GK & Current Affairs Quiz: July 11, 2017

Notes:
The 8th edition of the SAARC Ministers of Law and Order (Interior/ Home Affairs) has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka on July 11, 2017. The 3-day meeting will focus on the issue of tackling terrorism apart from discussing liberalization of visa, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms. Indian side is being led by a senior official in Ministry of Home affairs (MHA).

Notes:
Arun Jaitley, the Union Finance Minister, has launched a new tax payer service module ‘Aaykar Setu’ in New Delhi on July 10, 2017 that compiles various tax tools, live chat facility, dynamic updates and important links to various processes within the Income Tax Department in a single module. This e-initiative would not only provide better taxpayer services but would also help in reducing the direct physical interface between assesses and tax assessing authorities.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Government of West Bengal to formalize its support to set up a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine, also known as Metro Blood Bank, at Kolkata. The Centre has approved an outlay of about Rs 200 crores for this venture towards equipment, manpower and running costs. The land for this initiative will be provided free of cost by the State government. The move intends to strengthen the blood transfusion services in the State and the surrounding region. The Metro Blood Bank Project is conceived to be a Central Sector Scheme of the Health Ministry to set up state-of-the-art Centres of Excellence in transfusion medicine in the four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. These centres are high volume blood collection centres where there is state-of-the-art technology in transfusion medicine for component separation, processing of blood and quality systems. Under the first phase, these facilities would come up in Chennai and Kolkata and the Centre has given its approval.

Notes:
Mangesh Tendulkar (82), the renowned cartoonist, has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. His cartoons especially about government offices and on traffic rules were famous. He often used satire in his cartoons to give social messages and even called himself a satirist (vyang chitrakar). He was conferred with the president’s medal in 1980, Marathi Natya Parishad Award in 1993 and Pulotsav award in 2003 among several other honours.

Notes:
The World Population Day (WPD) is observed every year on July 11 to increase the awareness of the people towards the worldwide population issues. The 2017 theme is “Family Planning- Empowering People, Developing Nations”. Family planning allows people to attain their desired number of children and determine the spacing of pregnancies. The world population has grown tremendously over the past years. It should be noted that China has the highest population in the world and India stood at second.

Notes:
Danfoss India, the Climate and energy efficiency solutions company, has been conferred with the ‘Golden Peacock Award’ for Environment Management at the 19th World Congress on Environment Management’ in Hyderabad. The company has been recognized for its LEED Platinum rated constructed manufacturing facility in Chennai. Recently, the Danfoss manufacturing facility at Oragadam near Chennai was conferred with a LEED Platinum rated certification for its green and sustainable setup, which includes a 1 MW solar power plant, a bio-gas plant, Zero Liquid Discharge Waste Water Treatment plant, Rain Water Harvesting Pond, energy efficient fixtures, carbon foot print reduction initiatives, extensive green cover at Campus among others.

Notes:
The 2017 Family Planning Summit (FPS) has started in London, United Kingdom (UK) on July 11, 2017 to discuss efforts to reach Family Planning 2020 goals and ensure that more women and girls around the world are able to plan their families and their futures. The summit has been organized by the UNFPA, the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is taking place on 11 July, which is World Population Day (WPD), a day to focus attention on population issues, including family planning. The event will focus on four key issues: innovative financing models for procuring and delivering high-quality contraceptives; strengthening supply chains and expanding the range of contraceptives available to women; empowering young people with access to family planning information and care; and reaching the hardest to reach, such as women in humanitarian crises or facing cultural barriers.

Notes:
Dr John Joseph, a 1983 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), has been appointed Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DG GSTI). He is at present posted in Mumbai and expected to take the new charge soon. The post of chief of central excise intelligence (now GST intelligence) was lying vacant for over a month after R K Mahajan took charge as Member, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). Mahajan has been given the additional charge of the DG GSTI till the joining of the new chief.

Notes:
The Karnataka government will organize the 2017 International conference “Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar” from July 21 at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru to mark the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. The 3-day event will see delegates deliberate on universal principles of democracy and importance of social justice in the current global environment. The conference will come out with a ‘Bengaluru declaration outlining a new deal for India – who are & who we can be’. This conference is an invitation to substantially re-think current social, political and economic paradigms motivated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s imaginative and creative work. Approx, 2000 delegates from across the globe are expected to participate.

Notes:
Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Mercedes, has won the 2017 Formula One Austrian Grand Prix tournament at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.