Current Affairs Quiz - June, 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 Bangalore-based electronics engineer, Nitesh Kumar Jangir has won the 2019 Commonwealth Secretary-General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Award in London, United Kingdom (UK). He received his award in the ‘People’ category alongside 14 other innovators from across the 53 member-countries of the Commonwealth. Jangir created Saans as a breathing support device to tackle avoidable deaths of premature babies from respiratory distress syndrome due to a lack of immediate access to complex medical equipment. His low-cost neonatal breathing device has saved the lives of new-born babies across small towns of India. Jangir is the co-founder of Coeo Labs, a medical device company with a vision to prevent preventable deaths in the field of emergency and critical care. Each of the 15 winners of the inaugural Commonwealth Innovation Awards receive a trophy, a certificate and 2,000 pounds in prize money.

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 has opened its first specialised hydrotherapy treatment center (water clinic) for elephants suffering from arthritis, joint pain and foot ailments on the banks of the Yamuna in Mathura. It is opened near the Wildlife SOS’ Elephant Conservation and Care Centre (ECCC), which currently houses 20 rescued elephants. The new hydrotherapy jumbo pool is 11-foot-deep and has 21 high pressure jet sprays that create water pressure that massage the elephants’ feet and body and help in increasing blood circulation. The center is a joint collaboration of Uttar Pradesh Forest Department and the NGO Wildlife SOS.

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:
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.

Notes:
The Punjab government has decided to launch its flagship universal health insurance scheme -Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana’ (SSBY) – from July 2019. The scheme will provide an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh per family. Around 43.18 lakh families in Punjab will be covered under it. Besides all government hospitals, 364 private hospitals in Punjab had been empanelled, where the beneficiaries would get the secondary and tertiary care. The beneficiaries included the 14.86 lakh families covered under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) in the state. The cost of the premium for the families covered under the PMJAY would be borne by the Centre and the state government in the 60:40 ratio while for the rest of the beneficiaries, it would borne by the state government.

Notes:
Krishnaswamy Natarajan has beenappointed as the new Director General (DG) of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). He will take over the charge after incumbent Rajendra Singh retires on 30th June 2019. An alumnus of the Defence Services Staff College, Wellington, Natarajan is now serving as Additional Director General and Coast Guard Commander (West) at Mumbai. He was instrumental in giving a fillip to the overall growth of the Coast Guard, post 26/11, in terms of assets and infrastructure development including a dedicated academy.

Notes:
India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand has been bestowed an honorary doctorate by IIT Kanpur on the occasion of their 52nd convocation on June 28, 2019. He received the honour from former ISRO chairman and Chairman of the board of Governors of IIT Kanpur, Prof K Radhakrishnan. The past recipients of the honour are Former President Prof. APJ Abdul Kalam and former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Gopichand, as a player, won the 2001 All England Open Badminton Championship. He became the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to achieve this feat. Post retirement, the Hyderabad-based shuttler started his own badminton academy — Gopichand Badminton Academy — in 2008. Many top Indian players including the likes of Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap etc. have been trained at Pullela Gopichand’s academy in Hyderabad.

Notes:
The Union Government has constituted an 18-member working group for the revision of the current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) under Chairmanship of Prof. Ramesh Chand, Member of NITI Aayog. The revision of the base year would help in presenting a more realistic picture of the price situation and its impact on people. The Office of Economic Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade will be the nodal office for the Working Group and will process the report and recommendation of the Group for further necessary action. The current series of WPI with 2011-12 as the base year was introduced in May 2017. Since 2011-12, significant structural changes have taken place in the economy. Therefore, it has become necessary to examine the coverage of commodities, weighting diagram and related issues pertaining to the existing series of index numbers of Wholesale Price Index. The Terms of Reference of the Working Group include deciding on the computational methodology to be adopted for monthly WPI and Producer Price Index (PPI) and reviewing the existing system of price collection in particular for the manufacturing sector and suggest changes for improvement.