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Current Affairs July – December 2017

Dear readers, Recently, in many SSC & Railways examinations a change in trend is seen when it comes to current affairs. All these examinations are now laying more stress on current affairs by increasing the volume of questions.

Not only this, questions were also asked from events held last year. Many of you have requested us for the PDF of last year's current affairs.

As per the request, we are providing you with the Current Affairs PDF which covers all news events from the month July to December 2017.

Govt. Schemes & Policy

1. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana extend till 2019-

20 – The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs

has extended the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

(RKVY) as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana-

Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied

Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for three

years i.e. 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Objective of RKVY-RAFTAAR - To make farming

remunerative economic activity by strengthening

farmer’s effort, risk mitigation and promoting

agri­business entrepreneurship. The financial

allocation of scheme is Rs. 15,722 crore.

Note: Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana is launched in 2007 as

a part of the 11th Five Year Plan by the Government

of India. It is a State Plan Scheme of Additional

Central Assistance launched under the aegis of the

National Development Council, it seeks to achieve

4% annual growth in agriculture through

development of Agriculture and its allied sectors.

2. Kerala govt. launched ‘She Pad’ Scheme for

School Girls – The Kerala

government launched “She Pad,’’ a scheme to

distribute free sanitary napkins to girl students from

classes VI to XII in government and aided private

schools affiliated to the state school board. Kerala

became the first state to launch such schemes.

3. Deen Dayal SPARSH Yojana - Union Minister of

Communications Manoj Sinha has launched the

Deen Dayal SPARSH yojana which aims to increase

the reach of Philately.

Here SPARSH means - Scholarship for Promotion of

Aptitude & Research in Stamps as a Hobby.

Key points –

• Under the scheme, it is proposed to award

annual scholarships to children of Standard

VI to IX having good academic record and

also pursuing Philately as a hobby through a

competitive selection process in all postal

circles.

• Every Postal Circle will select a maximum of

40 scholarships representing 10 students

each from Standard VI, VII, VIII & IX.

• The amount of Scholarship will be Rs.

6000/- per annum @ Rs. 500/- per month.

About Philately

• Philately is the hobby of collection and study

of Postage stamps.

• It also entails the collection, appreciation

and research activities on stamps and other

related philatelic products.

• Philately is called the king of hobbies

because Stamp collection as a hobby has lot

of educational benefits - it teaches a lot

about the socio economic political reality of

the period in which the stamp is issued or

the theme on which it is issued. 4. 'Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran' App - Union

Minister of Railways & Coal Piyush Goyal has

launched the ‘Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App’

which aims to benefit customers of Coal India

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Limited (CIL) lifting coal through road mode. The

app is launched in Kolkata.

Key points –

• The main benefits of the App for the

customers include easy accessibility of the

information at the click of the button.

• The app will monitor whether the dispatches

are made on the fair principle of ‘First in

First Out’ basis.

• It will keep a track on all the activities from

issuance of Sale Order to physical delivery of

coal by road.

5. ‘Sampoorna Bima Gram Yojana’ –

Communications Minister Manoj Sinha has launched

the Sampoorna Bima Gram (SBG) Yojana in New

Delhi.

Key points -

• It is an initiative for expansion of client base

of Postal Life Insurance.

• To provide affordable life insurance services

to people living in rural areas of the country.

• All villages under the Saansad Adarsh Gram

Yojana will be brought under its ambit.

• At least one village (having a minimum of

100 households) will be identified in each of

the revenue districts of the country, wherein

endeavour will be made to cover all

households of that identified village with a

minimum of one RPLI (Rural Postal Life

Insurance) policy each.

Note:

➢ Postal Life Insurance (PLI), introduced

in 1884, is one of the oldest life insurance

schemes for benefit of Government and

semi-Government employees.

➢ Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI),

introduced on March 24, 1995 on

recommendations of Malhotra

Committee, provides insurance cover to

people residing in rural areas, especially

weaker sections and women living in

rural areas.

➢ Low Premium and High Bonus is the

unique feature of PLI and RPLI schemes.

➢ As on March 31, 2017, there were 46.8

lakh PLI and 146.8 lakh RPLI policies

across the country.

6. 'Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana’ (BBY) launched in

MP – The Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj

Singh Chouhan launched the 'Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojna' for the farmers of the state and to provide

financial support in case of losses in crops.

Key points

➢ The scheme is also called the ‘Price Deficit

Financing Scheme’.

➢ At first, the scheme will cover 8 crops which

includes oil seeds and some pulses etc.

Soybean, Groundnut, Til, Ramtil. Maize,

Moong, Urad, Tuar Daal.

➢ The farmers are supposed to register

themselves with mandis to leverage the

benefits of Bhavantar Bhugtan Yojana.

➢ The aim of the scheme is to encourage the

farmers to cultivate more oil seeds and

pulses products in the state.

7. 'Prerna' project for Women Farmers launched in

Odisha - Mahindra & Mahindra has launched a

‘Prerna’ programme to empower women working

in the agriculture sector by promoting efficient and

ergonomic farm tools and equipment.

Key points

➢ The project is launched in the state of Odisha,

with the intention to positively impact the lives

of over 1,500 families across 30-plus villages.

8. Union Ministries of Power & Textiles Jointly

launched 'SAATHI' Initiative - The Union

Ministries of Power and Textiles have jointly

launched an initiative 'SAATHI'.

SAATHI stands for - Sustainable and Accelerated

Adoption of efficient Textile technologies to Help

small Industries.

Key points –

➢ Under this initiative, Energy Efficiency Services

Limited (EESL), a public sector entity under the

administrative control of Ministry of Power,

would procure energy efficient Powerlooms,

motors and Rapier kits in bulk and provide

them to the small and medium Powerloom units

at no upfront cost.

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➢ The SAATHI initiative of the Government will be

jointly implemented by EESL and the office of

the Textile Commissioner on a pan-India basis.

➢ To kick start the implementation, cluster wise

demonstration projects and workshops will be

organized in key clusters such as Erode, Surat,

Ichalkaranji, etc.

9. Ministry WCD launches campaign on 'women for women': #IamThatWoman - In an attempt to end

Gender bias in women against women, the Ministry

of Women and Child Development is undertaking an

online campaign #IamThatWoman.

Key points –

➢ The campaign aims to highlight the various

aspects of women standing 'by' and 'for'

women.

➢ Ministry of WCD has urged people to shun

stereotypes associated with women harming

other women.

➢ Twitter and Facebook users have been

encouraged to tag and share stories of women helping women with a photograph and post

online with the hashtag #IamThatWoman.

Schemes under Ministry of Finance

1. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY)-

• For the senior citizens aged 60 years and above • The Scheme provides an assured return of 8% p.a.

payable monthly (equivalent to 8.30% p.a. effective) for 10 years.

• The scheme will be operated by LIC. 2. Jan Suraksha Yojana- (i) PRADHAN MANTRI JEEVAN JYOTI BIMA YOJANA-

• PMJJBY is a one-year life insurance scheme. • Renewable from year to year, offering coverage for

death due to any reason and is available to people in the age group of 18 to 50 years

• Premium of Rs.330/- per annum per member • life cover of Rs. 2 lakhs

(ii) PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHA BIMA YOJANA- • Premium of Rs.12 per year • Age group 18 to 70 years • Under it, risk coverage available will be Rs.2 lakh

for accidental death and permanent total disability and Rs. 1 lakh for permanent partial disability

(iii) Atal Pension Yojana- • Launched in 2015 • Focussed on all citizens in the unorganised sector • Age- min 18 years, Max- 40 years • The Union Govt. would also co-contribute 50% of

the subscriber’s contribution or Rs. 1000 per annum, whichever is lower.

• Subscribers would receive the fixed pension at the age of 60 years, depending on their contributions.

3. PRADHAN MANTRI MUDRA YOJANA (PMMY)- • Launched in 2015 • In this scheme, Mudra (Micro Units Development

and Refinance Agency) bank has been opened to fund all MFI (Micro Financial institutions) which provide loans to the MSMEs.

• The lending priority will be given to SC/ST enterprises.

• MUDRA Bank has launched three loan instruments: (i) Shishu- loans up to Rs 50,000 (ii) Kishor- loans above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs. 5 lakhs (iii) Tarun- loans above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh

4. Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana- • To provide social security to the persons who are

above or equal to 60 years. • Implemented through LIC. • It will provide an assured pension based on a rate

of return of 8% per annum for ten years. Schemes under Ministry of Women and Child Development – 1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (BBBP)-

• Launched by the PM on January 22, 2015 at Panipat, Haryana.

• Objective- Improve Child Sex Ratio, Protection and education of girl child.

• Current brand ambassador-Olympic Bronze medallist Sakshi Malik.

2. Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana- • Launched by the Prime Minister on January 21,

2015. • Under Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Women

and Child Development. • It is a part of BBBP (Beti Bachao Beti Padhao). • Only for girls whose age are equal or below 10

years. • Tenure- 21 years from the date of opening or girl’s

marriage • Current interest rate- 8.3 Percent. • Account can be opened via post offices or

commercial banks.

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3. POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses) e-Box-

• Online complaint management system • Action against the offenders under the POCSO Act,

2012. • Any human being up to the age of 18 years is

recognised as a child under the POCSO Act. 4. SHe-box’ (sexual harassment electronic box) portal-

• Launched in July 2017. • Online platform to enable women employees of the

central govt. to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace.

5. ‘SABLA’ Scheme- • Launched in 2010, also known as Rajiv Gandhi

Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls. • Development of adolescent girls of 11-18 years by

making them ‘self-reliant’. • Focus areas- Nutrition, Skill development and

Health. 6. Tejaswini Project-

• Initially the project has been implemented in 17 districts in Jharkhand.

• Tejaswini Socio-Economic Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) Project.

• Project is financed by World Bank. 7. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

• Launched in October 2, 1975. • Provides food, education, and primary healthcare

to children under 6 years of age and their mothers. • Anyone can visit to the Aanganwadi centre and

enroll these services. 8. Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahayog Yojana-

• Provide financial aid of Rs 6,000 to pregnant women who undergo institutional delivery for hospital admission.

• The scheme provided cash transfer to pregnant women above the age of 18 years for up to two live births.

Other programs and schemes-

1. ‘Saubhagya’ (Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) Scheme-

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 'Power for all' scheme today to mark the birth anniversary of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya.

• The scheme will be named ‘Saubhagya’ and will provide subsidy on equipment like transformers, meters and wires.

2. Mission Indradhanush • It was launched by Union Health Minister J. P.

Nadda on 25 December 2014. • It aims to immunize all children under the age of 2

years, as well as all pregnant women, against seven vaccine preventable diseases.

• The diseases being targeted are diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, measles and Hepatitis B.

• Later Japanese Encephalitis and Haemophilus influenzae type B, Rubella, Japanese Encephalitis, Injectable Polio Vaccine Bivalent and Rotavirus also added.

3. Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) • Prime Minister Modi launched the Intensified

Mission Indradhanush (IMI) at Vadnagar in Gujarat on October 8, 2017.

• Through this programme, Government of India aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme.

4. Udaan • Udaan provides exposure to the youth of J&K to

the best of corporate India and corporate India to the rich talent pool available in the State.

• The scheme not only provides skill enhancement and job opportunity but also connects these bright youths from the J&K with the vibrant corporate sector of India.

5. UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) • is a regional airport development and "Regional

Connectivity Scheme (RCS)" 6. UJALA Scheme-

• Prime Minister of India Sh. Narendra Modi on January 5, 2015 had launched the world's largest and most extensive LED distribution programme, UJALA (Unnat Jyoti by Affordable Lighting for All).

• Recently UJALA scheme launched in Melaka, Malaysia.

7. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) • Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana was launched by

Prime Minister on May 1st, 2016 in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh.

• It is an ambitious social welfare scheme which aims to provide free LPG connections to BPL households in the country.

8. Sagarmala project

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• Sagar Mala project is a strategic and customer-oriented initiative of the Government of India to modernize India's Ports so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute in India's growth.

9. ‘Himayat’ Programme • It is a training-cum-placement programme for

unemployed youth in Jammu and Kashmir. 10. DIKSHA Portal

• For teacher training by HRD Ministry

Books & Authors

1. Novel ‘Two’ authored by - Gulzar (Veteran lyricist)

2. Book 'Bollywood: The Films! The Songs! The

Stars!, launched by the Amitabh Bachchan

The book is co-authored by S.M.M. Ausaja, Karan

Bali, Rajesh Devraj and Tanul Thakur. 3. Book titled “The Coalition Years” authored by –

Pranab Mukherjee (Former President of India)

4. Book titled “The Golden House” authored by – Salman

Rushdie. 5. Book titled “India 2017 Yearbook” authored by – Rajiv

Mehrishi

6. Book titled “I Do What I Do” authored by – Raghuram Rajan (former RBI Governor)

7. Book titled “Immortal India” authored by – Amish

Tripathi.

8. Book titled “A Horse Walks into a Bar” authored by - David Grossman (Winner - Man Booker International

Prize 2017)

9. Book titled “How India Sees the World” – Shyam

Saran.

