1 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Who has recently won the gold medal in the 74 kg men’s freestyle category at the Com- monwealth Wrestling Championship 2017 to be held in South Africa? ; Sushil Kumar V In which state of India will the research institute for the study of the Bhagavad Gita be set up? ; Uttar Pradesh (at Mathura) V Who became the first batsman to score 20 centuries in T20 cricket? ; Chris Gayle (West Indies cricketer) He also became the first ever player to complete 10,000 runs in T20 cricket. 2 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which state has launched the first audit law of India? ; Meghalaya Meghalaya is the first state of India to operationalise a law that makes social audit of government programmes and schemes a part of government practice. Present Chief Minister of Meghalaya - Mukul Sangma V Which Malyayalm movie’s songs have been nominated for the Academy Awards for the year 2018? ; Pulimurugan (Directed by Vysakh) Two songs of Pulimurugan, ‘Kaadana- yum Kaalchilambe'’ and ‘Maanathe Maarikurumbe’, composed by Gopi Sundar, are part of the original score list of the Oscar awards. V Who has recently been elected the Presi- dent of Chile? ; Sebastian Pinera Capital of Chile - Santiago 3 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which French sailor has recently made the world record for the fastest non-stop solo navigation of the globe? ; Francois Gabart He becomes the fourth title-holder of a world record for sailing the globe solo without stopping. V Name the scheme to be launched by the government of Kerala to ensure emer- gency medical assistance for road acci- dent victims. ; Trauma care programme The government has decided to formu- late a trauma-care scheme in the state wherein all emergency care and treat- ment will be provided to accident victims free-of-cost for the first 48 hours once the person has been admitted to a hospital. V Which country has recently joined up with India for the bilateral military exer- cise ‘EKUVERIN 2017’? ; Maldives 4 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which country will host a meeting of WTO member countries in February to muster support for food security and other issues? ; India Headquarters of the World Trade Orga- nization (WTO) - Geneva (in Switzer- land) The current Director-General of WTO - Roberto Azevedo V On which date has the 56th Liberation day of Goa been celebrated for the year 2017? ; December 19 Operation Vijay was the code name to be given to the military operation by the Indian armed forces in December 1961 to liberate Goa from the Portuguese. V In which state has eastern India's first compressed natural gas (CNG) stations for scooters been launched? ; Odisha 5 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which country has recently been de- clared as the polio-free country by the World Health Organization (WHO)? ; Gabon (African country) Capital of Gabon - Libreville Headquarters of WHO - Geneva (in Swit- zerland) V Which day is observed as the Interna- tional Human Solidarity day? ; December 20 V What is the official emblem of 2022 win- ter olympic games? ; Winter Dream The emblem of the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games - Flying High The winter olympics in 2022 will be held in Beijing. 2018 winter olympics - South Korea V Which day is observed as the National Minority Rights day? ; December 18 6 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which country tops the world in the number of migrants to be sent abroad according to the 2017 International Mi- gration Report? ; India International Migrants Day - December 18 V With which international organization has India signed an agreement for the setting up of an International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography? ; UNESCO The union cabinet of India approves the agreement with UNESCO on establish- ment of International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography in Hyderabad. Who is who V The chairman of University Grants Com- mission (UGC) ; Prof. Virander Singh Chauhan 7 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V The current permanent representative of India to the UN ; Syed Akbaruddin V The chairman of 14th Finance Commis- sion of India ; Y. V. Reddy (2015-2020) V Name the eminent writer who has re- cently been selected for the 31st Moortidevi award for the year 2017? ; Joy Goswami (Bengali poet) The award was given for his poetry col- lection ‘Du Dondo Phowara Matro'. 