Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The 41st session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee has started in Krakow, Poland from July 2 to 12, 2017. During the session, the Committee will notably consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and examine the state of conservation of sites already inscribed on the List as well as many other issues concerning the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. The World Heritage Committee consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention.

Notes:
Carrie Lam has become the first woman chief executive of Hong Kong on July 1, 2017 after winning the 2017 Chief Executive election. She is known as a tough and effective enforcer. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) is the highest office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Hong Kong is a special administration region of China, which rules it under the “one country, two systems” principle. Under the system, Hong Kong enjoys a degree of autonomy and rights not seen in the mainland.

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:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved $329 million loan to build access roads to 4,000 villages in all 33 districts of Gujarat. This project will construct and upgrade district and farm-to-market roads for the villagers and provide approaches to educational institutions, schools and hospitals. The upgraded road access is expected to have a positive impact on women and girls by improving school attendance rates as the latter drop out due to lack of access to all weather roads. The project will also better integrate rural population, tribal villages, business and industries with the national and state economy through better transport connectivity. This is a standalone project by AIIB and part of phase one of the multi-phase Gujarat’s ‘Chief Minister’s Rural Roads Programme’ that complements the Centre’s ‘Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Programme’. To monitor the project’s progress, the AIIB will pilot a software tool specifically developed for this. The AIIB is a multilateral development bank, headquartered in Beijing, which commenced its operation in January 2016 and has now grown to 80 approved members from around the world.

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 Union Government has officially launched a student- scientist connect programme “Jigyasa” in New Delhi to develop interest among students to pursue science. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has joined hands with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) to implement this programme. The programme is expected to connect 1151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 National Laboratories of CSIR targeting 100,000 students and nearly 1000 teachers annually. It will also enable the students and teachers to practically live the theoretical concepts taught in science by visiting CSIR laboratories and by participating in mini-science projects. The model of engagement includes student residential programmes, scientists as teachers and teachers as scientists, popular lecture series/demonstration programme at Schools and student apprenticeship programmes among others.

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.

Notes:
The 5th edition of BRICS Education Ministers’ Meeting-2017 was held on July 5, 2017 at Beijing, China. The Indian delegation was led by Prakash Javadekar, the Union Minister of Human Resource Development (HRD). Minister Javadekar specifically spoke about the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), SWAYAM platform which has already hosted over 480 courses online, research initiative IMPRINT and Smart India Hackathon. The delegation of all the five BRICS countries participated in the two-day deliberations.

Notes:
Guruswamy Jayraman, a 69-year-old Indian-origin Glenwood resident, has been honoured with the highest civilian award “Order of Australia” in Australia for community work, the highest civilian award in Australia. He works as a senior accountant with Woollahra Municipal Council for a living and has been devoting most of his spare time in community work for the last 25 years. He has represented various community organisations like Auburn Diversity Services, Hindu Council of Australia, Sri Om Adi Sakhi Ashram, Sewa International Australia, etc. Jayraman migrated from Delhi to Australia in 1991.

Notes:
Lt Col Srinivas Gokulnath has the first Indian to complete the 4,900 kilometre Race Across America (RAAM) in solo category, which is the toughest cycle race in the world. He completed the race in eleven days, 18 hours and 45 minutes, which begin from California. Lt Gokulnath stated that his postings at Siachen Base Camp and at 15,000 feet on the Uri mountains helped him achieve the feat of finishing the race. A solo rider has 12 days to finish the race and has to ride over 400 kilometres a day to finish it in given time. Sleep is for under 3-hours a day.