10. Book titled “Hit Refresh” – Satya Nadella.

11. Book titled “Unstoppable: My Life So far” authored by

– Maria Sharapova.

12. Book titled “The Shershah of Kargil” authored by -

Deepak Surana (Biography of Kargil war hero – Late

Captain Vikram Batra)

13. Book titled “Kadve Vachan” authored by – Tarun Sagar

Maharaj.

14. Book titled “I am HIV positive, so what?” authored by

– Jayanta Kalita (The book is based on the life of an international bodybuilding champion Khundrakpam

Pradipkumar Singh hailing from Manipur, who was

diagnosed HIV-positive.)

15. Book titled “Cryptocurrency for Beginners” authored

by – Amit Bhardwaj.

16. Book titled “Making of a legend” authored by –

Bindeshawr Pathak.

17. Book titled “Dalhousie Through My Eyes” authored by

– Kiran Chadha.

18. Book titled “Playing With Fire” authored by – Katie

Price.

19. Book titled “Future of Indian Universities:

Comparative and International Perspectives” authored by – C. Raj Kumar.

20. Book titled “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”

authored by – Arundhati Roy.

21. Book titled “The Crisis Within” authored by – Ganesh Devy.

22. Book titled “Indira Gandhi – A life in Nature” authored

by – Jairam Ramesh.

23. Book titled “Beren And Luthien” authored by – J.R.R.

Tolkien.

24. Book titled “Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji”

authored by – Ramesh Pokhriyal “Nishank”.

25. Book titled “Matoshree” authored by - Lok Sabha

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan

Honors & Awards

National Awards

1. Mamta Kalia Selected for Vyas Samman 2017 - Eminent Hindi litterateur & playwright Mamta Kalia

has been selected for ‘Vyas Samman-2017’ for her

novel ‘Dukkham Sukkham’.

Note:

• The novel 'Dukkham Sukkham' depicts the

story of grandmother Vidhyawati and

granddaughter Manisha's relation.

• The book, 'Dukkham Sukkham' was published

in 2010.

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• Currently, she is the editor of Mahatma Gandhi

International Hindi University's quarterly

magazine ‘Hindi’.

• Vyas Samman was instituted in 1991 by the KK

Birla Foundation and carries a cash award of

Rs 3.50 lakh, a citation, and a logo.

• She is also known for her works in Hindi and

English including "Beghar", "Janch Abhi Jaari

Hai", "Nirmohi", and "Bolne Wali Aurat".

• She was born in Vrindavan, Mathura.

2. 3rd Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

Distinguished Indologist Award for the year 2017 -

Professor Hiroshi Marui of Japan.

Note: He spent over 40 years working on Indian

philosophy and Buddhist Studies.

3. Ruskin Bond conferred with Lifetime Achievement

Award by the Chandigarh Literary Society.

4. 2017 Tata Literature Live Lifetime Achievement Award

- Girish Karnad (Actor-playwright) 5. Most Visited Place of the World’ - Golden Temple

(Amritsar). The award is presented by ‘World Book of

Records’ (WBR), a London-based organisation. 6. Big Little Book Award for year 2017 - Nabaneeta

Dev Sen (Sahitya Akademi awardee Bengali writer).

Note: The award, given out by Parag initiative of Tata

Trusts to recognise and honour authors and illustrators of

children's literature.

7. Indira Gandhi Peace Prize - Manmohan Singh

(Former PM of India) will receive the Indira Gandhi

Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development this year for his leadership of the country between 2004

and 2014.

8. International Film Festival of India (IFFI) Awards – The 48th International Film Festival of India held this

year in Goa.

Here is the list of winners at IFFI 2017 –

1. Best Film Award at IFFI 2017 - 120 Beats Per

Minute (A French film on fight against indifference

towards AIDS)

Note: The film is directed by - Robin Campillo

2. Indian film personality of the year award - Amitabh

Bachchan

3. Best Female Actress Award – Parvathy Thiruvoth

Kottuvatta for the film ‘Take Off’

Note: The film is directed by - Mahesh Narayanan

4. Best Male Actor Award – Nahuel Pérez Biscayart,

Beats Per Minute 5. Best Director Award – Vivian Qu, Angels Wear

White

6. Lifetime Achievement Award – Atom Egoyan

7. Best Debut Film of a Director Award – Kiro Russo,

Dark Skull

8. ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal - Marathi Film Kshitij-

A Horizon, directed by Manoj Kadam.

9. 53rd Jnanpith award 2017- Krishna Sobti (eminent

Hindi writer).

Note:

➢ She was born in 1925 in Gujrat, in Pakistan’s

Punjab Province.

➢ Some of her popular works include Daar se

Bichhudi, Dil-o-Danish, Badalom ke Ghere,

Yaaron Ke Yaar, Mitron Marjani, and

Zindaginama.

➢ She is most known for her 1966 novel Mitro

Marajani, an unapologetic portrayal of a

married woman's sexuality.

10. UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 - The Sri

Ranganathaswamy Temple of Srirangam in Tamil Nadu

won UNESCO Asia Pacific Award of Merit 2017 for

cultural heritage conservation programme.

Note: It is the first temple from Tamil Nadu to win the

prize from the UN body.

11. Best Urban Transport Practices’ of the Union

Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs awards -

i. Best City Bus Services Award 2017 - Surat

Municipal Corporation awarded with the ‘Best City Bus

Services Award’ by the Union Ministry of Housing and

Urban Affairs for attracting 87 per cent of the private

vehicle and auto rickshaw users to use city buses. ii. ‘Best Non-Motorised Transport’ Award - Mysuru’s

Public Bicycle Sharing won the Best Non-Motorised

Transport’ Award.

iii. ‘Best Urban Transport Initiative’ Award - Kochi

(Kerala) was chosen for the for completing its Metro

Rail Project in a quick time.

iv. Best Intelligent Transport Project’ - The H-TRIMS

of Hyderabad, the Traffic Integraged Management

initiative was awarded with the award. .

12. Vishnudas Bhave award - Mohan Joshi (Veteran

actor)

Note: The award is conferred in memory of Vishnudas

Bhave, the founder of Marathi theatre.

13. Tata Literature Lifetime Achievement Award 2017

- Girish Karnad (Veteran actor).

14. 2017 Hridaynath Mangeshkar Award - Javed Akhtar

(Veteran writer-lyricist). 15. ‘General Insurance Company of the Year’ - Apollo

Munich Health Insurance.

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16. Green Platinum Award - The Govardhan Eco Village,

set up by the International Society for Krishna

Consciousness (ISKCON) in Palghar district won the

‘Green Platinum Award’ by Indian Green Building

Council (IGBC) of Confederation of Indian Industry

(CII).

17. Indira Gandhi National Integration award for

2015-16- T M Krishna (Carnatic music vocalist). He is

being awarded for his services in promoting and

preserving national integration in the country.

18. Cleartrip Named 'Best Mobile App for Travel' at

Mobexx Awards.

19. Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2017 - K Satchidanandan

(Noted Malayalam Poet and literary critic) has been

selected for Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2017. This is

Kerala government's highest literary honour.

20. UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage

Conservation - Mumbai’s The Royal Opera House.

21. Lifetime Achievement Award - Sharmila Tagore

(Veteran actress) Note: She was bestowed with the recognition by the

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi

for her contribution in the field of cinema.

22. Golden Peacock Award - N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister) has received the

Golden Peacock Award under the category 'Global

Leadership in Public Service and Economic

Transformation' at a convention in London at 17th

London Global Convention.

23. Mathrubhumi Literary Award - Eminent critic,

biographer and orator M K Sanu has been chosen for

the Mathrubhumi Literary Award for 2016 in

recognition of his rich contribution to the Malayalam

literature.

24. Asia Game Changers Award- 2017--Dev Patel.

25. First Kesari Media Award - T J S George. (Veteran

journalist)

26. Prem Nazir Award 2017 – Sharada (Veteran actress)

27. East Bengal football club’s highest honour 'Bharat Gaurav' - Dhanraj Pillay

28. 2018 Times Higher Education (THE) World university

ranking, Indian university has been names the top

university in India -- IISc-Bangalore.

29. First lifetime achievement award for his contribution to

Badminton -- Prakash Padukone.

30. Bollywood star has received the ‘Global Diversity

Award’ at Britain’s House of Commons - Salman Khan

31. Best film award at 18th IIFA Awards 2017-- Neerja. 32. JD(U) leader has also received the Lifetime

Achievement Award as a Rajya Sabha MP -- Sharad Yadav.

33. Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader has received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contributions as a Lok Sabha member -- LK Advani.

34. Indian city has been declared as a World Heritage City (WHC) by UNESCO -- Ahmedabad.

35. Indian film Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars

2018 -- Newton.

Note: Newton is a 2017 Indian Hindi-language black

comedy film directed by Amit V Masurkar and Produced

by Drishyam Films.

International Awards

1. The Silence Breakers' named Time’s Person of the

Year for 2017 – Time magazine has named 'the

silence breakers' its Person of the Year for 2017

mentioning to those women and men who have raise a

voice to sexual assault and harassment by powerful

public figures in America.

Note: • The women featured on the cover include

actress Ashley Judd, singer Taylor Swift,

former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, Visa lobbyist Adama Iwu, Mexican agricultural

worker Isabel Pascual.

• The #MeToo movement which has seen many

people come forward with allegations of

harassment and abuse.

• The runner-up for this year’s Person of the

Year was US President Donald Trump, who

was Time’s Person of the Year in 2016.

2. Children's Peace Prize 2017 – Mohamad Al Jounde Mohamad Al Jounde (16 years old) from Syria was

awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for

his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee

children.

Note:

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• He set up a school with the help of his family in

a Lebanese refugee camp which provides

education to the 200 children.

• He received the prize from Malala Yousafzai,

who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her

work for children's rights.

3. Miss Universe 2017 - Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters (Miss

South Africa). The event was held at the AXIS theatre at

Planet Hollywood Las Vegas, US.

4. Miss World 2017 - Manushi Chhillar (Miss India). The

event was held in Sanya City Arena in China.

Note: She was born in Rohtak, Haryana.

5. European Golden Shoe Award - Lionel Messi 6. 2017 Cervantes Prize - Sergio Ramirez Mercado. It is

the Spanish-speaking world's highest literary honor.

7. Miss International 2017 - Kevin Lilliana (Indonesia)

8. Abu Dhabi Award - The Andhra Pradesh Mineral

Development Corporation (APMDC) has bagged an

international award from Abu Dhabi.

9. Mother Teresa Award 2017 - United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has been named

as the recipient of the Mother Teresa Memorial Award

for Social Justice, 2017.

Note: The Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social

Justice was instituted by Harmony Foundation.

10. Jewish Nobel Prize - Natalie Portman (actress) has

been awarded Israel’s 2018 Genesis Prize in

recognition of her commitment to social causes and

deep connection to her Jewish and Israeli roots.

Note: 2018 Genesis Prize is a $1 million award, known as “the Jewish Nobel Prize.

11. Best Short Film Award - Indian short film ‘The

School Bag’ won the ‘Best Short Film Award' at the

South Asian Film Festival of Montreal (SAFFM). It tells

a story based in Pakistan.

Note: The movie is directed by Dheeraj Jindal.

12. 2017 Man Booker Prize - George Saunders (US

author).

Note:

➢ He won the award for fiction for his first full-

length novel 'Lincoln in the Bardo.

➢ With this, Saunders became second American

writer to win the award. In 2016, Paul Beatty

became the first American to win the award for

his novel The Sellout.

➢ Lincoln in the Bardo is an extended national ghost story. It chronicles the death of Abraham

Lincoln’s 11-year-old son Willie using the

accounts of hundreds of narrators. The book

describes the night President Lincoln visited

his son’s body in a Washington graveyard.

13. US Award For AIDS Research - Professors Salim

Abdool Karim and Quarraisha Abdool Karim received

the award from the Institute for Human Virology (IHV)

in Baltimore, US.

Note: Indian-origin South African researchers were

honored with a prestigious award for their exceptional

contributions in the field of HIV/AIDS.

14. 2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist

Challenge - Indian-American Gitanjali Rao won the

2017 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist

Challenge for inventing a quick, low-cost test to detect

lead-contaminated water.

15. 2017 Blue Planet Prize - Prof Hans Joachim

Schellnhuber from Germany won 2017 Blue Planet

Prize, world’s most prestigious award for pioneers in

environmental science. Note: He was awarded for establishing new field of

science ‘Earth System Analysis’ and introducing most

influential concepts including the notion of tipping

elements in the climate system in Tokyo.

List of Nobel Prize 2017 –

1. Nobel Prize in Peace ● Winner - International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear

Weapons (ICAN) ● Field - ICAN for its work to draw attention to the

catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

● ICAN headquarter at – Geneva, Switzerland. ● ICAN Executive Director - Beatrice Fihn

2. Nobel Prize in Literature

● Winner - Kazuo Ishiguro.

