Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
In Squash, India won a gold as Veer Chotrani beat compatriot Yash Fadte to win the Under-19 title at the Asian Junior Championship in Macau, China. With this victory, Veer became the third Indian to win the Asian trophy after Ravi Dixit and Vela Senthilkumar. It was a contest of fluctuating fortunes until Veer held his nerve to beat Fadte 11-5, 9-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-7. In the other two finals, India bagged two silver medals through Neel Joshi in the boys Under-17 category and Yuvna Gupta in the girls Under-15 section. India finished the tournament with one gold, three silver and as many bronze medals.

Notes:
The first-ever International Security Alliance (ISA)’s joint security exercise titled ‘ISALEX19’ has kick-started in Abu Dhabi, the capital of United Area Emirates (UAE). The representatives of 50 law enforcement agencies of the ISA are participating in the exercise. The participants include representatives from tactical teams, rapid intervention units, communications, civil defence, and explosive ordnance disposal, teams. The ISA is an international working group to confront organised, transnational and extremist crimes. The alliance now comprises nine countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, France, Italy, Spain, Senegal, Singapore, and the Slovak Republic.

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:
The book titled “A Prime Minister to Remember- Memories of a Military Chief” has been authored by former Navy Chief Admiral Sushil Kumar. The book is about the huge impact that the late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had on the armed forces of India. The author called Kargil as the finest hour of Vajpayee . He credits Vajpayee for turning the strategic tactical loss into a massive victory and for which he gave full credit to the Armed Forces. Admiral Kumar was the Navy Chief between 1998 and 2001 and oversaw the Kargil conflict in 1999.

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 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a 6-member committee, under the chairmanship of former secretary of MCA Tapan Ray, to strengthen the corporate governance framework of systematically important Core Investment Companies (CICs). These are Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) which have their assets predominantly as investments in shares for holding stake in group companies but not for trading. CICs also do not carry out any other financial activity. The committee report is to be submitted by October 31, 2019. The working group will examine regulatory framework, enhance onsite and offsite surveillance of these companies, suggest changes in registration criteria including the practice of multiple CIC within a group and other such assessment to strengthen the corporate governance framework. The committee report is to be submitted by October 31, 2019.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently constituted a high-powered committee of Chief Ministers (CMs) for the transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income. The nine-member committee, headed by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, will suggest policy measures, attract investments and raise growth in food processing. The members of the committee are as follows: Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Union Agriculture, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand. The terms of reference (ToR) of the committee include suggesting modalities for adoption and time bound implementation of reforms such as Agriculture Produce and Livestock, Contract Farming and Services (Promotion & Facilitation) Act, 2018’; changes in the Essential Commodity Act, 1955 to attract private investments in agricultural marketing and infrastructure. The committee has also been asked to suggest mechanism for linking of market reforms with e-NAM, GRAM and other relevant Centrally Sponsored Schemes; and ways to upgrade agri-technology to global standards and improve access of farmers to quality seed, plant propagation material and farm machinery in agriculturally advance countries.

Notes:
The book titled ”War over Words: Censorship in India, 1930-1960” has been authored by Devika Sethi, who teaches modern Indian history at IIT-Mandi. The book explores the diverse mechanisms and motivations for censorship and its role in the shaping of the modern Indian republic. It looks at state censorship in India in the transition period from colonial to national rule, when historical actors behaved in unpredictable ways. The book is divided into four parts – Guarding the State, Protecting the Public: Censorship Policies and Practices in the 1930s; Protests and Publicity: Banning Non-Indian Authors; Political or Military? Censorship in India during the Second World War; and The Censored Turn Censors: Freedom and Free Speech.

Notes:
Reliance Jio Infocomm has collaborated with Facebook to launch a countrywide digital literacy drive, christened as Digital Udaan, for its growing base of JioPhone users and other first-time internet users. Under the initiative, Jio will engage with users every Saturday to apprise them on features of its 4G VoLTE feature phone (called JioPhone), the use of various apps and internet safety, including the use of Facebook to connect with friends and family in a simple and secure way. The digital literacy engagement will be undertaken via audiovisual training in 10 regional languages. Digital Udaan will initially be launched in nearly 200 different locations across 13 states, and the initiative will subsequently reach over 7,000 locations, empowering millions of JioPhone users and other first-time internet users.

Notes:
The Punjab & Sind Bank has set up the Centralised MSME & Retail Group (Cen-MARG) for credit facilities at its head office in New Delhi. Now, all MSME and retail credit approvals will be performed at this centralised set up. This will help branches focus better on lead generation for retail and MSME lending and enhanced customer service. The Cen-MARG would be linked with pan-India branches in a phased manner. It has been envisioned to ensure a qualitative improvement in credit appraisal, improved turnaround time, uniform documentation and efficient monitoring.