December 23, 2017 - Current Affairs Quiz - Current Affairs MCQ

Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation held ‘Ganga Gram Swachhta Sammelan’ in New Delhi to formally launch the ‘Ganga Gram Project’ under the Namami Gange Programm. Ganga Gram Swachhta Sammelan was a multi-stakeholder meet attended by about 1200 delegates including 500 village sarpanches from Ganga States. The meet was presided over by Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Uma Bharati. Union Minister for Water Resources, Ganga Rejuvenation and River Development, Nitin Gadkari was the chief guest while Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Narendra Singh was the Guest of Honour. Ganga Swachhata Manch, created for awareness creation, learning and advocacy and knowledge sharing for the Ganga Gram Project was also launched during this meet.

National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) conducted a State-level mock exercise on earthquake in Haryana. NDMA conducted this exercise in collaboration with the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). Objective behind conducting this exercise was to assess Haryana State administration’s preparedness and evaluating the response mechanism in a disaster situation. The exercise was carried out as a response to simulated earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale, having epicentre at West of Gurugram along the Jaipur Ridge and the Sohna Fault line. It is to be noted that Haryana is vulnerable to huge damage due to earthquake owing to its proximity with Himalayan foothills, which itself is an earthquake prone area.

Mystic Kalinga, the international poetry festival, started in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Mystic Kalinga is a two day international poetry festival. The central theme for this year’s festival is: “Aseema” – Transcending Boundaries. It was inaugurated by Sadhguru Jaggi Vasdev. Poetry sessions in Odia, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and English, etc. were conducted. Local folk artists also performed in the festival. Mystic Kalinga is an extension of Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF). The Kalinga Literary Festival is organized every year in the month June by Odisha Media info Service (OMIS) Private Ltd and Odisha Diary Foundation (ODF).

The Rajasthan government announced 1% reservation within the 50 percent legal limit, for Gujjars and four other communities, still retaining their Other Backward Classes (OBC) status. The five communities that have been declared eligible for this reservation are: Gujjar, Banjara, Gadia-Lohar, Rebari and Gadaria. These five communities were listed in the Other Backward Classes (OBC) category in 1994. This new quota is in addition to the reservation given under OBC category. The additional quota is given in the ‘More Backward Classes’ category. Now these communities can obtain reservation in educational institutions and job opportunities using this quota.

Uttar Pradesh assembly passed the UP Excise (Amendment) Bill 2017, to award death penalty and life imprisonment for spurious liquor dealers. The bill was introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Khanna. The bill was passed by voice vote. The bill enforces death penalty, life sentence and fine ranging from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh in case of death due to consumption of spurious liquor(ethyl alcohol containing traces of methyl alcohol). It also provides imprisonment for 6 to 10 years and fine of Rs 3 to Rs 5 lakh in case of disability caused due to consumption of spurious liquor.

Government data states that, Uttar Pradesh has recorded the highest death count in India due to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI) in 2016. Uttar Pradesh has recorded 822 deaths in total in 2016 due to Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI). It has become the state with highest number of deaths due respiratory ailments in India in 2016. It is followed by West Bengal in the 2nd position with 635 deaths. The 3rd position is occupied by Delhi with at least 207 deaths in 2016.

The second edition of the Iranshah Udvada Utsav, a Parsi cultural festival started in Gujarat. The Iranshah Udvada Utsav is a three day festival. More than 2,000 Parsis are taking part in this festival. This festival was coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014 to coincide with the Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit. Highlights of the festival are screening of the ‘Jiyo Parsi’ film, discussion on the relevance of Zoroastrianism in modern times, etc.

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution rejecting the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. 128 UN member countries (including India) voted in favour of the resolution, nine countries voted against it and thirty-five countries abstained from voting. Israel, United States, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Togo, Palau, Honduras and Guatemala voted against this resolution while 35 countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico and Poland abstained from voting. However, this vote was just symbolic in nature and is not legally binding. Earlier on December 18, 2017, U.N. Security Council failed to adopt a similar resolution as U.S. exercised its veto power against it.

India has been selected as Chair for the Ad Hoc Committee on Review & Reforms (AHCRR) to reform the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS).India’s selection was announced at Kimberley process (KP) Plenary Session held in Brisbane, Australia from 9th – 14th December, 2017. From the Indian side, a delegation led by Joint Secretary, Department of Commerce, comprising Government officials and representatives of Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) attended this session. In the last KP plenary session held in Dubai in November, 2016, India was appointed as the Kimberly Process (KP) Vice Chair for 2018 & Chair for 2019. European Union (EU) will be the KP Chair for 2018.

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has granted scheduled commuter operator (SCO) permit to Air Deccan. This permit will now enable Air Deccan to operate flights under the regional air connectivity scheme, ‘UDAN’. Union Civil Aviation Ministry had launched Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme in October 2016. Objective of UDAN scheme is to make flying, a reality for common people residing in Tier-II and Tier-III towns. Air Deccan has been awarded 34 routes in the first round of bidding under UNDAN scheme.

In a bid to attract domestic and foreign investment for highways projects across India, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has created a National Highways Investment Promotion Cell (NHIPC). NHIPC will reach out to global institution investors, infrastructure developers, construction companies and fund managers for seeking investor participation in road infrastructure projects across India. Role of NHIPC will be crucial in achieving Indian Government’s target of constructing 35000 km of national highways in the next five years under Bharatmala project. Bharatmala project, undertaken by Union Ministry of Transport and Highways, entails an investment of Rs 535000 crore.

