Weekly CA Quiz: December 2017 1st week with PDF

Explanation: The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has approved setting up of National Nutrition Mission (NNM) with a three year budget of Rs.9046.17 crore commencing from 2017-18.

Explanation: Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Adarsh Sen Anand has passed away after prolonged illness. He served as the 29th Chief Justice of India from 10 October 1998 to 31 October 2001

Explanation: Veteran lyricist Gulzar has come out with his debut novel titled “Two” in English which examines the status of refugees after the Partition

Explanation: The Hockey World League (HWL) Final began at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurating the tournament, where the best eight teams in the world will battle for supremacy. These teams are – Argentina, Australia, Belgium, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and hosts India.

Explanation: World AIDS Day, designated on 1 December every year since 1988, is a day dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic caused by the spread of HIV infection and mourning those who have died of the disease. The theme for World AIDS day 2017 is ‘Right to health’.

Explanation: BJP’s Sanyukta Bhatia will be the first woman to hold the Lucknow Municipal Corporation Mayor’s post in 100 years after the Uttar Pradesh Municipalities Act came into being in 1916. Bhatia will succeed Dinesh Sharma.

Explanation: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik unveiled the logo and mascot for the Hockey Men’s World Cup 2018 at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. As many as 16 countries, including hosts India, will participate in the 14th edition of the Hockey World Cup.

Explanation:Dr. A. Surya Prakash has been re-appointed as the Chairman of Prasar Bharati Board. Dr. Prakash will hold this position till February 8, 2020, till he turns 70 years.

Explanation:Actress Dia Mirza has been appointed as UN Environment’s Goodwill Ambassador for India. She will work with the UN to further spread the message on priority areas including clean air, clean seas, wildlife protection and climate change.

Explanation:The Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has approved the construction of 1.12 lakh more affordable houses for urban poor under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban). There will be an investment of Rs 8,105 crore for construction of these houses. The Centre will provide an assistance of Rs 1,681 crore for their construction.

Japan announced that it will host a ministerial meeting of the UN Security Council on 15th December.

Explanation: Miss Korea Jenny Kim was crowned Miss Supranational 2017 in Poland. Tica Martinez of Colombia and Bianca Tirsin of Romania were named the first runner-up and second runner-up respectively. India’s official entry to the competition, Peden Ongmu Namgyal, reached top 25, but failed to make it to the top 10.

Explanation: The annual SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) summit held in Russia’s Sochi discussed issues related to the regional security scenario including the situation in the Gulf and Afghanistan.

Explanation: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) weekly statistical supplement showed that India’s foreign exchange (Forex) reserves kitty increased by $1.20 billion as on November 24, 2017. The overall Forex reserves rose to $400.74 billion from $399.53 billion reported for the week ended November 17.

Explanation: IT bellwether Infosys has appointed Salil S. Parekh as its Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director with effect from January 2, 2018 for a five-year term. He will succeed U.B. Pravin Rao.

Explanation: The Indian Coast Guard on 29 November 2017 conducted a Regional Level Marine Oil Pollution Response Exercise ‘Clean Sea – 2017’ at sea off Port Blair, capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Explanation: Madame Tussauds has debuted in Delhi at historic Regal building in Connaught Place with 50 wax models of Indian and international celebrities. Waxworks of Bollywood actors, sports stars, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and father of the Indian nation Mahatma Gandhi are on display at the museum. The Delhi centre is the 23rd museum for Madame Tussauds

Explanation: The word ‘populism’ has been announced as Cambridge Dictionary’s Word of the Year 2017. The dictionary defined populism as “political ideas and activities that are intended to get the support of ordinary people by giving them what they want”.

Explanation: British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding is appointed as Global Goodwill Ambassador for UN Environment, joining the fight to save the lives and habitats of people and animals by cleaning up the planet’s air and seas, fighting climate change and protecting species.

Explanation: International Day of Persons with Disabilities (December 3) is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992 to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. 2017 Theme: “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”.

