Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
Mohammed Baji (103), the eminent freedom fighter, has passed away at Sunari Sahi in Nabarangpur , Odisha. He was born on 20th January 1917 and was a bachelor. A close associate of tribal civil rights activist Laxman Nayak, Baji was injured in police firing during the 1942 movement when 29 tribals were killed while protesting before the Mathili police station in Malkangiri district. He had joined the Indian National Congress in 1936, the year Odisha became a separate province on the basis of language. He also joined the Quit India Movement and was held on August 19, 1942. He spent nearly five years in jail before he was released on June 25, 1947. After the freedom struggle, Baji was active in the Sarvodaya movement. He was the chairman of Utkal Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and a close associate of Utkal Sarvodaya Mandal. Baji led padayatras at Nabarangpur for the restoration of peace after the demolition of the Babri Masjid and again after the communal riot in Kandhamal in 2008.

Notes:
In Jammu and Kashmir, the district administration of Rajouri has been launched a campaign called “Operation Khumaar” to make 312 panchayats tobacco-free. The programme is run by the district administration to make panchayats free from tobacco and tobacco-based products. Under this programme, even the headmaster of the schools have been authorised to impose a fine on the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of school limits. Block Medical Officers (BMO) have been directed to set up counselling centres at all Community Health Centres (CHCs) to help tobacco consumers to quit this habit. The district officers have been urged upon to work in a mission mode so as to make the society free from the injurious tobacco and tobacco-based products.

Notes:
Under the emergency provisions, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has signed an Rs 200 crore defence deal with Russia to acquire ‘Strum Ataka’ anti-tank missile for its fleet of Mi-35 attack choppers. The Mi-35s are the existing attack choppers of the Indian Air Force and are set to be replaced with the Apache gunships being acquired from the US and slated to be delivered from next month onwards. Earlier, in June 2019, IAF signed Rs 300 crore deal with an Israeli defence firm to procure a batch of ‘Spice 2000’ guided bombs. These bombs are already present with the IAF and were used in the Balakot air strikes by Dassault’s Mirage 2000 to target Jaish-e-Mohammed training camps across the Line of Control (LoC). With this, the IAF has emerged as the frontrunner in terms of weapon acquisition under the emergency procurement, followed by the Indian Army. Under the emergency powers given to the three services, they can buy the equipment of their choice within three months at a cost of up to Rs 300 crore per case.

Notes:
On 1st July 2019, Japan officially resumed commercial whaling after more than 30 years of limiting whale hunts to scientific purposes — a policy that still resulted in the deaths of hundreds of whales every year. The hunts come after Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The move is slammed by anti-whaling activists but welcomed by Japanese whaling communities. Now, Japan has joined Iceland and Norway as the only nations to allow commercial whaling despite the IWC moratorium. Hunting will reportedly be limited to Japan’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, which stretches about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the nation’s coasts. The IWC, established in 1946, to conserve and manage the world’s whale and cetacean population, introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986.

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:
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:
Manoj Kumar Nambiar, MD of Arohan Financial Services (AFS), has been elected as new chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN). The MFIN is an industry association consists of 56 NBFC-MFIs (Non Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions) and 40 associates including Banks, SFBs (Small Finance Banks ) and NBFCs. It is also the Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the regulated NBFC-MFI.

Notes:
The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) has selected Mastercard CEO and President Ajay Banga and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji for its 2019 Global Excellence Awards. The prestigious award will be presented to both the business leaders at its 2nd Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July 11. The leadership summit will highlight areas of bilateral cooperation like trade and investment, strategic energy ties, manufacturing and innovation partnership.

Notes:
The National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) has collaborated with public sector enterprise Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) on a pilot project to supply sanitary napkins to 11,516 students free of cost through a team of volunteers and female teachers of 75 schools in Gandipet, Moinabad, Rajendranagar, Serilingampally and Shamshabad mandals of the State. The project involves creating awareness on menstruation and menstrual hygiene among children in government schools in Telangana. It is being taken up with a funding of Rs 71.82 lakh given by the BDL as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The aim of the project is to create awareness on hygiene along with sociological and environmental issues, and removing the stigma associated with menstruation among rural adolescent girls. The NIRDPR is an Indian institute for research in rural development. It is located in Rajendranagar near Hyderabad.

Notes:
The historic walled city of Jaipur in Rajasthan has recently declared UNESCO World Heritage site at the ongoing 43rd Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at Baku, Azerbaijan. The city was founded in 1727 AD under the patronage of Sawai Jai Singh II. It is known for its iconic architectural legacy and vibrant culture, and serves as the capital city of the culturally-rich state of Rajasthan. In town planning, it shows an interchange of ancient Hindu, Mughal and contemporary Western ideas that resulted in the form of the city. In addition, Jaipur City is an exceptional example of a late medieval trade town in South Asia and defined new concepts for a thriving trade and commercial hub. Additionally, the city is associated with living traditions in the form of crafts that have national and international recognition.