December 28, 2017 - Current Affairs Quiz - Current Affairs MCQ

Lok Sabha passed National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2017 to extend the deadline of a law to protect slums and unauthorised colonies in Delhi. The bill has granted immunity to slums and some unauthorised constructions until December 31, 2020. Current immunity under National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Amendment Bill, 2014, passed by Parliament in December 2014 was set to expire on December 31, 2017. National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment) Bill, 2017 was introduced in Lok Sabha by Housing and Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on December 23, 2017. This immunity prevents any punitive action till a framework for orderly arrangements are in place.

2018 edition of Indian Science Congress will be held at Manipur University in Imphal, Manipur in March 2018. This will be the 105th edition of Indian Science Congress. Initially, Indian Science Congress 2018 was scheduled to be held at the Osmania University in Hyderabad, in the first week of January 2018. However, it had to be moved on account of security problems. ’Reaching the Unreached Through Science and Technology’ will be the focal theme of this event. Every year, this event is attended by several students, Nobel Laureates and scientists from India.

India provided medical assistance worth about $1 million to Yemen as part of its commitment to provide humanitarian assistance. At a token handing over ceremony held in New Delhi, Minister of State for External Affairs, M.J. Akbar presented a box of anti-cholera medicines to Yemeni Ambassador Abdulmalik Abdullah Al-Eryani. This assistance was provided in response to a request from the Yemeni government. In the past, India has helped Yemen by providing food and medical assistance. In August 2012 and March 2013, India provided food assistance to Yemen in the form of rice and wheat, each worth $2 million. Even in April 2015, Indian Government had extended medical assistance to Yemen.

The government announced that, it has planned installation of bio-toilets in all passenger trains to be completed by March 2019. Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain made the announcement in Lok Sabha. He said that, railway workshops have been ordered to mandatorily install bio-toilets in all existing in-service eligible coaches that are undergoing mid-life rehabilitation and periodical overhaul. He also said that, retro-fitment of bio-toilets in existing in-service coaches is also being done to a certain extent.

The International Sweet Festival will be hosted by Hyderabad from January 13 to 15, 2018 at the parade ground, Hyderabad. The International Sweet Festival will coincide with the International Kite festival at Hyderabad. Telangana Tourism Secretary Burra Venkatesham made this announcement.The International Sweet Festival will exhibit more than 1,000 sweets. Only homemade sweets will be displayed in the festivals. Sweets from hotels will be not featured. Sweets from foreign countries will also be displayed in the festival.

The 6th edition of Global Kokan Festival will be held at CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Center, Vashi, Navi Mumbai from 6th to 10th January 2018. Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu will be the Guest of Honor at the Global Kokan Festival 2018. It will be inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis. This festival is co-organized by Make in India and MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation). This festival will contain seminars on Make in Kokan, Advantage Kokan, Blue Revolution and Tourism Conference. Painting and photography exhibitions will also be held.

The second India-Afghanistan air cargo route connecting Kabul and Mumbai was launched by Afghan and Indian officials at the Hamid Karzai international airport, Kabul. Deputy Chairman of the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Khan Jan Alokozay, said that this air cargo route will increase export of fresh fruits and medicinal plants from Afghanistan. The first Kabul-New Delhi air corridor was inaugurated by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in June 2017.

Finance Ministry has notified the reduction in interest rates on Small Saving Schemes for January -March 2018 quarter by 20 basis points (0.2%) as compared to October- December 2017 quarter. The latest reduction in interest rates applies to National Savings Certificate (NSC), Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), Sukanya Samriddhi Account and Public Provident Fund (PPF). However, interest on investments in the five-year Senior Citizens Savings Scheme and savings deposits has been retained at3 per cent and 4 per cent respectively. Financial experts expect the Commercial banks to follow suit and lower the deposit rate. It is to be noted that, since April 2016, interest rates on all small savings schemes have been recalibrated on a quarterly basis.

As per a report by CARE Ratings, India has ranked 5th on list of countries with highest non-performing assets (NPA) levels. The report classified countries into four categories viz. countries having very low levels of NPAs, countries having low levels of NPAs, countries having medium levels of NPAs and countries having high levels of NPAs. With an NPA ratio of 9.85 percent, India has been placed in fourth category i.e. of ‘high levels of NPAs’. Only countries where NPAs scenario is worse than India are Greece (36.67%), Italy (16.35%), Portugal (15.52%), and Ireland (11.85%). Australia, Canada, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom have been placed in first category. NPA ratio in all these countries is less than 1 per cent.

