Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Former ISRO chief Dr. K Kasturirangan led Committee has recently submitted the draft National Educational Policy (NEP) to HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank in New Delhi. The policy draft recommends incorporation of Indian knowledge systems in the curriculum, constituting a National Education Commission and curbing arbitrary fees hikes by private schools. The expert panel also proposed massive transformation in Teacher Education by moving all teacher preparation and education programmes into large multidisciplinary universities or colleges. It added that the topics will include Indian contribution to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, psychology, yoga, architecture, medicine, as well as governance, polity, society, and conservation course on Indian knowledge systems. The existing NEP was framed in 1986 and revised in 1992.

Notes:
Chandrani Murmu (25) has created history by becoming the youngest Member of Parliament (MP), after elected to the 17th Lok Sabha from Keonjhar (Odisha) in the 2019 Indian general election as a member of the Biju Janata Dal (BJD). She defeated two-time BJP MP Ananta Nayak by a margin of 66,203 votes. Ms. Murmu earned her B. Tech degree from a Bhubaneswar-based engineering college. Previously, the record of Youngest Parliamentarian was held by Dushyant Chautala, who represented Hisar Lok Sabha Constituency in Haryana in the 16th Lok Sabha.

Notes:
The Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) has jointly carried out a week-long special training exercise “Kharga Prahar-2019” in the plains of Punjab. The exercise, which began on May 27, was undertaken by various units and formations of Army’s Kharga Corps. The exercise setting also incorporated aspects of joint training wherein para drops from Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft were carried out and simulated battlefield air strikes were conducted in support of ground forces. Ambala-based 2-Corpa, popularly called as Kharga Corps, possesses 50% of the Indian Army’s offensive capabilities and has the mandate to launch offensive attack, in case any conflict or war breaks out with neighbouring Pak. Integrated with multiple military formations, Kharga has proved an effective weapon in various wars. In 1971, while positioned in West, it helped in division of Pakistan. The elite force was deployed somewhere in the desert sector during the Kargil conflict. The Kharga Corps has been stationed at Ambala since 1985.

Notes:
Sheela, the veteran Malayalam actress-director, has been chosen for the prestigious J C Daniel Award for her contributions to the film world. She is only the second woman to get it, after Aranmula Ponnamma in 2005. The award comprising a cash prize of Rs 5 Lakh, a citation and plaque will be given away at a function here on 27th July 2019. It is the Kerala’s highest award in Malayalam cinema. The award is named after J C Daniel, who made the first silent movie in Mollywood. Sheela is popularly called as Sheelamma by her admirers. She had debuted in the tinsel town through the MG Ramachandran-starrer Tamil movie “Paasam” during early 1960s. She was the first recipient of the ‘Best Actress’ award instituted by the Kerala government through the 1969 movie “Kallichellamma”. In 2005, she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Malayalam film ‘Akale’. Sheela also holds the Guinness World Record for acting in the largest number of films opposite the same hero- late Prem Nazir- in nearly 130 films.

Notes:
Dinyar Contractor (79), the veteran actor and theatre legend, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on June 5, 2019. He was best known for his comic roles in films and was awarded a Padma Shri in 2019. He was appeared in many Bollywood films like Chori Chori Chupke Chupke, Khiladi, Badshah, Daraar and 36 China Town. He was also part of many TV shows such as Khichdi and Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah.

Notes:
Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, Nigeria’s Ambassador to UN, has been elected as President of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). In accordance with the rules, the President of the 74th session of the General Assembly should be elected from among the African States. Muhammad-Bande was elected by acclamation and he will succeed Ecuador’s Maria Fernanda Espinosa in September 2019. He assumes charge as the world body gets ready to celebrate the 75th anniversary of its creation next year.

Notes:
Facebook has launched its first interactive game show titled “Confetti” in India, which will start from June 12 on its dedicated video platform – Facebook Watch. The interactive show will air from Wednesday to Sunday and will challenge participants to answer pop culture trivia questions for a chance to win Rs 3 lakh as cash prize every day. In 2018, the social networking giant globally rolled out Facebook Watch as its video-on-demand service in an attempt to take on its rival YouTube. The video service allows users to enjoy videos from different genres, including entertainment, sports and news in their personalised “Watch Feed” that carries a collection of recent videos from the pages they follow.

Notes:
India has notified a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Marshall Islands, which enables a bilateral sharing of banking & ownership information and allows officials of one country to undertake tax examinations in the other. The TIEA for exchange of information with respect to taxes was signed on March 18, 2016 at Majuro, the Capital of the Marshall Islands. India notified the TIEA on May 21, 2019. The TIEA is based on international standards of tax transparency and exchange of information and enables sharing of information on request. The agreement will enhance mutual cooperation between India and the Marshall Islands by providing an effective framework for exchange of information on tax matters which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance. The Marshall Islands are a sprawling chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in the Pacific Ocean, between Hawaii and the Philippines.

Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will chair the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs and be part of the all-important panel on political affairs headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh was also made a member of two new committees set up by the Modi government — the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth and the Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development, to propel growth and investment. Both the committees will be chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah.

Notes:
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has instituted the first Antarashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman (AYDMS) for 2019 to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga. The AYDMS will be conferred to print and electronic media houses. The contribution of the media in popularizing Yoga would be assessed by six juries. A total of 33 awards, under three categories, will be conferred. The award will comprise a special medal, plaque and trophy and a citation. The duration of the coverage for AYDMS would be from June 10 to June 25. Yoga has been universally acknowledged by the United Nations (UN) and is now practiced globally around 200 countries on June 21 every year.