● He is a British author and best known for his novel “The Remains of the Day”.

● He was born in Nagasaki, Japan. 3. Nobel Prize in Economics

● Winner - Richard Thaler ● Field – for his work in behavioral economics. ● Richard Thaler born in New Jersey, United States.

He is a professor of behavioural sciences and economics at University of Chicago.

4. Nobel Prize in Medicine ● Winner - Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and

Michael W. Young

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● Field - for their discoveries on how plants, animals and humans adapt their biological rhythm so that it is synchronized with the Earth's revolutions.

● Jeffrey C. Hall – He is from New York, US and currently Professor at Brandeis University.

● Michael Rosbash – He is from Missouri, US and currently Professor at Brandeis University.

● Michael W. Young – He is from Miami, Florida, US and Professor at Rockefeller University, University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University School of Medicine.

5. Nobel Prize in Physics ● Winner - Rainer Weiss, Barry C. Barish and Kip S.

Thorne.

● Field - Their decisive contributions to the LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) detector and the observation of gravitational waves.

● Rainer Weiss born in Berlin, Germany. He is a Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

● Barry C. Barish born in Nebraska, U.S. He is a professor at California Institute of Technology.

● Kip S. Thorne born in Utah, U.S. He is a professor

at California Institute of Technology.

6. Nobel Prize in Chemistry

● Winner - Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and

Richard Henderson.

● Field - They developed cryo-electron microscopy

for the high-resolution structure determination of

biomolecules in solution. It’s a method of

simplifying and improving the imaging of

biomolecules.

● Jacques Dubochet born in Aigle, Switzerland. He

is a professor at University of Lausanne.

● Joachim Frank born in Siegen, Germany. He is a

professor at Columbia University.

● Richard Henderson born in Edinburgh, Scotland.

He is a professor at Laboratory of Molecular

Biology.

concise

Summits & Conference 2017

1. First SAICON 2017 held in –New Delhi. Note: • The theme of the conference was ‘Scoring

Goals in Sports with Science and Technology’.

• The first International Conference on Sports Medicine & Sports Sciences “SAICON 2017” was held in New Delhi.

• It was inaugurated by the Minister of State (I/C) Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore.

2. Russia-India-China Foreign Ministers Meet held

in Delhi –Foreign Ministers of Russia, India, and

China (RIC) trilateral meeting held in New Delhi.

3. Asean-India Connectivity Summit – New Delhi. • Theme "Powering Digital and Physical

Linkages for Asia in the 21st Century".

4. 11th Ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) – Buenos Aires, Argentina.

5. International Conference on Climate change held in - Nepal Note:

• The main objective of the conference is to explore holistic solutions for adaptation to change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region.

• President of Nepal Bidya Devi Bhandari has inaugurated the event.

6. 6th International Tourism Mart 2017 held in - Guwahati, Assam. Note:

• The International Tourism Mart is inaugurated by the Jagdish Mukhi, Governor of Assam.

• The main objective of the mart is to highlight the tourism potential of the region in the domestic and international markets.

7. The 3rd edition of the Dialogue between the NITI Aayog and the Development Research Council of China was held in Beijing, China. Note:

• The meeting was co-chaired by Vice Chairman NITI Aayog, Dr. Rajiv Kumar, and Mr Li Wei, President (Minister), DRC.

• The MoU was signed during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to China in May 2015.

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• The 2nd Dialogue was held in New Delhi in November 2016.

• The next 4th NITI Aayog - DRC Dialogue will be held in India in 2018.

8. 16th Meeting of the SCO Heads of Government

Council held in Sochi, Russia. Note:

• In 2018, the next SCO Council of Heads of Government Meeting will be held in Tajikistan.

9. The first International Exhibition and Conference on AYUSH and Wellness sector- AROGYA 2017 held in New Delhi. Note:

• The conference was inaugurated by the MoS

(Independent charge), Ministry of Ayush

Shripad Naik.

• The theme of the conference is ‘Enhancing the

global potential of Ayush’.

• AYUSH is the acronym of - Ayurveda, Yoga

and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and

Homoeopathy. 10. World Food India 2017 - New Delhi.

• The theme of WFI 2017 is ‘Transforming the Food

Economy’.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated

World Food India 2017 (WFI) at the India Gate

Lawns in New Delhi.

• Germany, Japan and Denmark are partner

countries to World Food India.

• This is first time India is hosting such an event for

the Food processing sector.

11. 'India Disaster Response Summit' – New Delhi.

Note:

• Kiren Rijiju has inaugurated the ‘India Disaster

Response Summit’ in New Delhi.

• The summit was organised jointly by the

National Disaster Management Authority

(NDMA) and Facebook.

12. India to host UN wildlife summit CMS COP13 in

2020 - United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) announced that India will host the next CMS

Conference of the Parties 13 (CMS COP13) in the year

2020.

Note:

• CMS COP is a global wildlife conference.

• UN wildlife summit CMS COP13 in 217 held

in Manila, Philippines.

• The theme of the Conference was ‘Their

Future is Our Future - Sustainable

Development for Wildlife and People’.

• CMS COP is held once in three years.

13. World Youth Forum - Egypt.

Note: The Minister of State (Independent Charge)

Youth Affairs and Sports Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore

attend the meeting

14. 38th Asian Conference on Remote Sensing – New

Delhi.

• The main theme of the conference is Space

Applications: Touching Human Lives.

15. 21st World Congress of Mental Health - New Delhi.

16. Global Clubfoot Conference – New Delhi.

Note:

• President Ram Nath Kovind inaugurated Global

Clubfoot Conference organised by CURE India in

partnership with Union Ministry of Health and

Family Welfare in New Delhi.

• About Clubfoot - It is one of the most common

orthopaedic birth defects where one or both feet

are rotated inwards and downwards. It describes range of foot abnormalities usually

present at birth in which your baby’s foot is

twisted out of shape or position. In clubfoot,

tissues connecting muscles to the bone

(tendons) are shorter than usual.

17. 11th India-US Trade Policy Forum Meeting -

Washington D.C

Note: The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for

Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu and US Trade

Representative Robert Lighthizer.

18. First International Conference on Consumer

Protection - New Delhi

• The theme of the conference was

“Empowering Consumers in New Markets”.

• It was inaugurated by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

19. First BIMSTEC Task Force on Traditional Medicine

meeting - New Delhi.

Note:

• The first-ever meeting of BIMSTEC Task Force

on Traditional Medicine (BITFM) was held at

Parvasi Bhartiya Kendra in New Delhi.

• It was organized by Union Ministry of AYUSH.

20. India-UAE Partnership Summit 2017 – Dubai.

• The theme of the summit was - Investment

Implementation.

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• The objective of India-UAE Partnership

Summit is to accelerate bilateral trade and

investment between the two countries.

12. 3rd International Conference on Yoga 2017 – New

Delhi, India.

● Theme of the conference is – “Yoga for Wellness”.

● Conference was organised by – Ministry of Ayush.

● Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated the

conference.

13. 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space 2017 – New

Delhi, India.

● Theme of the conference – ‘Cyber4All: An Inclusive,

Sustainable, Developmental, Safe and Secure

Cyberspace’

● The 4th GCCS conference held in The Hague,

Netherlands.

14. India – ASEAN Youth Summit 2017 – Bhopal, Madhya

Pradesh

Theme of the summit - “Shared Values, Common

Destiny”

15. First ASEAN – India Music Festival held in New Delhi,

India.

● Note: Theme – ‘Shared Values, Common Destiny’.

16. 14th India - European Union (EU) 2017 Summit –

New Delhi, India.

● President of European Union (EU) – Donald Tusk.

● Member countries – 28

● European Union (EU) headquarter - Brussels,

Belgium.

● The 15th India-EU Summit will be held in Brussels,

Belgium.

● The 13th India-EU Summit was held in Brussels, Belgium.

17. 8th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2017 -

Hyderabad, India.

● Theme of the Summit – ‘Women First, Prosperity for All’.

● 7th Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) 2016 –

Silicon Valley, USA.

18. 3rd India International Science Festival (IISF) 2017 – Chennai, Tamil Nadu. ● The 2nd IISF held in New Delhi in 2016. ● The 1st IISF was held at Indian Institute of

Technology (IIT) New Delhi in 2015. 19. India Mobile Congress 2017 - New Delhi.

● Note: This is the first time India is all set to host its own mobile mega show. The Indian telecom market is the second-largest in the world after China. India has a total subscriber base of over 1.18 billion subscribers.

20. 19th UN Climate Change Summit 2017- Bonn, Germany. ● Note: The United Nations Climate Change

Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

● 18th UN Climate Change Summit 2016 - Marrakech, Morocco.

21. 9th BRICS Summit 2017 - Xiamen, China. ● Theme of the Summit - “BRICS: Stronger

Partnership for a Brighter Future”. ● The Summit was attended by –

● President of Brazil – Michel Temer ● President of Russia – Vladimir Putin ● Prime Minister of India – Narendra Modi ● President of China – Xi, Jinping ● President of South Africa – Jacob Zuma

● Note: BRICS comprises 5-member countries: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

● Venue of 10th BRICS Summit 2018- Johannesburg, South Africa.

● Venue of 8th BRICS Summit 2016- Goa, India. 22. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit

2017 – Astana, Kazakhstan. ● Note:

● SCO General Secretary – Rashid Alimov.

● SCO Headquarter - Beijing, China.

● Official Language – Chinese, Russian.

● SCO comprises 8-member countries: China,

Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan,

Uzbekistan, India and Pakistan.

● India and Pakistan became full members of

the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)

on 9 June 2017.

● Venue of SCO Summit 2018- China.

● Venue of SCO Summit 2016- Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

23. ASEAN (30th & 31st) 2017 Summit – Manila, Philippines.

● Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) organisation comprising 10 South east Asian countries - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

● Its motto is - “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.

● Note: ASEAN Summit held twice a year.

● Secretary General – Le Luong Minh.

● Chairman - Philippines Rodrigo Duterte

● ASEAN headquarter – Jakarta, Indonesia.

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● Venue of ASEAN (32nd & 33rd) 2018 Summit - Singapore.

● Venue of 28-29th ASEAN Summit 2016 – Vientiane, Laos

24. 29th APEC 2017 Summit – Danang, Vietnam

● Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)organisation comprising 21 members countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, The Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, United States, Vietnam.

● Chairman - Trần Đại Quang

● Executive Director - Alan Bollard

● APEC headquarter – Singapore

● Venue of 30th APEC 2018 Summit - Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

● Venue of 28th APEC Summit 2016 – Peru, Lima

25. 4th BIMSTEC 2017 Summit – Kathmandu, Nepal

● Note:

● Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral

Technical and Economic Cooperation

(BIMSTEC)organisation comprising 7 members

countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar,

Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand.

● Chairmanship – Nepal (since 2014)

● BIMSTEC headquarter – Dhaka, Bangladesh

● Venue of 3rd BIMSTEC Summit 2014 - Nay Pyi

Taw, Myanmar.

26. G-20 Summit 2017 – Hamburg, Germany.

● Theme of the summit – “Shaping an Inter-

connected World” ● The G20 comprises 19 countries plus the

European Union. These countries are Argentina,

Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany,

India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi

Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the

United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of

America (USA).

● Meeting of G20 Labour Ministers 2017 – Bad

Neuenahr, Germany.

● Meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and

Central Bank Governors 2017 – Baden,

Germany.

● Venue of G-20 2018 Summit - Buenos Aires,

Argentina

● Venue of G-20 2016 Summit – Hangzhou,

China

27. 43rd G-7 Summit 2017 - Sicily, Italy.

● Theme of the summit - “Building the foundations of

renewed trust.”

● The G-7 comprises 7 countries – Canada, France,

Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United

States.

● Venue of 42nd G-7 2016 Summit – Shima,

Japan

● Venue of 44th G-7 2018 Summit – Canada

28. NATO Summit 2017 – Brussels, Belgium.

● Note:

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

comprises 29 countries – Albania, Belgium,

Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark,

Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland,

Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherland,

Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia,

Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United

States.

● NATO headquarter - Brussels, Belgium.

● NATO Secretary General - Jens Stoltenberg

● NATO 2018 Summit – Brussels, Belgium.

● NATO 2016 Summit -Warsaw, Poland

● Note: Turkey’s offer to host the 2018 NATO summit

is rejected by Canada and 18 European NATO

members. Hence, 2018 NATO Summit will be held in

Brussels, Belgium.

29. 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2017 –

Bengaluru, Karnataka.

● Theme of 2017 PBS is “Redefined Engagement

With Indian Diaspora”. ● Note:

● Chief Guest at 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017

is - H.E. Dr. Antonio Costa, Prime Minister of the

Republic of Portugal. ● The PBS convention is held on January 9th each year

to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi

from South Africa in 1915. It is celebrated to mark

the contribution of the overseas Indian community

to the development of the country.

● Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2016 was cancelled.

● 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS) 2015 –

Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

● Singapore to Host Regional Pravasi Bharatiya

Divas in 2018.

