1.Which city is hosting the 48th Conference of Governors?
[A] New Delhi
[B] Ahmedabad
[C] Kochi
[D] Kolkata
Answer Explanation: A
The 48th Conference of Governors has started at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on October 12, 2017. The 2-day conference is being attended by 27 Governors and 3 Lt. Governors of States and Union Territories. The two-day Conference will deliberate on distinct agenda items in different sessions. The theme of the opening session was ‘New India-2022’. The second session is on the subjects of ‘Higher Education in States’ and ‘Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to Make Youth Employable’. In the third session, to take place on October 13, 2017, Governors will make brief remarks on any special issues pertaining to their respective States/Union Territories. In the concluding session, a brief report on the deliberations will be presented by the respective conveners.
2.India to sign pact with which country for setting up flexible LNG market?
[A] South Korea
[B] Japan
[C] Myanmar
[D] China
Answer Explanation: B
The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently approved signing of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with Japan on establishing a Liquid, Flexible and Global LNG Market. The MoC will provides a framework to cooperate in facilitating flexibility in LNG contracts, abolition of Destination Restriction Clause (DRC) and also explore possibilities of cooperation in establishing reliable LNG spot price indices, reflecting true LNG demand and supply. This MoC is expected to be signed during the forthcoming visit of Hon’ble Minister for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship during October 16-18, 2017 at Tokyo. Apart from this, India and Japan will also sign MoC for a Technical Intern Training Program (TITP). The TITP is an ambitious program to send Indian technical interns to Japan for on the job training for a period of three to five years.
3.Who chaired the first meeting of the newly-constituted Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM)?
[A] Ratan P. Watal
[B] Surjit Bhalla
[C] Bibey Debroy
[D] Kirti Kumar
Answer Explanation: C
The first-ever meeting of the newly-constituted Economic Advisory Council to Prime Minister (EAC-PM) was held at NITI Aayog, in New Delhi on October 11, 2017. It was chaired by Dr. Bibey Debroy. In it, 10 priority areas for reviving growth and employment in the next six months has been identified. The 10 themes are economic growth, employment and job creation, informal sector and integration, fiscal framework, monetary policy, public expenditure, institutions of economic governance, agriculture and animal husbandry, patterns of consumption and production and social sector.
4.Who will head the 2nd National Judicial Pay Commission (NJPC) to look into pay hike issue of lower court judges?
[A] R C Lahoti
[B] E Padhmanabhan
[C] Jagannatha Shetty
[D] PV Reddi
Answer Explanation: D
The Union Law Ministry has finalized the appointment of a Second National Judicial Pay Commission to recommend salary hikes for the 21,000 lower court judges in India. The proposed commission will be headed by former Supreme Court judge PV Reddi. The commission will submit its recommendations in early 2019 and the hike again is expected to be given with retrospective effect. The move comes after directions from the Supreme Court in May. The first judicial pay commission, headed by Justice Jagannatha Shetty, was set up in March 1996 and it submitted its report in November 1999. The judges and judicial officers got the last pay hike in 2010, a three-fold jump, from their salaries decided in 1999. The 2010 hike was applied retrospectively from January 1, 2006. The current entry level salary for a junior civil judge is Rs 45000 while a senior judge gets nearly Rs 80,000.
5.Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been honoured with the 2017 National Awards for senior citizens. He is associated with which sports?
[A] Boxing
[B] Tennis
[C] Cricket
[D] Wrestling
Answer Explanation: A
Indian boxing coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu has been honoured with the 2017 National Awards for senior citizens by President Ramnath Kovind. Sandhu was India’s longest-serving men’s national coach, occupying the position for two decades before he was handed charge of the women campers earlier in 2017. He was the chief coach when India won its maiden Olympic medal in boxing through Vijender Singh in 2008.
