Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Dr. Virendra Kumar, the 7-time Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, has been sworn-in as the pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha. President Ram Nath Kovind administered oath to Dr Kumar at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As pro-tem speaker, Kumar will preside over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and administer the oath to the newly elected MPs. He will also oversee the election of the 17th Lok Sabha speaker. The first session of the newly constituted Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26.

Notes:
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed has been appointed as the new Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the powerful spy agency of Pakistan. He succeeded Lt Gen Asim Munir. Hameed has previously served as the head of the Counter Intelligence wing of the ISI. The ISI was formed in 1948 as an independent unit to strengthen the country’s intelligence network. The ISI was formerly a part of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which handled intelligence-sharing between different branches of the military, as well as external intelligence gathering. Its headquarters were initially located in Rawalpindi, but were later moved to Islamabad. In 1950, the ISI was officially given the task of safeguarding Pakistani interests and national security, inside and outside the country.

Notes:
Mohamed Morsi (67), the former President of Egypt, has passed away in Cairo on June 17 after collapsing during his court trial that charged him of espionage and inciting violence. He was the first democratically-elected President of Egypt. His death has raised doubts over the ‘torturous’ condition under which he was kept in prison. Voices of several human right groups and individuals have called for an impartial investigation into his death. Morsi was democratically elected in 2012, a year after the uprising that ended the rule of longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. The military toppled Morsi in the following year after massive protests and crushed the Brotherhood in a major crackdown.

Notes:
The World Refugee Day (WRD) is observed every year on 20th of June to celebrate the stories and contributions of refugees. The 2019 theme is “#Step with Refugees – Take a Step on World Refugee Day”. According to the latest annual study released by the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 70.8 million children, women and men were forcibly displaced at the end of last year. This is the highest number in the organization’s almost 70-year history. The study said wars, violence and persecution have driven record numbers of people from their homes worldwide. Almost two thirds of those uprooted from their homes are internally displaced people who have not left their homelands. About 80% of these refugees live in countries neighbouring their country of origin. On an average, one person is forcibly displaced every two seconds as a result of conflict or persecution and refugees are among the most vulnerable people in the world.

Notes:
Maharashtra bagged the top slot in the second edition of the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) list of India’s top ten states that have maximum number of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified green buildings. LEED is a widely used green building rating system. Maharashtra has 334 LEED-certified green buildings, while Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have 232 and 157 buildings, respectively. The top 10 states for LEED are home to more than 840 million Indians and together include more than 475 million gross square feet of LEED-certified space. LEED is an international symbol of sustainability excellence which signifies a building is lowering carbon emissions, conserving resources and cutting down cost, while prioritizing sustainable practices and creating a healthier environment.

Notes:
Karnataka and Maharashtra have jointly got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Namma Kolhapuri chappal. These leather chappals are hand-crafted and tanned using vegetable dyes. The art of making them is passed down one generation to another. The traditional chappal making will get a modern touch. LIDKAR has in-house fashion designers who will design the footwear. According to LIDKAR officials, there are 5,000 people from villages in Belagavi, Bagalkote and even Dharwad making Kolhapuri chappals at their houses. Their market is restricted to nearest towns. The GI tag approvals implies that the artisans producing Kolhapuris in these districts will now be able to make and market their product in domestic and international markets. This also means the artisans can tie up with leading e-commerce players for higher profits. More importantly, it also prohibit the usage of the term “Kolhapuris” for similar products made in other parts of the country.

Notes:
Indian Navy has recently launched Operation Sankalp in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to reassure Indian flagged vessels transiting through the area. The development has come in the wake of the suspected attacks on two merchant ships in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman region. Both the attacks took place at Strait of Hormuz, which is a major conduit for global oil supplies. The US has blamed Iran for the attack. The Navy has deployed stealth guided missile destroyers INS Chennai and patrol vessel INS Sunayna in the region for maritime security operations. In addition, aerial surveillance in the area is also being done by IN aircraft. The Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region of the Indian Navy is also keeping a close watch on the movement of ships in the Gulf region. Both the attacks took place at Strait of Hormuz, which is a major conduit for global oil supplies.

Notes:
The National Freight Index (NFI) has been launched by a technology-enabled logistics company Rivigo, which owns a fleet of over 3,000 trucks. The index aims to bring transparency and boost efficiency in the market. The NFI is the barometer of the road freight market in India and is based on Rivigo rate exchange, which gives a live spot rate on over 7 million lane and vehicle type combinations in the country. The move is aimed at bringing transparency to the road freight market place and transforming the logistics sector. The NFI offers an aggregated picture of both live rates and historical trends of spot price movements in the road freight industry. The index is represented in two main forms: in terms of actual freight rates condensed to Rupees per tonne-km and in terms of relative movement with respect to a base month.

Notes:
The book titled “My Life, My Mission” is the autobiography of Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and is co-authored with senior journalist Uday Mahurkar. The book, which is expected to hit stands in August 2019, addresses the major controversies, turning points and achievements of Ramdev’s life. In the book, Baba Ramdev chronicles his journey from a small village in Haryana to the international stage, and writes about his passion for yoga and good health, his friends and foes, and the Swadeshi campaign he spearheaded. It also highlights the journey of Ramdev’s venture, Patanjali Group of Institutions, with a turnover of about Rs 12,000 crores.

Notes:
The fifth edition of International Yoga day (IYD-2019) is celebrated across the country and abroad on 21st June with theme ‘Yoga for Climate Action’. The aim of the IYD is to raise awareness worldwide of the many benefits of practicing yoga. Yoga is an ancient physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in India. The word ‘yoga’ derives from Sanskrit and means to join or to unite, symbolizing the union of body and consciousness.