Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

Notes:
Prime minister Narendra Modi has recently constituted Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (PMEAC) under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy. The 5-member Economic Advisory Council (EAC) will address the issues of macroeconomic importance. The council will also analyse and advise the Prime Minister on any issue, economic or otherwise, referred by him. Besides Debroy, the council includes NITI Aayog’s principal adviser Ratan Watal as its member and economists Surjit Bhalla, Rathin Roy and Ashima Goyal as part-time members.

Notes:
Manoj Sinha, the Union Minister of Communication, will launch the first-ever India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2017, which is scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi from 27th September till 29thSeptember 2017. It is being organised by Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) with support of the ministries like the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Skill Development and Entrepreneurship amongst others and will see participation from senior government representatives from the centres as well as various states.

Notes:
Joao Manuel Goncalves Lourenco, the leader of People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), has been officially sworn-in as the new President of Angola on September 26, 2017. With this, he became the first new leader in the oil-rich southern African nation in almost four decades. He succeeded Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power since 1979. Lourenco will be Angola’s first head of state to be constitutionally limited to serving two five-year terms.

Notes:
Sumit Nagal from India has won gold medal in the men’s singles tennis event of Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games with a dominating win over compatriot Vijay Sundar Prashanth in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan on September 27, 2017. Nagal outplayed Prashanth 6-1, 6-1 in the all-Indian final as he broke him five times in the match. It was the second medal for Prashanth in the tournament, having won gold in the men’s doubles with reigning singles national champion Vishnu Vardhan. Overall, India won five medals — two gold and three silver medals — from tennis. With 9 gold, 12 silver and 19 bronze, India finished the Games at 11th position. Hosts Turkmenistan topped the medals tally with 89 gold, 70 silver and 86 bronze, followed by China and Iran.

Notes:
On the occasion of World Tourism Day (WTD-2017), Madhya Pradesh bagged total 10 National Tourism Awards at a function in Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi on September 28, 2017. The state won ‘Best Tourism State’ national award for the 3rd consecutive year, besides the Most Innovative Tourist Product award for ‘Hanuwantia Jal Mahotsav’ and Best State for Adventure Tourism. The Hindi brochure published by Madhya Pradesh Tourism in Simhastha-2016 won the national award for Excellence in Publishing in Hindi. The Best Wildlife Guide national award was bagged by Saib Khan of Pachmarhi. Madhya Pradesh also received a national award for Film Promotion Policy in the category of Best Film Promotion Friendly State/Union Territory. While Chanderi was adjudged as the Best Heritage City, the Best Tourist-Friendly Railway Station award was given to Ujjain Railway Station. The Best Civic Management of a Tourist Destination of India award was given to Khargone.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
Rajnath Singh, the Union Home Minister, has inaugurated the 13th Formation Day of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on September 28, 2017. The 2017 theme of formation day is ‘School Safety’. On this day, the stakeholders will discuss the roadmap, their roles and key challenges in the implementation of the School Safety Policy across the country. States will share their experiences in terms of best practices and lessons learnt through their efforts towards school safety initiatives. The NDMA is an agency of the Ministry of Home Affairs whose primary purpose is to coordinate response to natural or man-made disasters and for capacity-building in disaster resiliency and crisis response. The Prime Minister is the ex-officio chairperson of it.

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Hugh M Hefner (91), American Icon and the founder of the iconic Playboy magazine, has passed away in Los Angeles on September 27, 2017. He was also the founder and chief creative officer of Playboy Enterprises, the publishing group that operates the magazine.

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:
The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary (DWS) is located in Baragarh district, Odisha and covers an area of 346.91 square kilometers. This sanctuary is not only famous for the sylvan beauty with magnificent waterfalls but is also very rich in wildlife. The dry deciduous forests with varied flora and fauna attract the tourists of Odisha and neighbouring states. It is home to Indian leopard, Indian elephant, sambar, chital, gaur, etc.