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:
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 International Plastic Bag Free Day (IPBFD) is observed every year on July 3 to highlight the need to phase-out plastic bags and to promote organic reusable bags. The day signifies the ability for the world to come together and create an environment that is plastic free and educating individuals about current alternatives to plastics and other wastes.

Notes:
India has ranked 88th with 676 million Swiss francs (about Rs 4,500 crore) in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, according to an analysis by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) for 2016-end. As per latest figures, the money officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04% of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system. The SNB’s official figures haven’t include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of entities from different countries. The United Kingdom (UK) has topped the list, followef by United States (US), West Indies, France, Bahamas, Germany, Guernsey, ect.

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 Karnataka Government has recently launched the ‘Elevate 100’ scheme to identify and nurture innovative start-ups. The purpose of the scheme is to identify 100 most innovative start-ups in the state to elevate them to the next level of success. The Elevate scheme is the brainchild of the start-up cell, Karnataka Biotechnology and Information Technology Services (KBITS), to help start-ups across the state succeed by providing them with access to mentors, networking opportunities, and in-depth sessions for start-ups on accounting, and emerging technologies.

Notes:
The 15-day long annual joint military training exercise “Ex-Maitree-2017” between the Indian and Thai army has started from July 3, 2017 at Bakloh in Himachal Pradesh. The aim of the joint military exercise is to build and promote bilateral Army-to-Army relations and enhance inter-operability between the two armies. Exercise Maitree 2017 is a continuation of a series of joint exercises between the Indian Army and the Royal Thailand Army. The previous edition of the exercise was held at Krabi in Thailand in 2016.

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.