Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - September, 2017

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:
The 7th ASEM Economic Ministers’ Meeting (ASEM EMM7) was held in Seoul, South Korea on September 21-22, 2017. The 2017 theme is ‘Innovative Partnership for Inclusive Prosperity’. The meeting was conducted under the Chairmanship of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea. In it, 51 member countries signed a joint statement on supporting the multilateral trade system.

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.

Notes:
Shashi Shanker has been appointed Chairman and Managing Director of India’s biggest oil and gas producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) till March 31, 2021. Currently, he is director (Technical and Field Services) at ONGC and will take over the charge as CMD from October 1.He will succeed Dinesh K Sarraf, who retires on September 30.

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:
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 Asian Development Bank (ADB) will increase its annual lending to India to a maximum of 4 billion between 2018 and 2022 to help fasten inclusive economic transformation towards upper middle income status. The ADB’s programme in India will focus on three main pillars of activity during the 5-year period: boost economic competitiveness to create more and well-paid jobs, improve access to infrastructure and services, and address climate change and improving climate resilience. The new lending programme, which includes private sector operations, is much higher than the average 2.65 billion a year in loans extended during 2012 and 2016.

Notes:
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 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.