Explanation: In a bid to curb emissions from the vehicles based on outdated technology, the Central government has proposed to set the registration deadline for BS-IV standard vehicles to June 30, 2020.

Explanation: An international conference to draw attention on climate change and its adverse effects on people in the Hindu Kush mountain range has started in Kathmandu, Nepal. Theme of the conference is Understanding Climate Change and Enabling Climate Action in the Hindu Kush Himalaya

Explanation: The First Ever International Conference on AYUSH and Wellness ‘Arogya 2017’ was inaugurated by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for AYUSH, Shri Shripad Yesso Naik in New Delhi.

Explanation: The Agriculture minister said that the Government has started implementing programmes towards strengthening Agricultural Education, Research and Extension for a long term and sustainable development in agriculture. He mentioned that the government of India has increased the budget of Agricultural Education by 47.4% this year as compared to the financial year 2013-14.

Explanation: Bharti Airtel, the telecommunications service provider, has acquired a strategic stake in Juggernaut Books, a digital platform to discover and read high quality, affordable books and to submit amateur writing.

Explanation: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a unique world-class hospital at the Swaminarayan Gurukul Vidyapeeth Pratisthanam in Ahmedabad. The 200-bed hospital is an integration of Yoga, Ayurveda and Allopathy.

Explanation: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has announced the creation of a new virtual currency ‘Petro’ in a bid to ease the country’s economic crisis. Petro would be backed by Venezuela’s oil, gas, gold and diamond wealth.

Explanation: Mumbai batsman Prithvi Shaw saw his performance in domestic season bear fruit as the 18-year was named as the captain of India’s squad for the upcoming ICC U-19 World Cup next year in New Zealand. Shubman Gill is named the vice-captain.

Explanation: Heavy rains and gushing winds hammered the southern coast of Tamil Nadu and Kerala as a deep depression in the Bay of Bengal turned into a cyclone named Ockhi, leaving behind a trail of destruction. It also hit Lakshadweep Islands.

Explanation: Veteran Bollywood actor and the romantic screen icon of the 70s and early 80s, Shashi Kapoor who immortalised the line “Mere Paas Maa Hai”, died this evening after prolonged illness.

Explanation: According to Fitch’s December Global Economic Outlook (GEO), the global ratings agency reduced the growth forecast for the fiscal year to end-March 2018 (FY18) to 6.7% from 6.9%. It has also lowered India’s growth forecast for FY’19 to 7.3% from 7.4% earlier.

Explanation: The 2018 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is scheduled to be held in New Zealand from 13 January to 3 February 2018

Organizers of the golf World Cup announced that Melbourne (city in Victoria, Australia) will host the grand team event for the third straight time in 2018.

Explanation: Afghanistan grabbed the ICC Intercontinental Cup defeating United Arab Emirates by 10 wickets on the fourth and final day at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Explanation: Kerala Electricity Minister MM Mani inaugurated India’s largest floating solar power plant at the Banasura Sagar dam in Wayanad district. The plant, worth approximately Rs9.25 crore, floats on 6,000 square metres of water surface. With a capacity of 500 kilowatts, the plant comprises 1,938 solar panels and 17 inverters.

Explanation: Sixteen-year-old Mohamad Al Jounde from Syria was awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize for his efforts to ensure the rights of Syrian refugee children.

Explanation: The newly constituted 15th Finance Commission, held its first meeting in Delhi and touched upon preliminary discussions regarding its terms of reference.

Explanation: India’s largest digital bank Paytm Payments bank has unveiled ‘Paytm Ka ATM’ outlets that allows customers to open Saving Accounts and deposit/withdraw money from their bank accounts.  It is the only Bank which is providing zero balance accounts and zero charges on digital transactions.

Explanation: The Surface to Air Missile AKASH with indigenous radio frequency seeker against target Banshee has been successfully launched from Chandipur, Odisha. With this success, India has achieved the capability of making any type of Surface to Air Missile.

Explanation: The theme of World Soil Day 2017 is “Caring for the Planet starts from the Ground”.

Explanation: Veteran Rabindrasangeet singer Purabi Mukhopadhyay has passed away at her city residence in Kolkata after suffering from age-related health problems. She was 83.

