Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
The 2017 South Asian Boxing Championship (SABC) will be held in Guwahati, Assam from December 6 to 10. This is first time India will host the championship, which will see a potential blockbuster clash against arch-rivals Pakistan besides other SAARC countries — Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, among others. Apart from this, the Boxing Federation of India (BFI) has announced that India will also host the ‘India International Open tournament’ in New Delhi on January 2017.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has recently signed MoU with South Korea in Seoul for increased co-operation in infrastructure projects like development of smart cities, roads, airports and metros. The MoU is to help with implementation strategy, legal systems, policies, technologies and information in infrastructure development. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is on a three-day tour to South Korea and Singapore.

Notes:
The Odisha Government has launched Sishu Abond Matru Mrityuhara Purna Nirakaran Abhijan (Sampurna) Yojna for pregnant women, in Odisha. Under the scheme, the state government will provide Rs.1,000 as transport cost for pregnant women to travel to the hospital. The main purpose of this scheme is to reduce the death ration of the newborn child and mother mortality rate. Around 7853 villages will be covered under the scheme. This scheme will be implemented in the areas where 102/108 ambulances cannot reach.

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The World Maritime Day (WMD) is observed every year on September 29 to acknowledge the maritime industry and to highlight the importance of shipping safety, maritime security, and the marine environment. The 2017 theme ‘Connecting Ships, Ports and People’ was chosen to provide an opportunity to focus on the many diverse actors involved in the shipping and logistics areas. The aim of theme is to focus on helping International Maritime Organization (IMO) member states to develop and implement maritime strategies to invest in a joined-up, interagency approach.

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India has been ranked the 40th out of 137 countries at the 2017 Global Competitiveness Index (GCI), which is compiled by the World Economic Forum (WEF). According to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) 2017-2018, India’s performance improved in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) indicators, particularly Internet bandwidth per user, mobile phone and broadband subscriptions, and Internet access in schools. The list is topped by Switzerland, followed by United States, Singapore, Netherlands and Germany. The GCI is prepared on the basis of country-level data covering 12 categories or pillars of competitiveness viz. Institutions, infrastructure, macroeconomic environment, health and primary education, higher education and training, etc.

Notes:
The 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF-2017) will be held in Chennai, Tamil Nadu from October 13-16. The festival is being organised by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).Top scientists from the government are expected to participate in the four-day festival at IIT-Chennai.The event will be jointly inaugurated by science and technology ministers of Nepal, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Portugal.

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NITI Aayog will host the 8th annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES 2017) in partnership with the USA, which is scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from November 28 to 30. The 2017 theme “Women First, Prosperity for All” will celebrate entrepreneurship in all its strength, diversity and entirety. The four primary focus areas of GES 2017 are Health Care and Life Sciences, Digital Economy and Financial Technology, Energy and Infrastructure, and Media and Entertainment. The 2017 summit will empower Indian entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, build partnerships, secure funding, and create innovative products and services that will transform societies for a better future. It will not only bring global best practices to India, but will also create an irreplaceable place for India in the global entrepreneurial ecosystem.

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The 14th India-EU Summit will be held in New Delhi from October 5-7, 2017. During the summit, both sides are expected to discuss a host of key issues including ways to remove hurdles for the long-pending free trade agreement. The president of the European Council (EC) Donald Franciszek Tusk, and the president of the European Commission (EC) Jean-Claude Juncker, will attend the summit. The European Union (EU) is India’s largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods at USD 88 billion in 2016. The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and technologies.

Notes:
The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Vihaan Networks Limited (VNL) have signed MoU to launch “Relief 123” service to provide disaster management in India. The “Relief 123” service is an integrated disaster response solution for first responders and public safety agencies. The solution is designed and manufactured by VNL and the backhaul connectivity will be provided by BSNL. The “Relief 123” is based on “ResQMobil”, an integrated portable communication solution which packs in the required hardware into a portable transportable trailer-on-wheels. The service will restore connectivity at disaster sites, help locate the affected people and integrate information across platforms for quick relief. The model can also be scaled for SAARC countries, wherein BSNL would have roaming agreements with local mobile service operators.

Notes:
IDBI Bank has launched ‘Project Nishchay’ in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to accelerate its turnaround program and improve financial performance. The project will be led by senior management at IDBI Bank along with BCG. As part of the initiative, IDBI bank will focus on four key areas – revenue enhancement, cost control & reduction, asset productivity and overall program management in consultation with BCG.