India’s largest public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) has announced that its board has approved raising Rs 8000 crore to meet Basel III capital norms. Approval has been given to raise the specified quantum of fund from domestic and international markets by issuing various debt instruments including masala bonds. Bonds issued outside India but denominated in Indian Rupees, rather than the local currency are referred to as Masala Bonds.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is considering putting a 10 per cent cross-shareholding cap in mutual funds in order to avoid the potential conflict of interest. If this proposal is approved by SEBI’s board, any shareholder owning at least 10 per cent stake in an Asset Management Company (AMC) will not be allowed to have a 10 per cent or more stake in another mutual fund house operating in India. This norm will affect shareholding pattern of UTI Asset Management Company (AMC), as State Bank of India (SBI), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Baroda of Baroda (BoB) and Punjab National Bank (PNB)are having their own mutual funds and are also holding 18.24 per cent stake each in UTI AMC.

Writer Ramendra Kumar, was felicitated by the Writers and Publishers of Sri Lanka for his contribution to children’s literature, at a function held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Ramendra Kumar’s works have been translated into 14 Indian and 13 foreign languages. His works also appear in school text books in India and other countries also. At the felicitation ceremony, his book Dilemma and other stories was also released. This is his fourth book in Sinhala. Eminent personalities like Deshabandhu Sirisunama Godage, award winning publisher and Bobby G Boteju, renowned translator were present at the function.

Prince Harry has been made the president of African Parks, a conservation group which manages wildlife areas in Africa. Prince Harry’s role will be to protect Africa’s natural heritage and support wildlife and communities that live around conservation areas. African Parks has praised Prince Harry’s earlier work of relocation of elephants in Malawi and installation of GPS collars on lions to keep them protected.

Yamaha Motor India group announced Motofumi Shitara as group chairman with effect from 1st January 2018. Motofumi Shitara will also serve as the Managing Director of Yamaha Motor India Pvt. Ltd. and Managing Director of Yamaha Motor India Sales Pvt. Ltd. His appointment comes after the departure of Hiroaki Fujita, chairman of Yamaha Motor India group and Masaki Asano, managing director of Yamaha Motor India sales.

Constantino Chiwenga took charge as Zimbabwe’s vice president in Harare, Zimbabwe. Constantino Chiwenga is 61 years old. He is a retired army chief. Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa, government officials, traditional leaders, military and police chiefs attended the swearing-in ceremony. Recently, Constantino Chiwenga along with the army took control of the country and played an important role in helping the new president Emmerson Mnangagwa take charge after previous president Robert Mugabe’s 37 year rule ended.

Union Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Radha Mohan Singh released the Livestock Disease Forewarning – Mobile Application (LDF-Mobile App). The LDF Mobile app was developed by ICAR-National Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Disease Informatics (ICAR-NIVEDI). The app uses Monthly Bulletin system to send out early warning. The app will also provide information on clinical samples for diagnosis. This would help to take immediate action in case of an epidemic. This app will work in Android smartphones. It will consume 2.5 MB space.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully test fired an Advanced Area Defence (AAD) interceptor missile from defence test facility on Kalam Island, Odisha. The target missile of the interceptor missile was a modified version of Prithvi-II. The target missile was launched from a Launching Complex of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur. The interceptor missile destroyed the target missile in mid-air, in an endo-atmospheric altitude less than 30 km. This AAD interceptor missile can destroy incoming enemy ballistic missiles at an altitude of 30 km.

A new species of blind fish “Schistura larketensis” has been discovered in East Jaintia Hills district of Meghalaya. Schistura larketensis has been named after Larket village, where it was found in a cave. The research has been published in the journal Zootaxa. The research team includes scholars from the Gauhati University and the North Eastern Hill University. The fish had lost its pigments and eye sight after living in the darkness of the cave.

Anisa Sayyed won the women’s 25m pistol gold with a new national record at the 61st National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC), in Trivandrum, Kerala. Anisa Sayyed created a new national record at the finals with score of 33. Also, she won over Shital Shivaji Thorat and Rahi Sarnobat who won the silver and bronze medals respectively. In the junior women’s 25m pistol, Chinki Yadav from Haryana won gold medal with another finals national record by scoring 31. Anisa Sayyed also hails from Haryana.

South Africa won over Zimbabwe on the second day of the first four-day test cricket match by an innings and 20 runs at St George’s Park, in South Africa. The International Cricket Council had given permission to Cricket South Africa to conduct a four-day test match. This is the first test match after 1972/73 to be held for four days. South Africa won over Zimbabwe on the second day and winded up the match earlier which was supposed to last for four days.

London based actor Alfie Curtis passed away. Alfie Curtis was 87 years old. The cause of his death has not yet been revealed. He played the character of Dr Evazan in the 2016 Star Wars film Rogue One. His other important work is the movie ‘The Elephant Man’ which came out in 1980.