2016 Moortidevi award winner - M.P. Veerendra Kumar (for his work Hymavathabhoovil) V Which film has bagged the ‘Suvarna Chakoram’ (Golden Crow Pheasant), for the best international film at the 22nd In- ternational Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) for the year 2017? ; Wajib (Palestinian film) 8 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Who is the director of the Malayalam film ‘Aden’ (Garden of Desire)? ; Sanju Surendran He has been awarded the Rajatha Chakoram for the best debut director for his film Aden at the 22nd International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) for the year 2017. V Which Malayalam film has won the NETPAC award in the Malayalam cat- egory at the IFFK 2017? ; Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (Di- rector - Dileesh Pothen) The film Newton, directed by Amit Masurkar won the NETPAC and FIPRESCI awards at the IFFK 2017. V Name the first Scorpene-class submarine which has recently been inducted to the Indian Navy in the presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. ; INS Kalvari 9 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which day is observed as the Vijay diwas in India? ; December 16 Kargil Vijay Diwas - July 26 V Which south Indian playback singer has recently won the Sringeri Sharada peetham award? ; K.S. Chitra V Who has recently been elected the presi- dent of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)? ; Narinder Batra V Who is the incumbent chairman of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)? ; Nakul Chopra V Who has been named the Asian Boxing Confederation’s best youth boxer of the year 2017? ; Sachin Siwach (Indian boxer) 10 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V The chairman of the National Commis- sion for Minorities ; Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi V Which day is observed as the World En- ergy Conservation day? ; December 14 Rajiv Gandhi Renewable Energy day - August 20 International Tea day - December 15 V Who has been chosen for the Vyas Samman award for the year 2017? ; Mamta Kalia (Hindi writer) The award has been given for her novel ‘Dukkham Sukkham’. The Vyas Samman award 2016 - Surendra Verma V Which Indian film actress has recently received the Mother Teresa Memorial award for social justice? ; Priyanka Chopra 11 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Name the first batsman to hit three double centuries in One Day Interna- tional cricket. ; Rohit Sharma (against Sri Lanka) V Which is the first state of India to launch free email addresses in Hindi for its resi- dents? ; Rajasthan Capital of Rajastan - Jaipur The Chief Minister of Rajastan - Vasundhra Raje Scindia V Who has been awarded the international children's peace prize for the year 2017? ; Mohammad Al Jounde (16 year old Syr- ian boy) V Which state in India has recently launched the scheme, called Safe City Surveillance Scheme, for checking crime against women? ; Bihar 12 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Which country has recently decided to lift ban on movie theaters after a de- cade? V Saudi Arabia V Who has been awarded the Ballon d'Or award for the year 2017? ; Cristiano Ronaldo He has won the fifth Ballon d'Or of his career. 13 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 V Who has been awarded the first memo- rial award in the name of the late CPI leader and freedom fighter S. Sivasankara Pillai? ; V. S. Achuthanandan V Where will the first railway university of India come up? ; Vadodara (in Gujarat) The present Union Railway Minister - Piyush Goyal V Who has been selected for the Deshabhimani literary award for lifetime achievement for the year 2017? ; T. Padmanabhan V Which novel of K.P. Ramanunni has re- cently been selected for the Kendra Sahitya Akademi award for the year 2017? ; Daivathinte Pusthakam (God's Own Book) His first novel Sufi Paranja Katha won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award in 1995. 14 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 His novel Jeevithathinte Pusthakam won the Vayalar award in 2011. V Which country has recently developed the world’s largest amphibious aircraft? ; China China’s AG600 is considered as the world’s largest amphibious aircraft. V Who has recently been appointed as the chairman of the University Grants Com- mission (UGC)? ; Prof. Dhirendra Pal Singh V Name the project to be introduced by the union government of India recently for sanitation based integrated development of all 4,470 villages along the river Ganga. ; Ganga Gram The project was introduced by the Minis- try of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MDWS). V Who is the new Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh? ; Jairam Thakur 15 DEC. 13, 2017 TO JAN. 03, 2018 Capital of Himachal Pradesh - Shimla V Who is the present Director-General of National Cadet Corps (NCC)? ; Lieutenant General B.S. Sahrawat V Who has recently been appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of the Kerala agri- cultural university? ; R. Chandra Babu The Kerala agricultural university is head- quartered at Vellanikkara in Thrissur. V Who has recently been chosen for the first ever Prof. M.S. Nanjunda Rao award for lifetime achievement, instituted by the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath? ; Kanayi Kunhiraman V Name the upcoming Indian romantic mu- sical film to be directed by Vishwesh Krishnamoorthy which has been written and produced by A.R.