Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
The 2nd edition of Global Disability Summit (GDS) will be held at Buenos Aires, Argentina from 6-8 June 2019. The Indian delegation will be headed by Thaawarchand Gehlot, the Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE). The objective of the summit is to deliberate on issues across the world concerning empowerment and inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to work out a mechanism for enabling them to live an independent and dignified life. The Indian delegation will also participate in the bilateral discussions with Government of Argentina for developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries on 9-10 June 2019.

Notes:
On June 6, the 6-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.75% from 6.0% with immediate effect in its 2nd bi-monthly monetary policy statement for 2019-20. Repo rate is the interest rate at which the central bank provides liquidity to banks to overcome short-term liquidity mismatches. A repo rate cut allows banks to reduce interest rates for consumers on loans, and lowers equal monthly installments on home loans, car loans and personal loans. Consequently, the reverse repo rate stands adjusted to 5.50%, and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate to 6.0%. Beside this, RBI has also unanimously decided to change the stance of monetary policy from neutral to accommodative. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled during August 5 to 7.

Notes:
In Nagaland, the scenic Dzukou Valley has been officially declared Plastic Free Zone on the occasion of 2019 World Environment Day (WED). The declaration was made officially by Advisor of Youth Resources and Sports, Zale Neikha. The much-appreciated initiative on declaring this scenic valley as a ‘plastic-free zone’ was taken by Southern Angami Youth Organisation (SAYO) in accordance with its pledge to conserve and protect the environment. The Dzukou valley is situated at an altitude of 2452 m above sea level. It is famous for its wide range of flower in every season. The rare Dzükou Lily is found only in this valley.

Notes:
Indian-American Congresswoman, Pramila Jayapal has become the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives. She is a Democrat from Washington DC. The 116th Congress broke records with women and lawmakers crossing racial and religious barriers, including an all time high for Asian American lawmakers. A record number of 17 Asian Americans serve in Congress, with 14 in the House and three in the Senate.

Notes:
China has successfully launched a space rocket from sea for the first time and became the third nation to successfully demonstrate the ability to launch satellites into orbit from a floating platform after Russia and United States. The China National Space Administration (CNSA) has announced that a Long March 11 rocket was launched from a floating launch pad in the Yellow Sea just off the coast of Shandong on 5th June 2019. China now spends more than Russia and Japan on its civil and military space programmes. Earlier this year, China became the first nation to land a rover on the far side of the moon. It also unveiled ambitious plans to build a research base on the lunar surface, send a probe to Mars and build a space station in Earth orbit.

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:
Laldingliana Sailo (76), the former Doordarshan and All India Radio (AIT) news editor, has passed away in Aizawl. Sailo, a senior officer in the Indian Information Service (IIS), was inducted as Field Publicity Officer (FPO) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) in the year 1972. His first posting was in Arunachal Pradesh Tawang. After the stints in AIR, Kohima and Aizawl and News Services Division in New Delhi, he was transferred to Doordarshan Kendra Aizawl with additional charge of RNU, AIR, Aizawl. He retired as Director in the Directorate of Field Publicity for Kohima Region.

Notes:
The Thai parliament has recently elected ex military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as its new Prime Minister. He beat the popular billionaire leader of the anti-junta Future Forward Party, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, with 500 votes to 244 after a 12-hour session that included 10 hours of fierce debate in Parliament on June 5. Prayuth will now head a coalition government led by the pro-military Palang Pracharat Party. Prayuth’s appointment becomes official when it is endorsed by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has not had a royal run for frontline office since 1932.

Notes:
Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has recently launched the ‘Pink Sarathi’ vehicles to attend to the complaints of women passengers travelling in city buses. The vehicles are procured by the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) under the ‘Nirbhaya’ scheme. The corporation had received Rs 56.07 crore from the Union government under the scheme and had taken up various measures for the safety of women passengers, including the launch of Pink Sarathi vehicles.

Notes:
Girish Karnad (81), well-known writer, playwright, actor and public intellectual, has passed away on June 10 in Bengaluru. Born in May 1938, he was one of the most prominent theatre personalities of the 60s and 70s, a period regarded as the Renaissance of Indian theatre. He worked with mythology and history and gave them a contemporary resonance in plays such as Nagamandala, Tughlaq and Hayavadana. He wrote his first play Yayati in 1961 when he was a Rhodes Scholar in England. Karnad translated most of his plays himself. His last play was ‘Rakshasa Tangadi’, published in 2018, set in the last years of the Vijayanagar empire. He was a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award — the highest literary honour conferred in India. He was also conferred the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, and had won several accolades for direction in Kannada cinema. He predominantly worked in South Indian cinema and Bollywood. In 2012, he played the role of RAW chairman, Shenoy, in Salman Khan-starrer ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. He reprised his role of Shenoy in ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’. Karnad was also a presenter of award-winning TV series – Turning Point on Doordarshan National during the 1990s. The show was based on science and new discoveries.