30. 104th Indian Science Congress 2017 – SV University, Tirupati. ● Focal theme - Science & Technology for National

Development.

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● 105th Indian Science Congress 2018 to be hosted by Osmania University, Hyderabad.

● Focal Theme - Reaching the Unreached Through Science & Technology

31. 25th CHOGM 2018 Summit– The next 25th meeting of

the heads of government of the Commonwealth of

Nations will be held in the London, United Kingdom.

● Note: In 2017, Vanuatu was selected to host 25th

CHOGM Summit but due to the damage done by

Cyclone Pam, it was decided to be held in United

Kingdom in 2018.

● Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held

after a gap of every two years.

● Total member countries – 52.

● Headquarter – London, United Kingdom.

● CHOGM 2015 Summit – Malta.

32. 3rd World Conference on Environment 2017 – New

Delhi, India. ● It was organized by the National Green Tribunal

(NGT) and inaugurated by the President Pranab

Mukherjee.

National Affairs

1. UNESCO names Kumbh Mela in list of Intangible

Cultural Heritage – The Intergovernmental

Committee for Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural

Heritage under UNESCO has inscribed ´KumbhMela´

on UNESCO’s Representative List of Intangible Cultural

Heritage of Humanity.

Note:

• The inscription of Kumbh Mela in list was

undertaken following recommendation by

expert body which examines nominations

submitted by member countries of UNESCO

during its 12th session of Committee held at

Jeju, South Korea.

• KumbhMela is the 14th intangible cultural

heritage from India to be listed in UNESCO’s

list.

2. Uttar Pradesh first State to approve Centre’s triple

talaq draft bill – Uttar Pradesh became first state to

approve Union Government’s draft law — Muslim

Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act that

makes practice of instant “triple talaq” or talaq-e-

biddat. a cognisable and non-bailable criminal offence.

The draft law was endorsed by the state cabinet

meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Background

3. India and Israel open centre for floriculture in

Tamil Nadu – India and Israel have jointly set up a

centre for excellence in floriculture at Thally in

Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. It is first agro-

technology development centre to be set up with

Israel’s assistance in Tamil Nadu.

4. Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist

Heritage held in New Delhi – India hosted “Bodhi Parva: BIMSTEC Festival of Buddhist Heritage” at New

Delhi as part of celebrations of 20th Anniversary of

BIMSTEC. The Festival was inaugurated by Minister of

State (IC) for Culture Dr. Mahesh Sharma.

5. India’s first mobile food testing lab unveiled in Goa

– India’s ‘first’ mobile food testing laboratory enabling

on-the-spot food safety tests was launched in Goa. It

was launched by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Note:

• This is the first ever ‘Food Safety on Wheel’

mobile laboratory in the country.

• The vehicle is equipped to conduct on-the-

spot tests to check food quality and curb

adulteration.

• It will also check hygiene level of water

and the results can be received within 15

minutes.

6. Mt Hope new tallest mountain in British Antarctic

Territory – As per new discovery from cartographers

surveying Antarctica, Mt Hope is the tallest mountain

in the British Antarctic Territory (BAT). Its height is

measured at 3,239 meters above sea level.

Note: Earlier, maps showed Mt Jackson with the

height 3,184 meters as the tallest mountain in the

territory according to researchers at British

Antarctic Survey (BAS).

7. Uttarakhand government makes LED bulbs

compulsory in all government offices – The state

government of Uttarakhand has taken a new initiative

for energy conservation by making it compulsory for

all government offices to install LED bulbs.

8. Kerala’s Alappuzha in top UN clean city list - The

waste management system was being implemented in Kerala’s coast town of Alappuzha has been recognised by the United Nations Environment Programme

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(UNEP) as one of the five models across the world for fighting the pollution menace.

Note: • Alappuzha called “the Venice of East” has

been listed in the UNEP environment report.

• PM Narendra Modi Swachh Bharat Abhiyan ranked Alappuzha at 380 among the 500 cities in the country in the Swachh Survekshan Survey 2017.

9. Farmer engagement app ‘Jai Kisaan’ launched in

Goa – The Chief Minister of Goa Manohar Parrikar

launched a farmer engagement app named ‘Jai Kisaan’

which aims to fulfil the needs of the farmer's

community in India.

10. PM Narendra Modi launches UMANG App – Prime

Minister Narendra Modi launched the UMANG App

(Unified Mobile Application), a platform that brings

more than100 government services on a single mobile

app.

11. PM Modi inaugurated Dr. Ambedkar International

Centre in New Delhi - Prime Minister Narendra

Modi inaugurated the B.R Ambedkar International

Centre in the New Delhi.

12. Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh has been included

in the National Capital Region (NCR). Now there are

total 23 districts which come under the National

Capital Region.

13. Kacheguda becomes first energy-efficient rail

station – Kacheguda railway station (South Central

Railway) has earned the unique distinction of being

the First Energy Efficient ‘A1 Category’ Railway

Station on Indian Railways. The station has achieved

100% energy efficiency replacing 1,312 conventional

lights with light-emitting diode (LED) lighting.

14. India’s largest floating Solar Power Plant opened in

Kerala by the State power minister MM Mani in Kerala.

The total budget for the project is Rs. 9.25 crore. The

plant is built at Banasura Sagar dam Kerala.

About Banasura Sagar Dam

• The Banasura Sagar Dam is located in

Wayanad District of Kerala in the Western

Ghats. It is built over Kabini River.

• It is the largest earthen dam in India and the

second largest in Asia.

• The Dam is named after the Banasura, the son

of Mahabali who was a very respected king of

Kerala.

15. Core sector grows 4.7% in October 2017 - The

growth of Core sector has grown till 4.7% in the

month of October 2017. The data is shared by the of

eight core industries released by Ministry of

Commerce and Industry.

Note:

• This is the highest core sector growth since

March 2017.

• The eight core sectors include - coal,

natural gas, crude oil, refinery products,

cement, fertilizers, steel, and electricity.

16. National Nutrition Mission approved by Union

Cabinet - The Union Cabinet has approved the setting

of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with an outlay of

9046.17 crore rupees for three years. It will be rolled

out in three phases from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

Note:

• The function of NNM is to monitor various

schemes contributing towards addressing

malnutrition.

• More than 10 crore people will be

benefitted by this programme.

• All the States and districts will be covered

in a phased manner i.e. 315 districts in

2017-18, 235 districts in 2018-19 and

remaining districts in 2019-20.

• It is an apex body under Ministry of

Women and Child Development.

17. Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium held in

New Delhi - The 22nd meeting of the Small Farmers’

Agri-Business Consortium held in New Delhi. The

meeting was chaired by Union Agriculture and

Farmers Welfare Minister Radha Mohan Singh.

About Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium

• The Small Farmers Agribusiness

Consortium (SFAC) is an autonomous

society established in 1994 and is

registered under Societies Registration Act

1860.

• It is promoted by Union Ministry of

Agriculture, Cooperation, and Farmers’

Welfare.

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• SFAC is also registered as Non-Banking

Financial Institution (NBFC) by Reserve

Bank of India (RBI).

18. 'Kathakar - International Storytellers Festival’

held in New Delhi - The 7th edition of the Kathakar -

International Storytellers Festival’ held at the Indira

Gandhi National Centre for the Arts ( IGNCA), New

Delhi.

Note:

• The festival was inaugurated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju.

• The festival was started under the aegis of UNESCO in 2010.

• It is the only oral storytelling festival in India and is a part of Ghummakkad Narain- the Travelling Literature Festival.

• The festival this year will be hosted in the cities of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida and Mumbai.

19. BSF celebrated 52nd formation - The Border

Security Force is celebrating its 52nd formation day on

1st December 2017.

Note:

• India's Border Security Force was formed on

December 1 in 1965 after the Indo-Pak and

India-China wars.

• The KF Rustamji, from the Indian police

service, was the first Director General of BSF.

• Krishan Kumar Sharma is the

present Director General of BSF.

• BSF headquartered in New Delhi.

20. One Rupee note turns 100 - The one rupee note turns

100 years old on 30th November 2017.

Note:

• The first one-rupee note was introduced on November 30, 1917, with the photo of King George V.

• In 1926, the RBI discontinued issuance of one-rupee note but it got reintroduced in 1940. In 1994 again, the note get discontinued which got back reintroduced in 2015.

• The One Rupee note is issued by Ministry of Finance and it bears the signatures of Finance Secretary.

21. Cyclone Ockhi strikes in the Tamil Nadu & Kerala - The

cyclone Ockhi strikes in the southern districts of Tamil

Nadu and some parts of Kerala state.

22. PM Narendra Modi launches Hyderabad Metro Rail

Project – Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated

the first phase of the 72-km elevated Hyderabad Metro

Rail project.

Moreover, PM Modi also launched the mobile app named 'T Savari' for Metro passengers. The first

phase of Hyderabad Metro Rail project has 24

stations in 30-km stretch between Miyapur and

Nagole.

23. ‘Project Saksham’ launched by Railways Ministry -

‘Project Saksham’ is a complete training programme,

which aims to train all employees of Indian Railways

with a view to upgrade their skill and knowledge. It

was launched by Union Minister of Railways & Coal

Piyush Goyal.

24. 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space held in New

Delhi.

Note: The theme of the conference is Cyber for all,

a secure and inclusive cyberspace for sustainable

Development.

25. India re-elected member of UNESCO’s executive

board - India was re-elected as member of executive

board of United Nations educational, scientific and

cultural organization (UNESCO).

Note: Executive board is UNESCO’s top decision-

making body. The election was held at 39th session of

General Conference of UNESCO in Paris, France.

26. Facebook launches Disaster Maps in India - The

social networking giant Facebook Inc. has rolled out

Disaster Maps for India in a bid to help communities

recover and rebuild faster in aftermath of natural

disasters. It was launched at Facebook’s first Disaster

Response Summit in India along with National Disaster

Management Authority (NDMA) to improve disaster

response and disaster management in India.

Note: Government has claimed that India will be the

first country to partner with Facebook on disaster

response.

27. India’s second Technology & Innovation Support

Centre established at Centre for Intellectual Property

Rights (CIPR), Anna University, Chennai.

Note:

• The objective of TISC is to stimulate dynamic,

vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights

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(IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and

innovation.

• It will thereby help to promote entrepreneurship

and enhancing social, economic and cultural

development by establishing network of TISCs in

India.

28. Supreme Court refuses to ban Kambala - The

Supreme Court has refused to pass an interim order to

stay Ordinance allowing kambala, the traditional

buffalo slush track race in Karnataka. People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), a non-

governmental organisation, had challenged the

Ordinance.

Note: Kambala is traditional slush track buffalo race

that is held annually in coastal districts of Karnataka

to entertain rural people of the area. The sports season

generally starts in November and lasts till March.

29. Govt. to provide financial assistance of Rs 2302.05

crore for Sagarmala projects - The Union Ministry of

Shipping undertook projects worth Rs 2302 crore for

financial assistance under the Coastal Berth Scheme of

the Sagarmala Programme. The Ministry also extended

the period of the scheme for three years up to 31

March 2020 and expanded its scope to cover capital

dredging at Major Ports and preparation of DPR for

coastal berth project.

Key points-

➢ The 47 projects under Coastal Berth Scheme are

distributed over eight states with the highest

number of projects in Maharashtra (12 projects),

Andhra Pradesh & Goa (10 projects), Karnataka (6

projects), Kerala and Tamil Nadu (3 projects),

Gujarat (2 projects) and West Bengal (1 project).

➢ The most recent beneficiaries of the scheme were

Jawahar Lal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and

Karnataka Government respectively for

developing coastal infrastructure at Jawahar Lal

Nehru Port, Karwar Port and Old Manglore Port.

About Coastal Berth Scheme of Sagarmala

Programme

➢ The Coastal Berth Scheme aims to provide

financial support to ports or state governments

for creation of infrastructure for movement of

cargo and passenger by sea or national

waterways.

➢ The total financial assistance from Central

Government is 50 per cent of the total cost of the

project subject.

30. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)

approved implementation of Special Banking

Arrangement (SBA) for Rs. 10,000 crore for

payment of outstanding claims on account of fertilizer

subsidy in year 2016-17.

31. Railways launch main arch on world's highest

bridge on Chenab - The Indian Railways has

commenced the main arch of the world's highest bridge on the River Chenab in Jammu and Kashmir's

Reasi district.

32. BRO builds world's highest motorable road in

Ladakh - The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has

constructed the world's highest motorable road in

Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir, passing

through Umlingla Top at a height of over 19,300 feet.

The feat was achieved under 'Project Himank' of the

organisation.

33. Govt. launched Food Regulatory & Nivesh Bandhu

portal - Union Minister of Food Processing Industries

Harsimrat Kaur Badal announced the launch of the

Food Regulatory Portal and Investor Facilitation

Portal “Nivesh Bandhu”.

About Nivesh Bandhu Portal –

➢ “Nivesh Bandhu” portal will assist investors to

make informed investment decisions.

