Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Maldives has conferred ‘Nishan Izzuddin’ award on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It is the highest award to honour foreign nationals. On June 8, Mr. Modi arrived in Male on the first leg of his two-nation tour to the Maldives and Sri Lanka. This will also be the first bilateral visit to the Maldives of an Indian Prime Minister after 2011. Mr. Modi will have bilateral discussions with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, hold meetings with Vice President Faisal Naseem and Speaker of Majlis and former President Mohamed Nasheed during his visit. He will also address the legislative body of the island nation called the People’s Majlis. Along with President Solih, Prime Minister Modi is likely to inaugurate the Coastal Surveillance System (CSS) and the Comprehensive Training Centre for National Defence Forces of Maldives. The two projects have been developed with Indian Grants. India is likely to announce a few new projects to the Maldives including building a cricket Stadium there and renovating the Friday Mosque by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

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.

Notes:
In Tennis, World No. 2 Rafael Nadal has lifted the French Open Men’s Singles title for the 12th time. In the summit clash played at Paris on June 9, he defeated Austrian fourth seed Dominic Thiem, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to win at the Roland Garros for the third straight year. Hence, Nadal became the first player to win 12 Singles titles at the same Grand Slam and has now won 18 majors overall. Nadal is now just two titles behind Roger Federer’s all-time record of 20 majors and is three ahead of world number one Novak Djokovic. Nadal also took his Paris record to an astonishing 93 wins and just two losses. The win also gave Nadal an 82nd career title and 950th match win.

Notes:
India has partnered with Portugal to set up a national maritime heritage museum at the ancient Indian site of Lothal in Gujarat. It is likely to come up on the lines of a similar museum at Lisbon, which is administered by the Portuguese Navy. The Government of India (GoI) has allocated a grant for building the maritime museum and the foundation stone for the project was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in March 2019. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Shipping through its Sagarmala programme, with the involvement of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the State government and other stakeholders.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry & Railways, Piyush Goyal led the Indian delegation for the 2-day G20 Ministerial meeting on Trade and Digital Economy at Tsukuba city in Japan on June 8. The G-20 Trade Ministers deliberations will form part of the G-20 Summit Leaders agenda in the formal discussions and will also be a part of the Summit Declaration. Over 50 Trade and Digital Economy Ministers get together for the first time in G20 history in Tsukuba, to discuss how G20 economies can promote trade and investment and maximize benefits from the development of the digital economy. The Trade and Digital Economy meeting is one of the 8 Ministerial meetings taking place in Japan alongside the 2019 G20 Summit. The other seven Ministerial meetings are Agriculture Ministers’, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ meeting, Labour and Employment Ministers’ meeting, Tourism Ministers meeting, Ministerial meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth, Health Ministers’ meeting and Foreign Ministers’ meeting. The G20 members represent two-thirds of the world’s people and 85 percent of its economy.

Notes:
India has been designated as the Guest of Honour at the 33rd Guadalajara International Book Fair (GIBF) 2019 in Mexico, which is scheduled to be organized from Nov 30 to Dec 8. The book fair will be the largest book fair in the Spanish speaking world. The dedicated India pavilion at the fair will showcase over 35 Indian authors and artists, along with 15 publishing houses. Ancient and rare manuscripts including “Mahabharata” and “Ramayana” will be put on exhibition, along with photo books, handicrafts and paintings. India’s participation at the fair will also include a film festival showing movies like “Dangal”, “Chennai Express” and “Omkara”.

Notes:
Virendra Kumar, the BJP MP from Madhya Pradesh, will be the pro-tem speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha. Kumar is a 7-term member of Parliament and won the Lok Sabha polls from Tikamgarh. As pro-tem speaker, he will preside over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and administer the oath of office to the newly elected MPs. The first session of the newly-constituted 17th Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26. As pro-tem speaker, Kumar will also oversee the election of the Lok Sabha speaker.

Notes:
China has appointed veteran diplomat Sun Weidong as its new envoy to India. He is an expert in South Asian affairs and worked closely with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his tenure in Beijing as the Indian ambassador from 2009 to 2013. Sun, who also served as the ambassador to Pakistan, is currently the Director General of the Policy and Planning Department of the Foreign Ministry. He will succeed Luo Zhaohui, who has been appointed as Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Notes:
The ‘Mela Kheer Bhawani’ is one of the biggest religious festivals of the displaced community of Kashmiri pundits, and is associated with Hindu Goddess Ragnya Devi. It is recently celebrated with religious fervor and gaiety at Tulmulla area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and Kupwara with thousands of Pandith devotees participated in the function. The annual festival is held on Jesht Ashtami (May-June) when Kashmiri pandits visit the place in large number to offer prayers to seek the blessings of the deity. The devotees carry rose petals, walk barefoot and offer tribute to the goddess, and also offer milk and kheer (pudding) at the sacred spring. It is believed that the colour of the water in the spring, which flows below the temple, is an indication of the valley’s well-being. Black or darkish colour of the water is believed to be a sign of inauspicious times for Kashmir. However, the water in the spring this time was clean and milky white. The mela has become a symbol of communal harmony as Muslims in the locality make all the arrangements for the devotees, including setting up of stalls for flowers and other offerings.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a high-level committee under IBA Chief Executive V G Kannan to examine ATM charges and fees by banks amid demands for reviewing the levies. The use of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) has been growing significantly and there have been persistent demands to change ATM charges and fees. The 6-member panel will review the existing structures and patterns of costs, charges and interchange fees for ATM transactions. The committee will also review the overall patterns of usage of ATMs by cardholders and assess the impact, if any, on charges and interchange fees. Besides, it will assess the entire gamut of costs in respect of the ATM ecosystem and make recommendations on the optimal charge/interchange fee structure and pattern. The committee will submit its report within two months from the date of its first meeting.