Two initiatives of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) have been awarded SKOCH Awards for the year 2017. TSRTC got one award for ‘Vajra Services’, an intercity travel facility between Hyderabad and four cities of Nizamabad, Warangal, Karimnagar and Godhavari Khani. Other award was given to honour TSRTC’s initiative for providing employment to the children of medically unfit employees.

Kumi Naidoo, a human rights activist from South Africa has been appointed as the next Secretary General of Amnesty International. Kumi Naidoo will assume charge in August 2018. He will take over charge as Secretary General of Amnesty International from Indian activist Salil Shetty. Indian-origin Kumi Naidoo was born in Durban, South Africa. He is the former International Executive Director of Greenpeace. He has also served as Secretary General and CEO of CIVICUS, the World Alliance for Citizen Participation. Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization working for human rights. It has offices in 70 countries and has over 7 million supporters around the world.

United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has appointed Henrietta Fore, a former head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) as the new Executive Director of United Nations Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF). Henrietta Fore was the first woman to be appointed Administrator of the US Agency for International Development. She held this position from 2006-2009. Currently, she is the CEO of Holsman International, a manufacturing and investment company. She will assume charge as seventh Executive Director of UNICEF on January 1, 2018. Current Executive Director of UNICEF is Anthony Lake. UNICEF is a member of the United Nations Development Group and works for providing humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed former India wicketkeeper-batsman Saba Karim as the new General Manager (GM) of its Cricket Operations. Saba Karim will take charge as General Manager (GM) of BCCI Cricket Operations from January 1, 2018. He will report to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri. His responsibilities are giving strategic direction to the cricket department, implementing the operational plans, budgeting, determining and monitoring the compliance of match playing regulations, standards of venues, administration of Domestic Program.

Airtel Payments Bank Managing Director and CEO Shashi Arora has resigned from his position after Bharti Airtel’s eKYC licence suspension by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Shashi Arora has been working with Airtel in key roles since 2006. He was appointed MD and CEO of Airtel Payments Bank in 2016. After allegations on Airtel Payments Bank that it was opening payments bank accounts without the permission of users, UIDAI suspended Bharti Airtel’s eKYC licence. Shashi Arora has resigned from his position shortly after this issue.

Actor Ranveer Singh was appointed as Ambassador for EPL (English Premier League) in India. Ranveer Singh will help to promote the EPL (English Premier League) League both in India and other countries. As an ambassador, he will support the English Premier League’s community initiatives in India, promote fan events etc. This partnership will also improve the relationship between EPL (English Premier League) and Indian Super League (ISL).

Professor Dhirendra Pal Singh, director, National Assessment and Accreditation Council was appointed chairperson of University Grants Commission (UGC). Professor Dhirendra Pal Singh has been appointed as UGC chairman for a period of five years. He has been serving as director of NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) since August 2015. He has 34 years of professional experience in various fields of education such as planning and administration, institution building, teaching and training, research and development, international cooperation, etc. He has served as vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Dr Hari Singh Gour University, Sagar and Devi Ahilya University, Indore.

A new LIGO gravitational wave detector will be built in India by 2025 in collaboration with universities from across the world. Abbreviation LIGO stands for Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. In 2016, LIGO detectors discovered the gravitational waves produced by two giant merging blackholes. LIGO detector in India will help to pinpoint the origin of the gravitational waves that are detected in future. This will be the world’s third LIGO detector, along with two already operational in the US. Somak Raychaudhury, Director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune has stated that location for the new detector in India has been selected, and the acquisition has started. Funding for this purpose is provided by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through its Newton-Bhabha project on LIGO.

A new species of scorpion named “Liocheles schalleri” has been discovered in Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary, Tripura. The study on “Liocheles schalleri” has been published in Zootaxa journal by scientist Zeeshan Mirza of National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bangalore. “Liocheles schalleri” is the eleventh wood scorpion species from India. “Liocheles schalleri” is also called dwarf scorpions. It is named after famous wildlife biologist George Schaller. These scorpions are found in low elevated regions in few parts of Tripura. Generally wood scorpions are around three cm long and live in small burrows.

Former NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless, first person to fly in space without tethers, passed away. The cause for Bruce McCandless’ death has not been mentioned. He was 80 years old. Bruce McCandless performed the famous spacewalk in 1984, during which he did not use restrictive tethers and umbilicals. He has been honoured with numerous awards like the Legion of Merit, American Expeditionary Service Medal, NASA Space Flight Medal, and NASA Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal.

Former UP Governor Banwari Lal Joshi passed away at AIIMS due to septic shock after an infection on the valves. Banwari Lal Joshi was 82 years old. He has served as governor of many states. He has served as lieutenant governor of Delhi, governor of Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has launched his biography ‘Trivendra Ek Zindaginama – Khairasain ka Sooraj’. Trivendra Ek Zindaginama – Khairasain ka Sooraj has been written by Nandan Singh Bisht, a doctor. This biography is based on Trivendra Singh Rawat’s early struggle and lesser known aspects of his life. At the launch event, singer Basanti Bisht, former state women’s commission chairperson Sushila Baluni, environmentalist Anil Joshi participated.

On 23rd December 2017, National Farmers’ Day (Kisan Diwas) was celebrated all over India. National Farmers’ Day (Kisan Diwas) is celebrated to honour former Prime Minister of India Chaudhary Charan Singh, who introduced various policies to improve the life of farmers. National Farmers’ Day is celebrated to promote activities related to farmer’s welfare. This day is celebrated by conducting debates, events, seminars, functions and competitions related agriculture.