➢ It will provide information on Central and State

Governments’ investor friendly policies, agro-

producing clusters, infrastructure, and potential

areas of investment in the food processing sector.

34. India sends first wheat shipment to Afghanistan

via Chabahar port - India has flagged off shipment of

wheat for Afghanistan through Iran’s Chabahar port.

Note: Chabahar port is strategically located in Sistan-

Balochistan province on energy-rich Iran’s southern

coast in Gulf of Oman near its border with Pakistan

and can be easily accessed from India’s western coast.

35. Govt. launched MSME Samadhaan Portal - The

Union Government has launched MSME (Micro, Small

and Medium Enterprise) delayed payment portal

'MSME Samadhaan'.

Key points –

➢ The portal will give information about the

pending payments of MSEs with individual

CPSEs, Central Ministries, State Governments,

etc.

➢ The portal will help in monitoring the delayed

payments in a more effective manner.

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➢ It will also empower the MSEs to access the

portal and monitor their cases.

36. Indian Railways to get its first set of solar plants -

Indian Railways’ first set of solar plants having a total

capacity of 5 megawatt peak (MWp). The plants built

on the roof tops of Hazrat Nizamuddin, New Delhi,

Anand Vihar and Delhi railway stations would be

generating 76.5 lakh units of solar power cumulatively every year and are expected to meet about 30 per cent

of the energy requirement of these stations.

37. BharatMala Pariyojana: The Union Government has

approved mega highway projects to build 83677 km of

highways over the next five years at a cost of Rs 7 lakh

crore.

Note:

➢ These highway projects include the ambitious

Bharatmala project which is the second-largest

highway project after National Highways

Development Project (NHDP) that saw

development of about 50000 km of roads.

➢ The Bharatmala Pariyojana or Project will

subsume all the existing highway projects,

including the flagship National Highways

Development Project (NHDP).

➢ Bharatmala project is an umbrella programme for

roads under which 34800 km of highways will be

constructed at a cost of Rs 5.35 lakh crore.

➢ Bharatmala Project will include 9000 km of

economic corridors, 6000 km of inter-

corridor and feeder routes, 5000 km of national

corridors efficiency improvement, 2000 km of

border road connectivity, 800 km of

expressways and 10000 km of balance

NHDP projects.

➢ A study under the Bharatmala project by global

consultancy firm AT Kearney identified 44

economic corridors for development. The

corridors included Mumbai-Cochin-Kanyakumari,

Bengaluru-Mangaluru, Hyderabad-Panaji and

Sambalpur-Ranchi among others.

➢ The government has assigned NHAI, National

Highway and Industrial Development Corporation

(NHIDCL) and state Public Work Departments

(PWDs) for the Bharatmala Project.

38. India’s first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra for

Skilling in Smart Cities Inaugurated - Union Home

Minister Rajnath Singh along with Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated India's

first Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) for

Skilling in Smart Cities in New Delhi. The main aim

behind the development is to bring momentum in

skilling through collaborative efforts.

Note: The PMKK Centre for Smart Cities will provide

skill training for unemployed youth through its short-

term training (STT) module and contribute to capacity

building of municipal employees through Recognition of

Prior Learning (RPL) program. 39. PM Modi launches 'Ro-Ro' ferry service in Gujarat -

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Phase 1

of the RO RO (Roll on, Roll off) ferry service between

Ghogha in Saurashtra and Dahej in south Gujarat. This

is the first of its kind project not only in India but also

in South-East Asia,”

About RO RO Ferry Service

➢ The term ro-ro is generally taken for large

ocean-going vessels. This is in opposite to the lo-

lo (lift-on and lift-off) vessels, which apply a

crane to load and unload cargo.

➢ This is a first of its kind of services in India. The

RO RO ferry service will be able to bear up to

hundred of vehicles (cars, bus, truck etc.) and

250 passengers linking the two ports.

➢ The ro-ro ferry services will take wheeled cargo

on and off the ferry on their own wheels or

using a platform vehicle. The wheeled cargo

includes, cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks,

trailers, and railroad cars.

40. Jaipur & Srinagar Airport ranked first and second

in ACI-ASQ Survey - The Jaipur and Srinagar Airport

were ranked first and second respectively in ACI

(Airports Council International)-ASQ (Airport Service

Quality) Survey in the category of 2-5 million

passengers.

41. Times Higher Education Rankings: IISC & IIT

Bombay among world’s top 200 for engineering -

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore and

Indian Instituted of Technology (IIT) Bombay were

ranked among world’s top 200 institutions for

engineering and computer science in Times Higher

Education subject-wise rankings.

Note: IISc was placed at the 89th spot, while IIT

Bombay was placed in the 126 spot. 42. JP Nadda has launched 15 medical outlets of ‘AMRIT

Deendayal’ in Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Punjab

through Video Conference from Shimla.

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43. PM dedicated first All India Institute of Ayurveda

to nation - Prime Minister Narendra Modi on

dedicated first All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in

New Delhi to the nation on the occasion of National

Ayurveda Day.

Note:

➢ The first ever All India Institute of Ayurveda

(AIIA)is an apex institute under Ministry of

AYUSH.

➢ It aims to bring synergy between the traditional

wisdom of Ayurveda and modern diagnostic tools

and technology. It has been set up on lines of

AIIMS

44. India’s first micro forest being built in Chhattisgarh.

45. The union minister Harsh Vardhan has launched SECURE

Himalaya project in association with UNDP at the Global

Wildlife Programme (GWP) conference in New Delhi. 46. The National Highways Authority of India has launched a

mobile app for smooth functioning of electronic toll

collection --MyFASTag.

47. Country’s first ‘Videsh Bhavan’ launched in Bandra Kurla

Complex (BKC), Mumbai by External Affairs Minister

‘Sushma Swaraj’.

48. India’s first Hyperloop project will come up in Andhra Pradesh.

49. The ‘Kandla Port’ has been renamed as -- Deendayal Port. Note: Kandla Port is the largest sea port of India (by volume of cargo handled) located in Kutch District of

Gujarat.

States News

1. Konark festival held in Odisha – The 31st edition

of the Konark festival held in Odisha. The festival

held every year from 1st to 5th December. The

objective of the festival is to promote the diverse

Indian dance heritage as well as the popularity of

Konark Temple and Odisha as a tourist destination.

2. Death for rape of girls aged 12 or less: MP - The

Assembly of Madhya Pradesh has passed a bill

awarding death to those found guilty of raping girls

aged 12 and below.

Note:

• The Bill will now be sent to the President

for his assent, after which it will become

a law.

• If President approved the bill, then

Madhya Pradesh will become the first

state where those convicted of such

rapes will face the death penalty.

• The bill introduced a section--376 (A)

(A)--to the Indian Penal Code (IPC)

under which a person convicted of

raping a girl aged 12 years or below may

be awarded death penalty, life

imprisonment or a minimum

imprisonment of 14 years with a fine.

3. Nagaland celebrated 54th formation Day –

Nagaland state celebrated its 54th formation day. On

1 December 1963, Nagaland became the 16th state

of India.

Note:

• The key economic activity of the state is

Agriculture and the main crops include –

rice, corn, millets, pulses, oilseeds, etc.

• The state shares its borders with the

state of Assam to the west, Arunachal

Pradesh to the North, Manipur to the

South and Burma to the east.

• The capital of Nagaland is Kohima.

Dimapur is the largest city in Nagaland.

• TR Zeliang is the present Chief Minister

of the state.

• Padmanabha Balakrishna Acharya is the

Governor of the Nagaland.

4. Hornbill festival held in Nagaland - The 18th

Hornbill festival held in Nagaland. The festival is

celebrated from 1-10 December every year in

Nagaland. It is also called the 'Festival of Festivals'.

5. Telangana Govt: Urdu as Second Official

Language - Telangana Chief Minister K

Chandrashekar Rao declared Urdu as the state's

second official language. Every office in the state will

now have an Urdu speaking officer. First official

language is Telugu.

6. PM lays Foundation Stone for Infrastructure

Projects in Bihar - The Prime Minister Narendra

Modi has laid the foundation stone for four

sewerage projects under the Namami Gange

programme; and four National Highway projects, at

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Mokama in Bihar. The total outlay of these projects

is over Rs. 3700 crore.

The projects include - The four sewerage projects

include Sewage Treatment Plant at Beur, Sewerage

System with Sewer Network at Beur, Sewage

Treatment Plant at Karmalichak and STP and Sewer

Network at Saidpur.

7. Aerospace Park to be set up in Tamil Nadu – The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Edapaddi K Palaniswami,

laid the foundation stone for an aerospace park at

Kanchipuram district to be set up by the State

Government in 245 acres and at an estimated cost of

Rs 198 crore.

8. Maharashtra to build 210m World’s Tallest

statue of Shivaji – Maharashtra government has

decided to build the 210-metre-high statue of

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the sea off the

Mumbai coast.

Currently, the Spring Temple Buddha statue, which

stands at 208 metres in China, is the world’s tallest

statue.

9. Allahabad to get India’s First Black Buck

Conservation Reserve - Uttar Pradesh cabinet

decided to make India's first conservation reserve

for blackbuck in Allahabad's Meja. The decision

taken for the protection of black deer will also help

in wooing tourists.

10. Haryana became the first State in India to treat

Hepatitis-C Patients with Oral Medicine - Haryana

has emerged as the first state in the country to treat

Hepatitis-C patients through oral medicine. This

medicine would be provided free of cost to

permanent residents of all categories at district

level.

11. Goa to host Nobel Prize Event in February 2018 -

The state government of Goa signed a trilateral

memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the

Department of Biotechnology, Union Ministry of

Science and Technology and Nobel Media, Sweden to

host the Nobel Prize Series - India event during 1-28

February 2018.

The event will be jointly organized by Department of

Bio-Technology, Union Ministry of Science and

Technology in collaboration with Department of

Science and Technology and Nobel Media AB,

Sweden.

12. Goa tops Gender Vulnerability Index – Goa has topped the Gender Vulnerability Index (GVI). The

index was prepared by Child development NGO Plan

India. Kerala and Mizoram secured second & third

rank respectively.

Bihar ranked at the bottom which is followed by

Uttar Pradesh. Delhi was placed near bottom at the

24th place

13. Lifetime pensions for 'Hindi Satyagrahis':

Haryana Govt. - The state government of Haryana announced the lifetime monthly pension of Rs

10,000 for 'Hindi Satyagrahis' and those from the

state who were jailed during the Emergency.

14. Vrindavan, Barsana declared as Sacred Sites -

The Uttar Pradesh government issued an order

notifying Vrindavan and Barsana towns in Mathura

district as 'sacred pilgrimage sites' ('pavitra teerth

sthals'). With this, Vrindavan and Barsana became

the first two places to be notified as teerth sthal in

government records. No meat and liquor shops will

be allowed in these towns anymore.

15. Madras HC bans photographs of living persons

on sign-boards and banners - The Madras High

Court banned the use of photographs or pictures of

living persons on banners, flex boards and sign-

boards across the state of Tamil Nadu.

16. Meghalaya Election department to feature in Limca

Book of Records - The Election department of

Meghalaya state has won an entry in the Limca Book

of Records for forming a human logo with newly-

enrolled young voters of Meghalaya on 1 July 2017.

The information was shared by Limca official

Garima Manon with the office of Meghalaya Chief

Electoral Officer on 24 October 2017.

17. Assam to host Global Investors Summit in 2018 -

Assam would be hosting its first Global Investors

Summit in Guwahati from 3- 4 February 2018.

18. The state government of Chhattisgarh has reduced

the rate of interest on loan given to women and their

self-help groups under Saksham Yojna. The rate of

interest on loans has been cut from 6.5 per cent to 5

per cent to benefit more women and their SHGs

under the Yojna. 19. India’s first-ever Industrial Training Institute for the

Divyangans will come up in the state-- Assam. Note: The foundation stone for the institute was laid at Dibrugarh ITI Complex at Borboruah in Assam.

20. Prime Minister ‘Narander Modi’ laid the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

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21. Uttar Pradesh state govt. has launched a mass

marriage scheme ‘Mukhyamantri Samoohik Vivaah

Yojana’ for BPL families. 22. Karnataka. state govt has launched 'Vision-2025'

project across the state.

Note: The project aimed at evolving a draft policy for

development of the state for the year 2025 by

seeking the opinion of the general public.

23. Odisha state Govt. has launched a Sampurna Yojna

scheme for pregnant women. 24. The Union Minister Dr. Harshvardhan has launched 'Pt

Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul

Pariyojana' in Uttarakhand.

25. Himachal Pradesh became the first Indian state to

launch electric bus service. 26. Jharkhand state government has launched Shaheed

Gram Vikas Yojana to provide houses to freedom fighters.

27. Tripura became the first Indian state to set up family welfare district committees to examine the complaints

of women against their husbands and in-laws and find an amicable solution.

28. Jammu & Kashmir government has inaugurated the

second International Yoga Festival and International

Yoga Sports Championship 2017.

29. India’s first-ever railways disaster management centre

will come up near Bengaluru, Karnataka by 2018.

