indian finalists settled for silver medals after going down in their respective bouts. The silver winners for India were Niharika Gonella (75kg), Shashi Chopra (57kg), Parveen (54kg), and Ankushita Boro (64kg). Earlier, Tilotama Chanu (60kg), Jyoti Gulia (48kg), Lalita (64kg) and Manisha (69kg) had to be content with bronze medals after losing their respective semifinal bouts.

Notes:
India and Sri Lanka have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to upgrade Thondaman Vocational Training Centre at Hatton located in Nuwara Eliya district of the Island nation. The up gradation of the center will be done using a grant of around Rs 9 crore from the Government of India. The project includes construction of new infrastructure facilities as well as renovation of existing building. The project also includes supply of machinery, equipment & tools for the new courses, furniture and vehicles. A total of 500 youth of Sri Lanka are expected to be trained as skilled workers with suitable skills catering to the job market annually with the completion of the project. This project is in line with Government of India’s efforts to assist and cooperate with government of Sri Lanka in the field of vocational training and skill development.

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:
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:
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:
M C Mary Kom, the five-time world champion and Olympic bronze-medallist, has become the first Indian to be picked as the International Boxing Association’s (AIBA) representative for the IOC Athletes’ Forum scheduled in November 2017. She has been invited to attend the 8th International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Forum in Lausanne from November 11th to 13th. Regarding to this, AIBA has sent an invitation letter to the Boxing Federation of India (BFI). However, the event overlaps with the Asian Championship in Vietnam, which is scheduled from November 2 to 12. If Mary Kom is selected for the tournament after trials later this month, her participation at the IOC event would become uncertain.