GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 15, 2017

Notes:
The Union Health Ministry has launched an Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF) across the country to reduce child deaths due to diarrhoea. Through this initiative, the Ministry will mobilize health personnel, State Governments and other stakeholders in controlling the disease, which is one of the most common childhood illnesses. During the IDCF, the awareness campaign on hygiene and promotion of ORS and Zinc therapy will be conducted at state, district and village levels. Nearly 12 crore under five children will be covered during the programme. As per an estimate, 1.1 million children die every year in India out of which about one lakh death occur due to this disease. Diarrhoea can be prevented with safe drinking water, sanitation, breastfeeding and appropriate nutrition.

Notes:
Dr. Neeru Chadha has become the first Indian woman to be elected as the judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. She got most of the votes in Asia Pacific Group. With this election, Dr. Chadha has also become the first Indian woman to occupy a top UN position, after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994.

Notes:
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has inaugurated the 16th North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference at Imphal in Manipur on June 15, 2017. The theme of the Conference is “North East and Look East Policy”. The Conference will deliberate on three significant themes – North East and Look East Policy, special plan for development of railways, airways, surface road and inland waterways connectivity for speedy economic development of North East Region and setting up of a chapter of Speaker’s Research Initiative in the North Eastern Region for capacity building of the legislators of the region and generating research for the North Eastern legislatures. In the conference, Manipur Governor Dr. Najma Heptulla, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker and NERCPA Chairman Abu Taher Mondal, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh, Presiding Officers and members of the legislatures of North East States are participating.

Notes:
India has topped the global remittance-receiving list of 2016, as per the latest United Nations report ‘One Family at a Time’. As per the report, Indians working across the globe sent home $62.7 billion US dollars in 2016, followed by China ($61 billion), Philippines ($30 billion) and Pakistan ($20 billion). The ‘One Family at a Time’ study by the UN International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) stated that about 200 million migrants globally sent more than $445 billion dollars as remittances in 2016 to their families. Remittance flows have grown over the last decade from $296 billion in 2007 to $445 billion in 2016. It has risen at a rate averaging 4.2 per cent annually. The study is the first-ever of a 10-year trend in migration and remittance flows over the period 2007-2016. The report has made several recommendations for improving public policies and outlines proposals for partnerships with the private sector to reduce costs and create opportunities for migrants and their families to use their money more productively.

Notes:
The Sikkim government has signed MoU with the British Council to increase quality of education in the state. The purpose of the MoU is to support the aims and aspirations of the young people of Sikkim through collaborative projects in the area of English, education and skills by strengthening the capacity of the teachers and other professionals, working with youth in the state and support its cultural economy. The programme also include capacity building in teaching, learning and research pedagogy of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Social Science teachers from undergraduate colleges and universities in Sikkim by UK higher education experts along with internship of young faculties at relevant UK Universities.

Notes:
The 2017 G7 Environment Ministers Meetings was held in Bologna, Italy on June 11-12. The meeting was attended by the Environment Ministers of US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan and the Commissioners of the European Union for Environment and Climate. The meeting discussed various issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea. In it, the ‘5 year Bologna Roadmap’ was adopted, which focuses on important issues such as resource efficiency indicators, citizen involvement, awareness on food waste and economic analysis of the efficient use of resources.

Notes:
NTPC has commissioned a150 KW India’s first canal top solar PV System on Cooling Water (CW) channel at its 2320 MW Mouda Thermal Power Project, near Nagpur in Maharashtra. This novel Solar PV system makes use of side walls of CW channels as load bearing structure thereby significantly decreasing cost of civil and mounting structure. The system also has several other unique advantages such as land conservation and water conservation due to reduced evaporation. It also increases PV generation due to cooling from the water and a reduction in dirt.

Notes:
The book titled “Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji” is based on the on the social and political life of former Prime Minister of India Atal Bhihari Vajpayee. It is authored by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank”, who is the BJP MP and former Uttarakhand chief minister. Recently, Pokhriyal has officially handed over the first copy of the 450-page book to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Though, the book will be launched soon in the market for all.

Notes:
The Telangana government has launched Pashu Bazar website for online cattle sale. The online sale or purchase of cattle through pashubazar.telangana.gov.in website will help farmers as the cattle need not be brought to shandies every time and farmers can save on transportation cost on cattle. Farmer can keep maximum five registrations for sale at any time. Thus, the online platform has been developed to help farmers to sell their animals without physically taking them to weekly markets.

Notes:
The three state-run Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) – Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) have signed an agreement to jointly set up the world’s largest refinery and petrochemical complex at Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra at a cost of $40 billion. The IOC will hold 50% stake and HPCL & BPCL will will take 25% stake each in the new complex. The refinery will produce petrol, diesel, LPG, ATF and feedstock for making petrochemical that are basic building blocks in plastic, chemical and textile industries. The refinery is expected to be completed by 2022.