Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
Minaketan Das (56), the noted Odia actor, has passed away in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. The actor was well-known in the state’s film and television industry for his negative roles. Das was known for his acting in a number of Odia films including Balunga Toka, Jianta Bhuta and Most Wanted.

Notes:
According to RBI’s Financial Stability Report (FSR) June 2017, India’s economic growth rate has forecasted at 7.3% in terms of Gross Value Added (GVA) in the current fiscal year FY 2017-18. The report projected CPI inflation to be in the range of 2-3.5% in the first half of the year and 3.5-4.5% in the second half. It stated that Retail inflation, excluding food and fuel that remained sticky during H2 of FY17 at around 4.9%, dipped to 4.3% in April and 4.2% in May 2017, largely reflecting the impact of decline in global crude oil prices on transport and communication and moderate price pressures in services. The FSR reflects the overall assessment on the stability of India’s financial system and its resilience to risks emanating from global and domestic factors.

Notes:
Pinarayi Vijayan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, has launched G-Ride, a digital ride sharing app for techies. The app is specially designed and deployed for the IT industry by the Group of Technology Companies (Gtech), the industry body of IT companies in the state. The G-Ride app automatically matches co-workers and neighbours and help them travel together to work. It is available in Android and iOS versions.

Notes:
The Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) is located at the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra state. It is notable as Maharashtra’s oldest and largest national park. The reserve is home to Bengal Tiger, Indian leopards, sloth bears, gaur, nilgai, orange-headed thrush, Indian pitta, crested treeswift, etc. The TATR is one of India’s 50 “Project Tiger” – tiger reserves.

Notes:
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New & Renewable Energy and Mines, has launched the Merit Order Despatch of Electricity for Rejuvenation of Income and Transparency (MERIT) app and e-bidding portal for providing e-Bidding solution to States to select Independent Power Producers (IPPs) for procurement of power by transferring their domestic coal under the scheme of flexibility in utilization of domestic coal. This system will bring transparency in states’ power distribution and sales and save Rs 20 thousand crore in next 5 to 7 years.

Notes:
In Arunachal Pradesh, the most popular Dree festival of Apatani community has celebrated across the State with traditional pomp and gaiety on July 5, 2017. Through this festival, the Apatanis pray their traditional Gods to bring in a bountiful harvest season along with defeat of destructive forces in the society. The festival is marked by grand ritual and community feasts. Traditional songs and dances are part of main attraction of the Dree.

Notes:
The Odisha government has signed an Expression of Intent (EOI) with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and Athletics Federation of India (AFI) to establish a High Performance Academy in Bhubaneswar on July 6, 2017. The EOI was signed by Sports Secretary Vishal Kumar Dev and AFI president Adille Sumariwala and IAAF president Lord Sebastian Coe in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As per the agreement, the Union Sports Ministry will provide coaching, integrated support services and education to athletes. The State Sports and Youth Services Department will provide funds and make sure availability of necessary infrastructure and support services, including an outdoor stadium. Besides, the IAAF will assist in educating elite coaches and provide specialists.

Notes:
The 12th edition of G20 summit will be held at Hamburg in Germany on July 7, 2017 with theme “Shaping an interconnected world”. In the 2-day summit, from India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the Indian Delegation at the G20 meet with a firm message on the global menace of terrorism. The G20 countries account for more than four-fifths of Gross world product and three-quarters of global trade. They are home to almost two-thirds of the world’s population. In that context expectations are always high from a G20 summit. The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies with the aim of studying, reviewing and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.

Notes:
The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) has been ranked 2nd among best climate think tank in the world. The rankings were released by the International Centre for Climate Governance (ICCG), which focuses on the design of climate policy and related governance issues. The New Delhi-based think tank “TERI” was ranked under the category ‘2016 Top Climate Think Tanks in the Rest of the World – Absolute Global Rankings’ during ICCG’s 23rd annual conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE) in Athens in Greece. TERI conducts research for the sustainable development of India. The ICCG ranking helps highlight the scale and magnitude of work done by the think tanks working in the field of climate change.

Notes:
India’s first university only for Dalit students will come up in Hyderabad by 2018 as part of the Telangana government’s policy of free education to students from weaker sections from kindergarten to post-graduation (KG to PG) level. The proposal was mooted by a government arm, Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS), which runs nearly 268 residential institutions for Dalit students from class 5 to under-graduate level. The purpose of establishing an exclusive university for Dalit students is to provide them a comprehensive education, so that they would come out as complete and knowledgeable citizens.