Explanation: India beat Nepal 3-0 to win the first ever South Asian Regional Badminton Tournament (team championship) held at Guwahati, Assam.

Explanation: Tech giant Google announced the launch of Files Go app that takes a mobile-first approach to freeing up space, finding files faster and easily sharing them with others, even when offline.

Explanation: RBI has maintained its projection for FY18 real GVA growth at 6.7 per cent, saying the risks are evenly balanced. RBI also expects the inflation to stay in 4.3-4.7 per cent in December and March quarters.

Explanation: The 6th International Tourism Mart has begun in Guwahati, Assam. The 3 day program has been organized by Ministry of Tourism in association with all North Eastern states from 5th-7th December. to highlight the tourism potential of the region in the domestic & International markets.

Explanation:The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 6th December kept the short-term lending rate, also known as repo rate, unchanged at 6 per cent in its fifth bi-monthly policy review of the fiscal year.

Explanation: India and Israel are coming together to set up a centre for excellence in floriculture at Thally in Krishnagiri district of Tamil Nadu. The centre is the first agro-technology development centre to be set up with Israel’s assistance in the state.

Explanation: The Reserve Bank of India has announced that overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian banks have been permitted to refinance external commercial borrowings (ECBs) of AAA rated public sector and private sector companies, potentially lowering corporate borrowing costs and expanding the overseas credit market for domestic lenders.

Explanation: Repo Rate: Unchanged at 6%
Revrese Repo Rate: Unchanged at 5.75%
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%
Bank Rate: Unchanged at 6.25%
Cash Reserve Ratio: Unchanged at 4%
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): Unchanged at 19.5%

Explanation: Russia has been banned from the 2018 Winter Games by the International Olympic Committee over its state-orchestrated doping programme, but clean Russian athletes will be allowed to compete under an Olympic flag.

Explanation: With 19 countries ratifying its framework agreement, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquartered Gurugram became the first treaty-based international government organisation to be based in India.

Explanation: Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar will promote the government’s flagship agriculture schemes like soil health card and crop insurance. The actor will also promote Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bhima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana, Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana and others.

Explanation: The “silence breakers” — the women behind this year’s #MeToo movement against sexual harassment — are named Time magazine’s 2017 “Person of the Year.” It’s the people who’ve created a movement by sharing their experiences with sexual assault and harassment.

Explanation: India’s Kumbh Mela has been recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity. The Kumbh Mela, held in Allahabad, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nasik, represents a syncretic set of rituals related to worship and cleansing in holy rivers. Along with this, the Neapolitan art of pizza twirling has also joined Unesco’s list of “intangible heritage”.

Explanation: The government has set up a high-level committee headed by NITI Aayog chief executive Amitabh Kant to address the problem of stressed assets in India’s power sector. Non-performing assets (NPAs) in power generation accounted for around 5.9% of the banking sector’s.

Explanation: The Union government informed the Supreme Court that it will extend up to March 31, 2018 the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various schemes, including one’s bank accounts. However, said the last date for linking Aadhaar to mobile services will remain February 6, 2018 in pursuance of a judicial order.

Explanation: The government has engaged private lender ICICI Bank to enable online payments at 470 mandis integrated with national portal of electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM). The effort is to provide seamless experience for making online payment of trade and services undertaken on the e-NAM platform.

Explanation: Removing the income ceiling of Rs 5 lakh per annum, the Centre has announec to give a one-time incentive of Rs 2.5 lakh meant to encourage inter-caste marriages to all couples where either the bride or the bridegroom is a Dalit.

Explanation: A day after the 61st death anniversary (6th Dec 2017) of Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi and said that it would become an important institution for research and economic issues.

Explanation: India Center Foundation (ICF), a not for profit and non-governmental organisation, which has been working for over two decades towards nation’s socio-economic development, brings to India for the first-time ever, The Global Partnership Summit (GPS) 2017 which is scheduled to be held at Aerocity, New Delhi from 11th to 14th December 2017.