Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
In Nepal, thousands of people came onto roads in capital Kathmandu against controversial “Guthi Bill” on 19th June 2019. The local residents of Kathmandu valley, especially ethnic Newar community members are protesting against the controversial bill, claiming that the bill had provisions in favour of land mafias and could be a threat to the centuries-old culture and traditions of Nepal. Guthis are socio-economic institutions (trusts), both public and private, that fund their obligations from incomes from cultivated or leased land assets. Depending on their obligations, Guthis fulfil religious, public service or social roles and could either involve members from a common lineage, or several. The Government of Nepal had tabled the Guthi Bill in National Assembly, the Upper House of Parliament in April to amend Guthi Act and nationalise both public and private Guthis or trusts and regulate all religious sites under a powerful commission. Though the Guthi Bill was withdrawn by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives and Poverty Alleviation but protesters are demanding that it should be completely scrapped.

Notes:
The world’s No.3 ODI bowler, Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has become the most expensive bowler in ICC World Cup history during their match against hosts England at Old Trafford in Manchester on June 18. He leaked 110 runs off 9 overs as England racked up a gigantic 397 for six after electing to bat. The record earlier belonged to New Zealand’s Martin Snedden, who had conceded 105 runs for two wickets against England in the 1983 World Cup.

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has constituted a working group, headed by NSE Clearing Ltd., to review the current framework of margins in the futures and options segment. The group will look into the issue and submit its recommendations to the Secondary Market Advisory Committee. This assumes significance as lower cost of trading was primarily the reason why institutional investors preferred to trade in Nifty contracts on SGX at Singapore rather than on the highly liquid derivatives segment of the National Stock Exchange (NSE). Incidentally, a recent study jointly conducted by Association of National Exchanges Members of India (ANMI) and consultancy firm Ernst & Young (EY) highlighted the fact that trading in derivatives in India costs much more when compared with most of the other leading markets due to a variety of margins that are imposed on the traders.

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:
Italy’s Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo have been chosen to host the 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympics during the 134th session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Skating sports and ice hockey will be held in Milan, while most alpine skiing events will take place in the resort of Cortina. Other snow sports will be held in other venues in the Italian Alps, including Bormio and Livigno. The 2026 Winter Olympics will take place from 6 to 22 February and the 2026 Winter Paralympics will be held from 6 to 15 March.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched a new “Complaint Management System (CMS)” website where anyone can complain against any of the entities regulated by RBI. Through this website, complaints can be lodged against RBI regulated entities with public interface such as commercial banks, urban co-operative banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), etc. All complaints lodged on the CMS would be directed to the appropriate office of the ombudsman/regional office of the RBI. The application also improves transparency by keeping the complainants informed through auto-generated acknowledgements and enabling them to track the status of their complaints and file appeals online against the decisions of the ombudsmen, where applicable.

Notes:
On June 26, the 32nd Congress of the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) has kick-started in Hyderabad, Telangana. The Seed Congress is being held for the first time in South Asia. Over 600 delegates including seed experts, officials, policy makers and representatives of national and international companies from nearly 70 countries like the UK, South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, Austria are taking part in the Congress. The deliberations will be mainly focusing on various technologies for increasing quality seed production and seed export-import policies. Several pre and post-event workshops, conferences and exhibitions are also being held as part of the 8-day long Congress.

Notes:
The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has recently approved a proposal to provide 10% reservation for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) of the general category in jobs and education. The family should not own more than 5 acres of agricultural land or a house measuring more than 1,200 square feet in municipal corporation limits. The size limit for the house would be 1,500 square feet in municipality areas and 1,800 square feet in Nagar Panchayat areas. In rural areas, size of the house won’t matter. The state cabinet also approved a proposal to enter into a tripartite agreement with the Union government and Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company for metro rail projects in Bhopal and Indore.

Notes:
India has signed a loan agreement worth $400 million with the World Bank (WB) to help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis from the country. In India, around five lakh people died every year due to Tuberculosis. According to Finance Ministry, the World Bank supported program will cover 9 States and it will support the government’s National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025. The Program will provide financial incentives to private sector care providers for reporting cases of TB and ensuring that their patients complete the treatment regimen. It will also provide Direct Benefit Transfers to patients for acquiring the critical nutrition needed during treatment. The Program will also strengthen the detection, treatment and monitoring of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis and will track progress in the detection of additional drug resistance.

Notes:
The International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking is observed every year on 26th June to raise awareness about the major problem that illicit drugs represent to society. The 2019 theme – Health for Justice, Justice for Health – highlights that justice and health are two sides of the same coin when it comes to addressing drug problems.