30. India’s first-ever aviation university Rajiv Gandhi National Aviation University (RGNAU) will come up in Fursatganj in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

31. The 2017 Aadi Perukku festival is celebrated in Tamil Nadu.

32. India’s biggest Global Skill Park will be set up in the

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

33. India’s first automatic coastal warning for disasters

will set up in Odisha.

34. India’s first freight village will be developed by the

Inland waterways authority of India (IWAI) in --

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

International Affairs

1. Saudi Arabia lifts 35 years ban on cinemas, movie

theaters.

2. Taj Mahal named second-best UNESCO world

heritage site – According to a survey, the Taj Mahal

of Agra, India is the second-best UNESCO world

heritage site in the world.

Note:

• Angkor Wat of Cambodia named as the

Best UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Angkor is one of the most important

archaeological sites in South-East Asia.

• The survey was conducted by the

world’s largest travel portal TripAdvisor

which lists the UNESCO Cultural and

Natural heritage sites which are rated by

travellers around the globe.

• Taj Mahal is followed by Great Wall,

China; Machu Picchu, Peru; Iguazu Falls,

Argentina/Brazil; Sassi of Materia, Italy;

Auschwitz, Poland; Old City of Jerusalem,

Israel; Historic areas of Istanbul, Turkey;

and Historic Krakow, Poland.

3. Venezuela Airlines banned from European Union

skies - The Airline of Venezuela Avior has been

barred from European Union skies after a committee

determined it no longer meets international safety

standards.

4. Donald Trump recognise Jerusalem as Israel's

capital – Donald Trump has announced that the U.S.

will recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

5. Wassenaar Arrangement decides to admit India

as its new member – The elite export control

regime Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) has decided

to admit India as its new member at the two-day

plenary meeting of the grouping in Vienna.

It would enhance its credentials in the field of

non-proliferation despite not being a signatory

to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Wassenaar Arrangement plays a significant

role in promoting transparency and greater

responsibility in transfers of conventional arms

and dual-use goods and technologies.

Note:

India will become the Arrangement's 42nd

participating state as soon as the necessary

procedural arrangements for joining the WA are

completed.

The Wassenaar Arrangement participating

states reviewed the progress of the number of

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current membership applications and agreed at

the plenary meeting to admit India.

6. ISA become Treaty-based International

Intergovernmental organization –The

International Solar Alliance (ISA) has become the

treaty-based international intergovernmental

organization one month after Guinea became the

15th country to ratify it. Note:

• Till now, 46 countries have signed and

19 ratified Framework Agreement of

International Solar Alliance (ISA).

• It is the first treaty-based international

government organisation to be based in

India.

• Its headquarter is located on the campus

of National Institute of Solar Energy

(NISE), Gwalpahari, Gurgaon, Haryana.

About ISA

• The International Solar Alliance (ISA) is

jointly launched by the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi and French President

Francois Hollande on the sidelines of

COP-21 of UN Climate Conference in

Paris in November 2015.

• The ISA is an alliance of more than 121

countries. The institutional structure of

ISA consists of an Assembly, a Council

and a Secretariat.

• The alliance is also called International

Agency for Solar Policy and Application

(IASPA).

7. PM Modi emerges as most tweeted about world

leader after Trump - According to the

microblogging site Twitter, Prime Minister Narendra

Modi has emerged as the most tweeted about world

leader after US President Donald Trump this year.

Note:

• With 44.1 million followers, Donald

Trump top the “most tweeted about

world leaders” for the year 2017.

• Narendra Modi ranked on the second

spot with 37.5 million followers about

the world leader, after Donald Trump.

8. Iran President opened the first phase of

Chabahar port which is known as the Shahid

Beheshti port. Iran President Hassan Rouhani

inaugurated the port. The Shahid Beheshti Port of

Chabahar is now the only and largest port in Iran on

the Indian Ocean and will significantly help in

regional development with the rest of world

countries.

9. US withdraws from UN Migrant & Refugee pact. –

The United States has withdrawn itself from a

United Nations Migrant & Refugee pact. to improve the handling of migrant and refugee situations.

10. Venezuela to launch new cryptocurrency ‘Petro’

- According to the Venezuelan President Nicolas

Maduro, the country is set to launch a digital

currency called the “petro” to combat US -led

financial "blockade,".

The ‘Petro’ a cryptocurrency will be backed by

Venezuela’s oil, mineral and gold reserves. It

would help Venezuela to make financial

transactions and overcome the financial

blockade.

11. India re-elected to International Maritime

Organisation Council. YK Sinha, India’s

ambassador to the UK, represented India at the

assembly in London. India joined the International

Maritime Organisation Council as a member in 1959.

Note:

• The International Maritime Organization

(IMO) is the agency of United Nation which

plays an important role in relation to the

global shipping industry.

• It was established in 1959.

• The IMO has 172 Member States and three

Associate Members.

• Headquarter of IMO – London, United

Kingdom

• Head - Kitack Lim 12. Bank of China Begins Operations in Pakistan - Bank

of China has formally launched its operations in

Pakistan, with its first branch inaugurated in Karachi.

13. Priti Patel resigned from UK Cabinet - Priti

Patel, Britain’s first Indian-origin Cabinet Minister

resigned as International Development Secretary.

Note: This was the second Cabinet resignation within a

week. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has also

resigned recently over sexual harassment allegations.

14. EU Launches Election Observation Mission for

Nepal Polls - The European Union Election

Observation Mission was officially launched to monitor

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the general and provincial polls in Nepal which are

scheduled for November 26 and December 7.

15. Hong Kong, World's Top City for International

visits - Hong Kong remains the world's most visited

city by international travellers in spite of strained

relations with neighbouring China. The report is

published by Euromonitor International.

Top 3 Countries in the list are - Hong Kong, Bangkok &

London.

16. India to contribute USD 100 million to UN

partnership fund - India has pledged an additional

amount of USD 100 million towards the UN

partnership fund, scaling up its support to sustainable

development projects across the developing world.

17. ICIJ releases Paradise papers - The International

Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has

released ‘The Paradise Papers’, a global investigation

that reveals the offshore activities of some of the

world’s most powerful people and companies.

Note: Among 180 countries represented in the data,

India ranks 19th in terms of number of names. In all

names of 714 Indians have figured in this largest ever

black money data leak.

International Consortium of Investigative

Journalists (ICIJ) - The ICIJ is global network of more

than 200 investigative journalists in 70 countries who

collaborate on in-depth investigative stories. It was

founded in 1997 by respected American journalist

Chuck Lewis. It is headquartered in Washington DC,

US. Earlier in 2016, it had released Panama Papers.

18. Guinea ratifies International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement - The Republic of Guinea

ratified the International Solar Alliance (ISA)

Framework Agreement. The instrument of ratification

was handed over to External Affairs Minister Sushma

Swaraj by Guinea’s Foreign Minister Mamady Toure,

who was on his 4 day visit to India from 3-6 November

2017.

Note:

➢ With this, Guinea became the 15th country to

ratify the agreement.

➢ With the ratification of ISA pact by 15

countries, ISA will now be an international

legal body.

About International Solar Alliance Pact

➢ The International Solar Alliance was launched

jointly by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi

and French President Francois Hollande on the

first day of the COP-21 summit at Paris in 2015.

➢ The ISA headquartered in India.

➢ The alliance was conceived as a coalition of solar

resource rich countries to collaborate on meeting

their energy needs through a common and agreed

approach.

➢ The alliance will become a legal entity once at least

15 countries ratify and deposit the framework

agreement.

19. Saudi Arabia to allow women into sports stadiums

from 2018 - Turki Al-Asheikh, Chairman of the

General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia announced

that Saudi women will now be able to attend sports

events in stadiums starting from 2018. The move is

aimed at empowering and engaging women in the

society as an integral part of the development process.

20. WHO removes Robert Mugabe as Goodwill

Ambassador for NCDs in Africa- The World Health

Organisation (WHO) cancelled the appointment of

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe's appointment as

its Goodwill Ambassador for Non-Communicable

Diseases (NCDs) in Africa.

21. Nicaragua signs Paris Climate Agreement - Central

American country Nicaragua signed the Paris

Agreement on climate change, leaving the United

States and Syria as the only two countries holing out to

sign this global climate pact.

Note: As per Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega,

the Paris Agreement is the only international

mechanism that offers the conditions to face global

warming and its effects.

➢ US withdrawal from Paris agreement -

President Donald Trump on 1 June 2017 withdrew the United States from the landmark

2015 Paris agreement to fight climate change.

Trump stated that the Paris accord will

undermine the US economy, cost US jobs, weaken

American national sovereignty and put the

country at a permanent disadvantage to the other

countries of the world.

22. 14th SAARCLAW Conference held in Colombo, Sri

Lanka - The 14th South Asian Association for Regional

Co-operation in Law (SAARCLAW) Conference was

held in Colombo, capital city of Sri Lanka along with

11th SAARC Chief Justices Conference.

23. China Unveils Asia's Largest Island-Building Vessel

- China unveiled Asia's largest artificial island-building

ship. The 140-metre-long vessel, which has been

dubbed as"magic island maker", is capable of digging

6,000 cubic metres an hour, which is equivalent to three standard swimming pools. The boat named Tian

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Kun Hao is equivalent of three standard swimming

pools.

24. World’s Third Largest Book Fair Opens in Sharjah -

With more than 1.5 million book titles and 1,650

publishing houses from 60 countries, Sharjah

International Book Fair (SIBF) opened its doors to

public and trade visitors. It is the third largest book fair

in the world.

Note:

➢ The book fair was held under the theme ‘A

World in My Book’. The event has been

organised by Sharjah Book Authority (SBA).

➢ United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has recently

announced Sharjahas as the ‘World Book

Capital 2019’.

25. World’s First Hydrogen Tram Begins Operation in

China - The world’s first hybrid electric tram powered

by hydrogen fuel cells has started running in China,

marking a big step in the application of green energy in

public transport.

26. Burundi, first Nation to leave International

Criminal Court - Burundi became the first nation ever

to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC), set up

15 years ago to prosecute those behind the world’s

worst atrocities.

Note:

➢ Bujumbura is the capital of Burundi and

Burundian franc is its currency.

➢ International Criminal Court established in

2002. Its head office is located in the Hague, the Netherlands.

27. Peru approves medicinal use of marijuana - The

Peru government = has approved a bill to authorises

the medicinal and therapeutic use of cannabis

(marijuana) in the country.

Note: With this Peru became sixth country in Latin

America to legalise cannabis. Uruguay was first in

2013, allowing sales of cannabis any purpose. It was

followed by Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and Chile.

28. Chile named Best Country to Visit in 2018 - The

travel guide company Lonely Planet has ranked Chile

as the number one country to visit in 2018 in its Best

in Travel 2018 list.

Note:

➢ The guide has published the 13th edition of its

annual list of the top 10 countries every traveller

should have on their bucket list for 2018.

➢ Chile was the only South American country to earn

the top spot on the list.

➢ Top 3 Countries in the list are – Chile, South Korea

& Portugal

29. Gina Miller Named UK’s Most Influential Black

Person of the Year - Indian origin campaigner Gina

Miller was named UK’s most influential black person of

the year. She won a legal challenge seeking

Parliamentary approval for triggering Brexit.

Note: Gina Miller (52-year-old) ranked on top in the

2018 'Powerlist' of 100 people of African and

African Caribbean inheritance published in London

by Powerful Media.

30. Saudi Arabia lift its ban on internet calling

applications, easing restrictions online as the

conservative kingdom faces new criticism over

censorship. 31. The world’s highest sandcastle has built in the

Germany. Note: According to the Guinness World Records, the world's highest sandcastle is now standing 16.68 meters tall in the German city of Duisburg.

28. Two-day Indian Ocean Conference 2017 being organized by India Foundation in Temple Trees in -- Colombo. Note: The theme of this year’s conference is Peace, Progress and Prosperity and will involve participants from more than 35 countries. This will be second IOC conference (first edition-Sep16 in Singapore).

28. Kenya imposed the world's toughest law against plastic bags in the country to reduce plastic pollution.

29. Google has launched the latest version of its mobile operating system -- Android Oreo.

30. British scientists developed the world’s smallest surgical robot named -Versius, which could transform daily operations for tens of thousands of patients.

32. China launched its first cyber court specializing in

handling Internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub

of Hangzhou.

33. Montenegro Officially joined North Atlantic Treaty

Organization (NATO) and become the 29th member country.

34. The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has

opened in Switzerland. 35. Peggy Whitson (an Astronaut) returned to Earth,

wrapping up a record-breaking flight that catapulted her to first place for U.S. space endurance. Note: Whitson’s 665 days off the planet 288 days on this mission alone exceeds that of any other American and any other woman worldwide.

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Sports News

1. Hockey World League winner – Australia beat

Argentina by 2-1 in the final to retain their Hockey

World League title. The final was played in

Bhubaneswar, Odisha.

Note: India defeated Germany by 2-1 to grab the

bronze medal at the event.

