Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
RK Pachnanda, the 1983 batch IPS officer of the West Bengal cadre, has taken charge as the new Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and will have tenure with ITBP till October 31, 2018. He succeeded ITBP DG Krishna Chaudhary, who retired from service on June 30, 2017. Prior to this appointment, Pachnanda was serving as Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

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:
Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, an IPS officer from Telangana, has been bestowed with the 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes Award by the Unites States Department of State for his vital role in elevating human trafficking as a government priority and his innovative approach to investigating cases and dismantling trafficking operations. Currently, he is serving as the first Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda.

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:
The National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE) will merge with Indian Commodity Exchange (ICEX) to create India’s third largest commodities exchange. The merger, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by December 2017. ICEX’s shareholders will hold a 62.8% stake in the merged entity while the balance will be held by shareholders of NMCE. The proposed merger will offer a range of contracts including bullion, oil, rubber and other agri-commodities. The exchange will also offer the world’s first diamond futures contract, which has already received “in-principle” approval from the regulator. The NMCE is the India’s first demutualised online national multi-commodities exchange.

Notes:
The first-ever Save Public Sector Banks Day (SPSBD) will be celebrated by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU) on July 19, 2017, the 48th anniversary of nationalization of major banks in India. All members will wear a commemorative badge on the day, display posters in front of all branches, distribute leaflets and hold rallies/demonstrations at all centers across the country. The Government of India (GoI) issued an ordinance and nationalized the 14 largest commercial banks with effect from the midnight of July 19, 1969.

Notes:
The host nation India bagged 7 medals including two gold to sit atop the medal tally on the day one of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on July 6, 2017. Long distance runner Govindan Laxman has won gold in men’s 5000m race, while Manpreet Kaur won gold medal with a career second best throw of 18.28m in the women’s shotput event. V Neena and Nayan James bagged a silver and bronze in women’s long jump while Vikas Gowda, Sanjivini Yadav, Annu Rani added a bronze each in the men’s discus throw, women’s 5000m race and javelin throw respectively. The Asian Championships winner gets automatic berth for the World Championships to be held in London in August 2017.

Notes:
The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched an app – GST Rates Finder in New Delhi to verify the accurate tax rate on commodity and services under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. Through this app, user can determine GST rate by entering the name of the commodity or service. The search result will list all the Goods and Services containing the name which was typed in the search box. A taxpayer can search for applicable CGST, SGST, UTGST rate and Compensation Cess on a supply. This mobile app can be downloaded on any smart phone and can work in offline mode, once downloaded. The application has been launched on Android platform, and will soon be available on iOS platform. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has also provided a GST rate finder on its portal – cbec-gst.gov.in to help taxpayers know applicable GST rate on their supplies

Notes:
Sandeep Chakravorty, the 1976-batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the head of the Indian consulate in New York. He will succeed Riva Ganguly Das as Consul General in one of the busiest Indian diplomatic missions overseas. Currently, he is Ambassador to Peru and Bolivia.

Notes:
Sudha Singh has won gold in the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes and 59.47 seconds at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Apart from her, Purnima Hembram from Odisha won gold in the women’s Heptathlon shot put, while world junior record holder javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra clinched the gold with a final throw of 85.23 metres. On the final day of competitions, India clinched five gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze. With that, India ended the championships on top with a haul of 29 medals which included 12 gold, 5 silver and 12 bronze. Therefore, India topped medal tally for first time in Asian Athletics Championships history. Earlier, India’s best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition where they had won 22 medals which included 10 gold, 5 silver, seven bronze.