Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
On June 13, the meeting of Council of Heads of States (CHS) of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has started in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. This is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first multi-lateral summit after his re-election as the Prime Minister. This is also the second CHS meeting after India became member of SCO. Presidents and Prime Ministers of 8 member countries will participate in this multilateral international forum which will also be attended by 4 head of states as observers. The leaders participating in the Summit are expected to focus their discussions on the global security situation, multilateral economic cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and also on topical issues of international and regional importance. The SCO is a China-led 8-member economic and security bloc. The CHS is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO.

Notes:
The Union Government has taken a historic decision to reduce the salary contribution of industrial workers who are eligible for healthcare benefits under the Employees’ State Insurance Act (ESI) Act from 6.5% to 4.0%. The move is aimed at formalizing India’s informal workforce and expanding social security coverage. The reduced rates will be effective from July 1 and would benefit 3.6 crore employees and 12.85 lakh employers. The reduced rate of contribution will bring about a substantial relief to workers under the ESI scheme and bring more and more workforce into the formal sector. The ESI Act of 1948 provides for medical, cash, maternity, disability and dependent benefits to the Insured Persons under the Act. The ESI Act is administered by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC). Benefits provided under the ESI Act are funded by the contributions made by the employers and the employees. The Government of India through the Ministry of Labour and Employment decides the rate of contribution under the ESI Act.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently constituted a 5-member committee to review existing marketing structure in Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) marketing in India. The committee, headed by economist Kirit Parikh, will look into issues related to definition or quality standards of LPG being marketed. Its terms of reference also include scope for liberalizing government policies for private participation. The committee is expected to submit its report by end-July. Based on the LPG control order, domestic LPG should be supplied to oil-marketing companies (OMCs) only. The committee will also identify the grey areas that might allow private entities like Reliance Industries to sell subsidized cooking gas.

Notes:
India is one of the founder members of Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) and is the Chair of Kimberley Process for the year 2019 with Russian Federation as Vice Chair. The Inter-sessional meeting of Kimberley Process (KP) is being hosted by India from 17th to 21st June, 2019 in Mumbai. Besides meetings of different Working Groups and Committees of the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), two special forums regarding Diamond Terminology and Artisanal Mining – Small Steps to Larger Outcomes, will be held during the Intersessional. Around 300 delegates from the Government of India (GoI) and other participating countries, industry and civil society will be attending the 5-day Meeting. At present, KPCS has 55 members representing 82 countries including EU with 28 members.

Notes:
The Kargil Vijay Diwas (KVD) is celebrated every year on July 26 to commemorate India’s emphatic victory against Pakistan. The day is named after the success of Operation Vijay. In 2019, India will celebrated the 20th anniversary of victory in Kargil war with pride, honour and inspiration from 25th to 27th of July at Dras and New Delhi. The Kargil War is a saga of strong political, military and diplomatic actions. The purpose of these celebrations is to evoke feeling of nationalism and patriotism through nationwide campaigns especially amongst youth and to pay homage to the valiant soldiers. This year, the Kargil Vijay Diwas (KVD) is being celebrated with the theme ‘Remember, Rejoice and Renew’. It will always be remembered for its strategic and tactical surprises, the self-imposed national strategy of restraint in keeping the war limited to Kargil – Siachen Sectors and swiftly executed tri-services military strategy and plans.

Notes:
As per a report released by the Australian think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), India’s ranking in 2019 Global Peace Index (GPI) has slipped five places to 141st among 163 countries. In 2018, India ranked at 136th among 163 countries. IEP ranks countries according to their level of peacefulness based on three thematic domains — the level of societal safety and security, the extent of ongoing domestic and international conflict and the degree of militarization. The report covers 99.7 per cent of the world’s population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources to compile the index. As per index, Iceland remains the most peaceful country and Afghanistan the least peaceful nation. In South Asian countries, Bhutan topped the index with 15th rank, followed by Sri Lanka 72nd, Nepal 76th and Bangladesh 101st. Terror-ridden Pakistan has been ranked 153rd on the index. The GPI was founded by Steve Killelea, an Australian technology entrepreneur and philanthropist.

Notes:
Four Indian movies have been selected to be screened at the prestigious 23rd Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BiFAN-2019). Out of them, three of them happen to be Bollywood movies namely Gully Boy, Andhadhun and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi while the fourth is a Tamil movie, Super Deluxe starring Vijay Sethupati and Samantha Akkineni. The festival will take place from June 27 to July 7 in South Korea. The South Korean film festival is known for screening some of the best movies in the world.

Notes:
According to UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India increased by 6% to $42 billion in 2018 with strong inflows in manufacturing, communication, financial services and cross-border merger and acquisition activities making it the sub-region’s largest recipient. As per report, India has been ranked 10th amongst the top recipients of FDI in 2018. The report added that India has historically accounted for 70 to 80% of inflows to the sub-region. Further, the growth in cross-border Merger & Acquisitions for India to 33 billion dollars in 2018 was primarily due to transactions worth 16 billion dollars in retail trade, which includes e-commerce, and telecommunication.

Notes:
Peter Gilchrist from Singapore has won the 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship at the Yarraville Club. In the final, he defeated India’s Sourav Kothari.

Notes:
The Autistic Pride Day (APD) is observed every year on 18th of June to recognise the importance of pride for autistics and understands it not as a disease but as a difference. Autism or Autism Spectrum Disability is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, restrictive and repetitive pattern of behaviour. It is a lifelong condition which usually occurs in the first three years of life. The exact cause of autism is not known but it is known to be associated with genetic and environmental factors. Autistic Pride Day was initiated by Aspies For Freedom, a group that raises public awareness about autism rights.