Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The International Olympic Day (IOD) is celebrated every year on June 23 to promote participation in different sports throughout the world without any discrimination of the gender, age and athletic ability. The day is not confined to sports activities but a serious international effort to promote fitness and well-being in addition to the Olympic ideals of fair play, solidarity, respect and Sportsmanship across the globe.

Notes:
Santosh Rana (76), the veteran Naxalite leader, has passed away in Kolkata on June 29, 2019. He is one of the foremost leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and a major thinker on caste, class and tribal politics in West Bengal and winner of a top literary award in the State. The CPI-ML (PCC) was one of the very first Naxalite groups to participate in elections. Under his leadership, CPI-ML (PCC) was active in parts of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. It played a significant role in opposing the CPI-M led government during the Nandigram land agitation, which contributed to the electoral debacle of the Left Front in West Bengal. He argued in his award-winning autobiography, Rajnitir Ek Jibon [A Life in Politics], that the Left in India made a huge mistake as they never analysed and responded to the caste question.

Notes:
Dr. Jaya Arunachalam (87), founder of Working Women’s Forum (WWF), has passed away in Chennai on June 29, 2019. She is best known for her social service contributions through WWF which she initiated in 1978. Through WWF, she helped several lakhs of women from underprivileged background to organise themselves towards becoming financially independent. Dr. Arunachalam was conferred the Padma Shri by the Government of India (GoI) in 1987. She received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award in 2009 for her work towards the welfare of women and children. A graduate in Economics and Geography, she was awarded a honorary doctorate by the University of Lueneberg, Germany in 1999. She is a recipient of the International Activist Award by Glietsman Foundation in 2003, and the Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Social Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. She has also served as vice president of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) and member of All India Congress Committee.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the availability of capital for infrastructure projects. The scope of the MoU includes equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support and take-out finance for operating assets. The objective of this initiative is to aid in filling the gap at a time when the availability of equity and debt financing for infrastructure has moderated. The initiative will address concerns relating to the availability of equity and long-term debt funding options to large scale projects, thereby stimulating the infrastructure development.

Notes:
Dr. Narinder Batra, President of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), has been elected as a member of International Olympic Committee (IOC) during the IOC Session in Lausanne, Switzerland. Batra now has a rare distinction of becoming a member of the IOC, while heading a National Olympic Committee (NOC) as well as an international federation. He is the first Indian to have this distinction. He has already become the first Indian to head an international federation of an Olympic sport — that of International Hockey Federation (FIH). With the election of Batra, the number of Indians who are currently active members of IOC will rise to two. Reliance Foundation Chairperson Nita Ambani was elected as an individual member of the IOC in 2016. She is the first Indian woman to be elected to the prestigious seat.

Notes:
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has operationalized the first Aadhaar Seva Kendra (ASK) in Delhi and Vijayawada. The new Aadhaar centres are similar to Passport Seva Kendras run by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). These are meant to facilitate enrolment, updation and other activities. The centre has the capacity to handle upto 1,000 Aadhaar-related requests daily. The Aadhaar enrolment and updation centre is open from 9.30 am to 6 pm on all days except Tuesdays. These centres will soon be rolled out across 53 cities of India at an estimated project cost of Rs 300-400 crore.

Notes:
The autobiography titled “Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly” has been authored by Bollywood actor Anupam Kher i.e. set to hit stands on 5 August. It is a story of a small town boy who dared to dream. It is a story about hope, disappointments, success, failures and eternal optimism. The book will be an extraordinary, riveting and no-holds-barred saga in which Kher will make some behind-the-scenes revelations, and share anecdotes and rare nuggets from his life and the lessons it taught him. He has over 530 films in several languages, both in India and the West, 100 plays and numerous TV shows to his credit. He is a winner of two National awards, 8 Filmfare awards and a BAFTA nomination. He is also a recipient of the Padma Shree and Padma Bhushan awards.

Notes:
In Uttar Pradesh, the state government has launched a toll-free Chief Minister helpline No. 1076 that will enable people from across the state to register their complaints and will ensure a time-bound action on the complaints also. The CM helpline number 1076 will work 24×7 and anyone from any part of the state can call on this number anytime. The 500-seater call centre has been established for the helpline and it has the capacity to handle 80,000 inbound and 55,000 outbound calls on a daily basis. When the complainant calls the helpline, he/she will get an SMS informing that the complaint has been sent to the department concerned.

Notes:
Indian sprinter Hima Das clocked 23.65s to win gold in women’s 200 metres at the 2019 Poznan Athletics Grand Prix in Poland. Hima is the world junior champion and national record holder in 400m. This was Hima’s first competitive 200m race of the year. She has a personal best of 23.10s, which she clocked in 2018. While national record holder shot putter Tajinder Pal Singh Toor bagged a bronze in the ongoing tournament. Another Indian, V K Vismaya finished third with a personal best time of 23.75 seconds in the race at Poznan.

Notes:
The South Central Railway (SCR) has recently commissioned the longest electrified tunnel of 6.6 km built at a total cost of Rs 460 crore between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations. The tunnel is part of the 113-km new railway line completed recently between Obulavaripalli– Venkatachalam – Krishnapatnam Port. The electrified tunnel is constructed in the shape of ‘Horse Shoe’ on New Australian Tunnelling Method. The height of the tunnel (rail level to roof) is 6.5 metres and the minimum height of the contact wire is maintained at 5.2 metres. The new line would facilitate direct and viable connectivity between South Coast and West Coast Railway and improve freight revenue of the zone.