2. FIFA Lifts Kuwait Football Ban – The international

football federation, FIFA, has lifted a two-year

suspension against Kuwait’s football association that

has prevented the country from participating in

international tournaments.

3. Kanchanmala Pande wins India’s 1st World Para

Swimming Championship Gold – Kanchanmala

Pande of Nagpur has created history as she became the

first Indian to secure pole position at the World Para-

Swimming Championship in Mexico.

Note: She won the gold in the 200-meter medley event

in the S-11 category and was also the only Indian to

qualify for the women’s category.

4. Mujeeb Zadran From Afghanistan Becomes First

Cricketer Born in 21st Century - Mujeeb-ur-Rehman

Zadran, the 16-year-old off-spinner, became the youngest ever from Afghanistan to play International

cricket and overall, he is the 9th youngest to make

debut in ODI cricket.

5. Gurdeep creates three national records in IWF

C'ships – Lifter Gurdeep Singh has created three new

senior national records in +105 Kilogram weight

category in IWF World Weightlifting Championships at

Anaheim in USA.

6. Sushil Kumar quits as National Sports Observer for

wrestling –The Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar has

resigned from the post of a National Sports Observer

for wrestling. Earlier, Boxing Champion Mary Kom had

resigned as the national observer for boxing.

7. Cristiano Ronaldo wins fifth Ballon d'Or award –

The Real Madrid forward ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’ (32-year)

has won the Ballon d'Or for a fifth time to move level

with rival Lionel Messi at a ceremony in Paris. Ronaldo

previously won the award in 2008, 2013, 2014 and

2016. 8. IOC banned Russia from 2018 Winter Olympics

Games - The International Olympic Committee (IOC)

has banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics

Games.

Note:

• The decision was announced by the IOC

president Thomas Bach and his board

members on the findings and

recommendations of a 17-month investigation

on the state-sponsored doping at the 2014

Games hosted by Russia in Sochi.

• The 2018 Winter Olympics Games will be held

in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

9. India win first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton

Team Championship - India defeated Nepal by 3-0 to

win the first-ever South Asian Regional Badminton

Team Championship.

The final match was played at Tarun Ram Phookan

Indoor Stadium in Guwahati.

10. Jason Holder, captain of West Indies suspended for

2nd test –

The Captain of the West Indies team Jason Holder has

been suspended for the 2nd test against New Zealand

because of his team's slow over-rate in the opening

fixture.

According to the International Cricket Council (ICC),

the sentence was forced after the West Indies were

ruled to be three overs short of their target in the

Wellington Test, which they lost by an innings and 67

runs.

11. Virat Kohli became the first captain to hit six

double centuries in Test cricket. He scored his record sixth Test double hundred in 238 balls on the

second day of the ongoing third Test against Sri Lanka

at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Note: Also, Virat Kohli became the second Indian

cricketer to score back-to-back double hundreds after

Vinod Kambli.

12. Prithvi Shaw to lead in 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket

World Cup – The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup will be

held in New Zealand from 13th January to 3rd

February 2018.

13. Deepika Kumari of India has won the bronze medal at

the Indoor Archery World Cup which was concluded in

Bangkok. 14. Mirabai Chanu becomes the second Indian to win the

Gold medal in World Weightlifting Championships at

Anaheim, USA.

Note:

• She won the Gold medal in the women’s 48kg

category.

• She became the second Indian after Karnam

Malleswari to achieve the feat.

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• Karnam Malleswari won the Gold medal in

World Weightlifting Championships in 1995 in

China.

• Chanu belongs from Manipur state.

15. Gopi Thonakal became the first Indian man to win

Asian Marathon Championship held at Dongguan in

China. He belongs from Kerala state.

16. Ankushita wins 'Best Boxer' title in World Youth

Women's Boxing Championship

• Ankushita Boro, of Assam, has won the Best Boxer' title in World Youth Women's Boxing Championship held in Guwahati.

• She clinched the fifth gold for India after defeating Russia’s Ekaterina Dynnik in the 64kg final.

• She belongs from Megaai Gairrani village in Assam and began boxing in 2012.

17. Pankaj Advani wins World Snooker Championship - Pankaj Advani defeated Amir Sarkhosh of Iran 8-2 to

win the 15-frame IBSF World Snooker Championship

in Doha

It was the Indian star’s 18th world title.

Advani had won his 17th world title at the same venue

when he won the IBSF World Billiards Championship

defeating Mike Russell of England.

18. AIBA Youth Women’s World Boxing Championship

2017 - India's first youth world boxing championship

will be held from 19 to 26 November 2017 in

Guwahati, Assam.

• The official mascot, named - Guppy, is a female version of Assam's one-horned rhino.

• The logo infuses two key elements-- the

strength of an Indian woman in the form of a

female boxer and the culture of Assam

through the 'gamosa', a hand-woven piece of

cloth in the state.

• The World Championship's official anthem

is 'Make Some Noise'. It is composed by Shaan

and rendered by renowned singer Sunidhi

Chauhan.

• Mary Kom named ambassador of the AIBA

Youth Women’s World Boxing Championship.

19. FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 – For the first time, India

hosted the 17th edition of FIFA U-17 World. Nicolai

Adam is the coach of Indian team. Amarjit Singh Kiyam

(Manipur) is the captain of U-17 FIFA Indian team.

Key Facts –

➢ Winner – England won the title by defeating

Spain by 5-2 in the final.

➢ Best Player Award - Phil Foden of England has

been adjudged tournament’s best player and has

been awarded ‘Golden Ball’.

➢ Golden Glove’ Award - Gabriel Brazao the

goalkeeper of Brazil’s national football team has

won the ‘Golden Glove’.

➢ Brazil has won the Fair Play Award.

➢ Jeakson Singh (Manipur) creates history by

scoring India’s first ever goal in FIFA U-17

World Cup against Colombia.

➢ FIFA U-17 WC in India becomes most attended in event’s history for the first time.

➢ USA-Based Namit Deshpande becomes the First NRI to Play for India’s U17 World Cup Team.

➢ Esther Staubli (Switzerland) became the first female football referee to officiate a match.

➢ The official Mascot for the FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 was clouded leopard named ‘Kheleo’.

➢ The official ball for Under-17 football World Cup is called ‘Krasava’.

➢ The final match of the event was held in Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata.

20. Asian Boxing Championship 2017: Indian boxer MC

Mary Kom won Gold in 48 kg category. She defeated

North Korea’s Hyang Mi Kim by 5-0. The tournament

held in Vietnam.

21. Badminton Men’s National Champion – H.S.

Prannoy. He defeated Kidambi Srikanth at 82nd

Senior National Championship, in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

22. Badminton Women’s National Champion – Saina

Nehwal. She defeated P.V. Sindhu at 82nd Senior

National Championship, in Nagpur, Maharashtra. Note: World Senior Badminton Championship held in

Kochi.

23. Jasprit Bumrah (bowler) ranked at top spot in ICC T20 Rankings.

24. Puducherry becomes an Associate Member of BCCI

- The Cricket Association of Puducherry (CAP) was

chosen by the Committee of Administrators (CoA) as

an associate member of the Board of Control for

Cricket in India (BCCI). Now Puducherry will be

allowed to play the Ranji Trophy in 2018.

25. International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup 2017 (ISSF) – Host country – India. Heena Sidhu and Jeetu Rai won the Gold medal at 10m Air Pistol event. Note:

• The ISSF headquarters is located in Munich, Germany. Olegario Vazquez Rana has been serving

as the President of the organisation since 1980.

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26. Heena Sidhu wins Gold at 10m Air Pistol event in

Commonwealth Shooting Championships held in

Brisbane, Australia.

27. Roger Federer wins ATP World Tour 8th Basel Title by

defeating Juan Martin del Potro in the final.

28. Yonex French Open Badminton 2017: The

tournament was held in Paris, France.

List of Winners –

• Men’s Singles - Kidambi Srikanth (India) beat

Kenta Nishimoto (Japan).

• Women’s Singles - Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei)

beat Akane Yamaguchi (Japan)

Note: ➢ Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth became the

first Indian to win the men’s singles title at

French Open badminton tournament.

29. Scott Fleming joined National Basketball Association

(NBA) India as Head of Basketball Operations.

30. Amjyot Singh becomes third Indian in National

Basketball Association (NBA) league. Amjyot

Singh became the third Indian after Satnam Singh and

Palpreet Singh Brar to walk into the National

Basketball Association (NBA) league.

31. Gokul Natesan, second Indian-Origin Player to be Signed by NBA G-League side. He was picked by Canton Charge, a minor league affiliate team of Cleveland Cavaliers.

32. Patna Pirates beats Gujarat Fortunegiants to clinched

Third Pro Kabaddi Successive Title. 33. 2017 Sultan of Johor Cup Hockey: The tournament

was held in Malaysia.

Key points ➢ Australia won the title by defeating Great Britain

in the final.

➢ Indian won the Bronze medal by defeating

Malaysia.

34. Martina Hingis announces retirement from Pro

Tennis.

Key facts –

➢ Martina Hingis is from Switzerland.

➢ She is the youngest Grand Slam champion in

history, having won the Wimbledon doubles

title when she was just 15 yrs. old.

➢ Hingis was inducted into the International

Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013.

➢ She also won the Women’s Doubles and Mixed

doubles of US Open 2017.

35. Aditi Ashok (golfer) won third Ladies European Tour

title in Abu Dhabi.

36. Shiv Kapur (golfer) won the Panasonic Open Title.

37. Women’s Asia Cup Hockey 2017 - Indian women's

hockey team defeated China by 5-4 to win the Asia Cup

2017 title. The final was held in Kakamigahara city in

southern Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

Note:

➢ With the victory, Team India has secured a

berth for itself at the 2018 Hockey World Cup.

This is the second time that India has claimed

the top spot in the history of the tournament.

➢ The first time was 13 years ago in the year

2004.

38. Men’s Asia Cup Hockey 2017 - India beat Malaysia in

the final to clinch Asia Cup 2017 title. The final was

played in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Note: It last clinched the trophy in 2003 and 2007 in

Kuala Lumpur and Chennai respectively.

39. Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth achieves career-

best World No 2 ranking. He won back-to-back titles

at Indonesia and Australia and then at Denmark and

France.

Note:

➢ Kidambi Srikanth wins Men's Singles Title in

French Open. He defeated Japan's Kenta

Nishimoto in the final.

➢ Kidambi Srikanth wins Men's Singles Title in

Denmark Open. He defeated Hong Kong's

Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the final.

➢ Kidambi Srikanth wins Men's Singles Title in

Indonesia Open. He defeated Japan's

Kazumasa Sakai in the final.

➢ Kidambi Srikanth wins Men's Singles Title in Australia Open. He defeated China’s Chen

Long in the final.

40. Virat Kohli & Mithali Raj top the ICC ODI Rankings -

Indian cricket team captains Virat Kohli and Mithali Raj

became number one at ICC ODI rankings for batsman

and batswomen.

Key points –

➢ Indian captain Virat Kohli reclaimed the top

spot of the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen with

889 rating points.

➢ Mithali Raj was ranked number with 753

rating points.

41. Virat Kohli becomes fastest batsman to score 9000-

run mark - Indian skipper Virat Kohli became the

sixth Indian and fastest to complete 9000 ODI runs

during India’s third and final one-day international

against New Zealand in Kanpur. Kohli has played his 202nd innings, has become the 19th batsman to break

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the 9000-run mark, making him the fastest to get

there.

42. Delhi Olympic Games to be held in December - The

Delhi State Olympic Association has announced to

organise Delhi Olympic Games in the capital city. The

sporting events will be held from 9 December 2017- 18

December 2017. The announcement to conduct a

sporting event of Olympic level came in order to

promote Olympics and also the spirit of sports and

sportsmen in Delhi.

Note: Olympic wrestler Yogeshwar Dutt was

confirmed as the brand ambassador of Delhi Olympic

Games 2017.

43. Cristiano Ronaldo wins the Best FIFA Men's Player

Award - Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo won the

Best FIFA Men's Player Award for the second year in

London.

Note:

➢ Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi and Brazil’s

forward Neymar were runners up for the

award.

➢ Ronaldo got 43.16 per cent of the total votes,

while Lionel Messi and Neymar fetched 19.25

and 6.97 per cent votes respectively.

➢ Best FIFA Men's Coach - Zinedine Zidane

➢ Best FIFA Goalkeeper - Gianluigi Buffon

➢ Best FIFA Women's Player - Lieke Martens

➢ Best Women's Coach - Sarina Wiegman

➢ FIFA Fan Award - Celtic

44. Kavita Devi becomes first Indian Woman to sign

with World Wrestling Entertainment - Kavita Devi became the first Indian woman to tie-up with the

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).

Note:

➢ Shadia Bseiso became the first Arab woman

from the Middle East to sign a WWE

developmental contract.

➢ Kavita Devi hails from Haryana and was an

accomplished kabaddi player in high school.

➢ In 2016, she won gold in the 75kg weightlifting

division at the South Asian Games.

