Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
India has been ranked 95th out of a total 129 countries in the first-ever SDG Gender Index, which measures strides made in achieving gender commitments against internationally set targets. The index has been developed by Equal Measures 2030, which is a partnership among global and regional organisations from the civil society and the development and private sectors. It includes The African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, International Women’s Health Coalition and Plan International. The overall index scores are based on a scale of 0–100. A score of 100 indicates the achievement of gender equality in relation to the underlying indicators. A score of 50 would indicate that a country is about halfway to meeting its goal. India’s score of 56.2 means that it is among 43 countries that fall in the ‘very poor’ category. Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Slovenia, Germany, Canada, Ireland, and Australia rank as the top 10 countries in the index.

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:
The Delhi Metro has become the India’s first-ever project to receive power generated from a waste-to-energy plant. According to Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the project is also in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “Swachh Bharat Mission”. This will also help in creating awareness on the importance of waste management and utilizing waste in a sustainable manner. The DMRC has started receiving 2 MW power from a 12 MW capacity plant in Ghazipur. The DMRC will take approximately 17.5 million units per annum from this plant. However, the energy off-take will depend upon the actual generation of the plant. The waste-to-energy plant set up by East Delhi Waste Processing Company Limited (EDWPCL) is based on a public private partnership (PPP) involving the Delhi government, the East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and EDWPCL. The waste-to-energy plant will mitigate over 8 million tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) over the life of the project.

Notes:
The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia organised a “Gandhi cycle rally for peace” in Riyadh on Friday to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The cycle rally was organized in association with the Diplomatic Quarter Authority and Saudi Cycling Federation. Over 150 participants from all walks of life, cultural and ethnic identities participated in the cycle rally. The rally was flagged off by Dr. Ausaf Sayeed, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was one of the first events of its kind held at the Diplomatic Quarters in Riyadh and reflected the increasingly friendly relations between India and Saudi Arabia especially after the historic visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Kingdom in April 2016 and the state visit of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to India in February 2019.

Notes:
The women members of Telangana-based Deccan Development Society (DDS) sanghams (groups) have bagged the prestigious United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Equator Prize for 2019. They have been selected for standing as ‘an outstanding example of a local, nature-based solution to climate change and sustainable development. The women farmers have been building their own seed banks and growing millets in the predominantly rain-fed villages of Sangareddy district. The women farmers of DDS are the first group in the Telugu states to have been selected for the prestigious award which will be presented at a ceremony in New York in September 2019. The US$10,000-prize is given annually for nature-based solutions to climate change as well as sustainable development. The award recognizes local and indigenous community initiatives.

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:
Dr. Romila Thapar, the well-known historian and writer, has been elected as a member of the American Philosophical Society (APS), the oldest learned society in United States (US). Dr. Thapar, a Professor Emerita of history at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, was among 1,013 members elected to the society at its Annual Spring Meeting.

Notes:
India’s first dinosaur museum and fossil park has recently inaugurated by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani at Raiyoli village near Balasinor town of Mahisagar district. The new museum will create a prehistoric-like era environment when dinosaurs might have roamed around freely in Raiyoli. As many as 50 sculptures of dinosaurs, including a life-size one of Rajasaurus Narmadensis that was found in Gujarat, have been erected at the museum. The museum would have 3D projection, 360 degrees virtual reality presentations, interactive kiosks, gaming consoles and other facilities. According to government officials, Raiyoli is globally known to be the third largest fossil site and the second largest dinosaur hatchery from where about 10,000 dinosaur eggs have been found.

Notes:
On 9 June, Interim President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has won the 2019 Presidential election of Kazakhstan with 70.96% of the vote. He was recognised as the elected president by the Central Election Commission (CEC) and will take an oath of office June 12. Earlier, on 20th March 2019, Tokayev took office as the Interim President of Kazakhstan & succeeded Nursultan Nazarbayev who served as the President from the country’s independence in 1992 until his resignation. The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan is the head of state, commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Notes:
The researchers from Ohio State University in United States have created high-resolution maps of points around the globe where groundwater meets the oceans — the first such analysis of its kind that may help protect both drinking water and the seas. The study showed that nearly one-half of fresh submarine groundwater discharge flows into the ocean near the tropics. They also found that regions near active fault lines send greater volumes of groundwater into the ocean than regions that are tectonically stable. The findings may help coastal communities better protect and manage their drinking water. The research work is the first near-global and spatially distributed high-resolution map of fresh groundwater flow to the coast. It could give scientists better clues about where to monitor groundwater discharge.