Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
In Pune, Social activist Makarand Tilloo has won the ‘Save Water Hero Award’ by the HridayMitra Foundation for his efforts to raise awareness about water conservation in the city. Tilloo is a Laughter Yoga trainer and motivational speaker by profession. He started a campaign to save water by replacing leaking taps with new ones. The HridayMitra Foundation is an organisation which aims to spread awareness about diseases as well as the surgeries required to remedy them. It also runs a free helpline, offering people financial guidance and other such services.

Notes:
The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a 3-week-long coordinated operation, named ‘Operation Sunrise 2’, from May 16 in their respective border areas & targeted several militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. As part of the operation, the armies coordinated with each other to bust camps of militant outfits, including the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), the NSCN (Khaplang), the United Liberation Front of Assam (I) and the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB). As per sources, at least six dozen militants belonging to these groups were nabbed and several of their camps destroyed during the operation. Myanmar is one of the strategic neighbours of India and shares a 1,640-km border with a number of north-eastern states, including the militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur The first phase of this operation was launched in February 2019 in which Indian Army targeted members of the Arakan Army (an insurgent group in Myanmar), who were opposed to the Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project. The Kaladan multi-modal transit transport project is viewed as India’s gateway to Southeast Asia.

Notes:
NDA nominee Om Birla from Kota has been unanimously elected as the Speaker of 17th Lok Sabha. All major political parties including Congress, DMK, TMC, BJD, YSR Congress, JD(U) and Shiv Sena supported the motion moved by Prime Minister and Leader of the House, Narendra Modi to choose Mr. Birla as the Speaker. Later, Pro-tem speaker Dr. Virendra Kumar declared Mr. Birla as the Speaker. Prime minister along with other leaders of different political parties escorted Om Birla to the Speaker’s chair. An agriculturalist and social worker, Om Birla started his political journey as a student leader. Later, he elected as MLA for three consecutive terms for Rajasthan Assembly in 2003, 2008 and 2013. He won his first Lok Sabha election in 2014 and was again elected from Rajasthan’s Kota Lok Sabha seat in 2019.

Notes:
According to the Randstad Employer Brand Research (REBR) 2019, E-commerce giant Amazon India is the most attractive employer brand in India followed by Microsoft India and Sony India. Others in the top 10 most-attractive employer brands in India for 2019 include Mercedes-Benz at 4th position, IBM (5th), Larsen & Toubro (6th), Nestle (7th), Infosys (8th), Samsung (9th) and Dell (10th). As per report, Amazon has scored high on financial health, utilisation of latest technologies and a strong reputation. The survey further noted that a vast majority (55%) of Indians prefer to work for a large multi-national corporation, while a negligible 9% preferred start-ups. The preference for Multi-National Companies (MNCs) can be strongly attributed to job security, financial health and career progression opportunities, which these organisations offer to their employees. The survey also noted that the Indian workforce prefers to work for companies operating in sectors like IT, ITeS and telecom (67%), retail, FMCG and e-commerce (67%), followed by automotive (66%) and BFSI (65%).

Notes:
The World Sustainable Gastronomy Day (WSGS) is observed every year on 18th of June to focus the world’s attention on the role that sustainable gastronomy can play. It also reaffirms that all cultures and civilizations are contributors and crucial enablers of sustainable development.

Notes:
India’s PU Chitra has won gold in women’s 1500m at Folksam Grand Prix 2019 held in Sollentuna, Sweden. Beside her, Asian Games gold medallist Jinson Johnson won the silver in the men’s 1500m clocking 3:39.69s as he finished behind Sweden’s Andreas Almgren (3:39.68s).

Notes:
Shefali Juneja, a 1992 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax cadre), has been appointed to the post of Representative of India in the council of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada for a period of 3 years. She will replace senior IAS officer Alok Shekhar.

Notes:
India’s first solar-powered cruise boat to be rolled out in Alappuzha, Kerala in December 2019. A Rs 3-crore cruise boat that can carry 100 passengers is under construction at a boatyard in Aroor. This is part of an initiative of the State Water Transport Department (SWTD), whose solar ferry Aditya in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route has proved to be a success. The hybrid vessel will be powered by a motor that can source energy from solar panels, battery, and generator. Its battery will have 80 KWh (kilowatt hour) power backup as compared to 50 KWh backup in Aditya.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the 14th G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on 28th and 29th of June 2019. Former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu will be India’s sherpa at the summit. More than 20 countries will be participating in the G20 Summit. Informal meeting of the BRICS leaders and bilateral meetings with other leaders would also take place on the sidelines of the summit. The theme of the summit is “Human-centred future society”. India has participated in all the G20 Summits held so far. It will host the G20 summit in 2022 for the first time.

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.