➢ She is the first Indian woman to compete in a

WWE ring.

45. Ashish Nehra retired from all format of Cricket –

Ashish Nehra has announced his retirement from all

formats of Cricket during the third T-20 match against

India and New Zealand in Delhi.

Note: ➢ Ashish Nehra made his cricket debut in 1999

under Mohammed Azharuddin in India.

➢ He made his international debut in a Test

match against Sri Lanka in Colombo in

February 1999.

➢ He has taken 44 Test wickets, besides 157 ODI

and 34 T20.

46. FIFA suspends the Pakistan Football Federation -

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association

(FIFA) has decided to suspend the Pakistan Football

Federation (PFF) with immediate effect in accordance

with the verdict of the Bureau of the FIFA Council on

10 October 2017 on account of undue third-party

interference. Following its decision to suspend the PFF,

the Pakistan Football Federation loses all its

membership rights as per FIFA Statutes.

47. Iceland makes history to Qualifies for FIFA 2018

World Cup - Iceland created history by qualifying for

the 2018 World Cup. This is the first time that Iceland

qualified for the World Cup.

Note:

➢ Iceland became the smallest country to clinch a

position at the 21st FIFA World Cup.

➢ The previous smallest country to have reached

the World Cup was Trinidad & Tobago which

had a population of 1.3 million.

➢ The 21st edition of FIFA World Cup 2018 will

be held in Russia.

➢ This is the first time when Iceland and Panama

will be participants.

48. Gaganjeet Bhullar Clinches Macao Open Golf Title

2017 – With this win Gaganjeet Bhullar has lifted

his eighth Asian Tour title at the Macau Open. 49. India to host Junior Asian Wrestling Championship

(JAWC) 2018.

50. Sivalingam Sathish Kumar and Ragala Venkat Rahul qualified for next year’s Commonwealth Games after winning a gold medal each in their respective weight divisions at the Commonwealth Senior (men & women) Weightlifting Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.

51. India's Pooja Kadian has won the first ever gold medal at Wushu World Championships in Kazan, Russia. Note: Pooja defeated Evgeniya Stepanova in the final.

52. Maharashtra won the Chief Minister's cup with 45

gold medals at the National kickboxing championship

held in Raipur.

53. India has lost the World Group Play-off tie of Davis Cup Tennis Tournament to the host Canada 2-3.

54. India finishes 5th in medals tally with one gold and two silver medals at Moscow Shotgun World Championships. Note: Italy topped the tally with nine gold medals for a total of 17 medals in all and USA (12 medals) -2nd.

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55. India will host the 2019 edition of the Commonwealth (Youth, Junior and Senior) Weightlifting Championships.

56. Ankur Mittal has won silver in senior men’s double

trap at 2017 ISSF World Shotgun Championship in

Moscow.

57. Star India has won the coveted Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights for 2018-23.

58. Para Athlete & Hockey player have been selected for this year's Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award_-- Sardar Singh & Devendra.

59. Lakshya Sen (shuttler) clinched the Bulgaria Open International Series title in Sofia, Bulgaria

60. PV Sindhu won the 2017 BWF Korean Open Super

Series Women’s Singles title.

61. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has nominated Mahendra Singh Dhoni for Padma Bhushan award for his contribution to the game.

62. Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become the first wicketkeeper in world cricket to effect 100 stumpings in One Day Internationals(ODI). Note: Mr. Dhoni achieved the feat in his 301st ODI in Colombo (Sri Lanka), when he whipped off the bails to remove batsman Akila Dananjaya (Sri Lankan) off leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling.

63. ICC has chosen captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team -- Mithali Raj.

64. India will host the Men's World Boxing Championship for the first time in 2021.

65. Rahul Yadav Chittaboina (shuttler) has won the

men’s singles Lagos International 2017

66. Boxer Sachin Siwach wins gold at Commonwealth

Youth Games held in Bahamas.

67. Real Madrid won the 2017 UEFA Champions League

trophy by defeating Manchester United in the final.

68. Los Angeles (USA) will host the 2028 Olympics and Paris will host 2024 Olympic Games.

69. US Open Title 2017 – List of Winners – • Men’s single – Rafal Nadal (Spain) defeated Kevin

Anderson (South African) • Women’s single - Sloane Stephens (American)

defatted Madison Keys (American) 70. Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Italian Formula One

Grand Prix tournament.

71. Lewis Hamilton won the 2017 Belgian Grand Prix of

Formula.

72. Australian fast bowler retired from Test Match and

ODIs --John Hastings.

73. Usain Bolt (legendary sprinter) retires from the Athletics world.

74. FIBA Asia Championship (Asia’s biggest basketball

tournament) 2017 held in Lebanon.

75. Rafael Nadal won 6th ATP title of 2017 – Rafael

Nadal beats Nick Kyrgios of Australia in straight sets of 6-2, 6-1 in the China Open final to win his sixth ATP

title of 2017.

Note: In the women’s event, France’s Caroline Garcia

defeated world no.1 Simona Halep (Romania) in

straight sets of 6-4, 7-6 (3) to clinch the China Open.

List of Upcoming Sports Venue

1. Asian Games - The Asian Games, also known as Asiad is a Pancontinental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF). Note: First Asian games were held in New Delhi, India in 1951. ● Venue of Asian Games 2014 – Incheon, South

Korea. ● Venue of Asian Games 2018 - Jakarta-Palembang,

Indonesia. ● Venue of Asian Games 2022 – Hangzhou, China. ● Venue of Asian Games 2026 – Nagoya, Japan.

2. Commonwealth Games (CWG) - The Commonwealth Games is an international multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations held every four years. Note: The first Commonwealth Games held in 1911 in London, England. ● Venue of CWG Games 2010 – New Delhi, India.

● Venue of CWG Games 2014 – Glasgow, Scotland. ● Venue of CWG Games 2018 – Gold Coast,

Australia. ● Venue of CWG Games 2022 – Birmingham,

England. Note: The 2022 Commonwealth Games will no longer take place in Durban, South Africa as the South African government failed to give financial guarantees for the event.

3. Olympics Games - The Olympic Games are held every four years, with the Summer and Winter Games alternating by occurring every four years but two years apart. Note: ● The first modern Olympics games were held in

Athens, Greece, in 1896. ● International Olympic Committee (IOC)

headquarter - Lausanne, Switzerland. ● IOC President - Thomas Bach

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Summer Olympic - ● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2016 – Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil ● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2020 – Tokyo,

Japan ● Venue of Summer Olympic Games 2024 – Paris,

France Winter Olympic –

● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2014 – Sochi, Russia.

● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2018 – Pyeongchang, South Korea.

● Venue of Winter Olympic Games 2022 – Beijing, China.

4. ICC World Cup Cricket - The ICC Cricket World Cup is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC), every four years. Note: The first World Cup was held in England in June 1975. West Indies won the title by defeating Australia in the final. Australia has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 5 titles and 2 runners up. India won the first World Cup title in 1983 by defeating West Indies in the final. Australia won the World Cup title in 2015 after defeating New Zealand in the final. ● International Cricket Council (ICC) headquarter -

Dubai, United Arab Emirates. ● President of ICC – Zaheer Abbas. ● Chairman of ICC – Shashank Manohar. ● CEO – David Richardson. ● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 – India, Sri

Lanka, Bangladesh. ● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 – Australia &

New Zealand. ● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 – England,

Wales. ● Venue of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 – India.

5. ICC World Cup T20 – The ICC World Twenty20 is the international championship of Twenty20 cricket. It is organised the International Cricket Council (ICC). Note: ● The first T20 World Cup was held in Johannesburg,

South Africa in 2007. ● India won the first T20 world cup title after

defeating Pakistan in the final. ● West Indies won the T20 World Cup title two

times. West Indies wont the title in 2016 after defeating England in the final.

● Venue of World Cup 2014 – Bangladesh. ● Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India.

● Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.

6. ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup – The ICC Women's Cricket World Cup is the oldest and most prestigious international women's cricket tournament. Note: The first Women’s World Cup was held in England in 1973, two years before the inaugural men's tournament. England won the title by defeating Australia in the final. Australia has been the most successful team in the Women’s World Cup, with 6 titles and 3 runners up. England won the Women’s World Cup in 2017 by defeating India in the final. ● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2013 –

India. ● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2017 –

England. ● Venue of ICC Women Cricket World Cup 2021 –

New Zealand. 7. ICC Women’s World Cup T20 - The ICC Women’s

World Twenty20 is the international championship for Women’s Twenty20 cricket. It is organised the International Cricket Council (ICC). Note: ● The first Women’s T20 World Cup was held in

England in 2009. ● England won the first T20 world cup title after

defeating New Zealand in the final. ● Australia has been the most successful team in the

Women’s World Cup, with 3 titles and 1 runners up.

● West Indies won the title in 2016 after defeating Australia in the final.

● Venue of World Cup 2014 – Bangladesh. ● Venue of World Cup T20 2016– India. ● Venue of World Cup 2020 – Australia.

8. Hockey Men’s World Cup – The Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. Note: The first Men’s Hockey World Cup was held in 1971 Barcelona, Spain. Pakistan won the title after defeating Spain in the final. Pakistan has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 4 titles from 6 appearances in the final. Australia won the title in 2014 after defeating Netherlands in the final. Note: ● International Hockey Federation (IHF)

headquarter - Lausanne, Switzerland. ● President of IHF - Narinder Batra.

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● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2010 – New Delhi, India.

● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2014 – The Hague, Netherlands.

● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – Bhubaneswar, India.

9. Hockey Women’s World Cup - The Women’s Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer Olympics. Note: The first Women’s Hockey World Cup was held in 1974 in Mandelieu, France. Netherlands won the title after defeating Argentina in the final. Netherlands has been the most successful team in the World Cup, with 7 titles from 11 appearances in the final. Netherlands won the title in 2014 after defeating

Australia in the final.

● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2010 – Rosario,

Argentina.

● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2014 – The

Hague, Netherlands.

● Venue of Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 – London,

England.

10. FIFA (Football) World Cup – The FIFA World Cup is

an international association football competition

contested by the senior men's national teams of the

members of Fédération Internationale de Football

Association (FIFA). It is held every four years.

Note: The first FIFA World Cup was held in 1930 in

Uruguay. Uruguay won the title after defeating

Argentina in the final.

Brazil has been the most successful team in the World

Cup, with 5 titles from 7 appearances in the final.

Germany won the title in 2014 after defeating

Argentina in the final.

Note:

● Fédération Internationale de Football Association

(FIFA) headquarter - Zürich, Switzerland.

● President of FIFA - Gianni Infantino.

● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2014 – Brazil.

● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2018 – Russia.

● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2022 – Qatar.

11. FIFA Women's World Cup – The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international football competition

contested by the senior women's national teams of the

members of Fédération Internationale de Football

Association (FIFA). It is held every four years.

Note: The first FIFA Women’s World Cup was held in

1991 in China. United States won the title after

defeating Norway in the final.

USA is the most successful nation in the tournament's

history, with 3 titles and 1 runners up.

USA won the title in 2015 after defeating Japan in the

final.

● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2015 – Canada.

● Venue of FIFA World Cup 2019 – France.

12. FIFA (U-17) World Cup – The FIFA U-17 World Cup,

founded as the FIFA U-16 World Championship, later

changed to its current name in 2007, is the world

championship of association football for male players

under the age of 17 organized by Fédération

Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). It is held

every two years.

Note: The first FIFA (U-17) World Cup was held in

1991 in Italy. Ghana won the title after defeating Spain

in the final.

Nigeria is the most successful nation in the

tournament's history, with five titles and three runners

up.

Nigeria won the title in 2015 after defeating Mali in the

final.

● Venue of FIFA (U-17) World Cup 2015 – Chile.

● Venue of FIFA (U-17) World Cup 2017 – India.

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Science & Defense

Military Exercise -

1. 'Ajeya Warrior- Indo-UK military exercise 2017' held

in Bikaner, Rajasthan

2. ‘Vigilant Ace’ - Largest Air exercise between United

States & South Korea held in Seoul, South Korea.

3. “Flag4” - UAE Armed Forces along with the UK, US

and French armies conducted a joint exercise in Abu Dhabi.

4. PRABAL DOSTYK 2017: India & Kazakhstan Joint

Exercise held at Bakloh, Himachal Pradesh.

5. Indra-2017 – India & Russia. First mega tri-services war game involving their armies, navies and air forces

with an aim to boost their operational coordination

conducted at Vladivostok in Russia.

6. 'Sampriti' 2017 – India & Bangladesh Joint Military

Combat Exercise held in Meghalaya and Mizoram.

7. 'MITRA SHAKTI 2017' – India & Sri Lanka Joint

Training Exercise conducted at Aundh Military Station,

Pune. 8. ‘Blue Flag-17’ – India & Israel bi-annual multilateral

exercise held at Uvda Air Force Base in Israel.

9. CORPAT (Coordinated Patrol) – The bilateral exercise

between the Indian Navy and the Indonesian Navy

conducted at Belawan Indonesia.

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