Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
According to the latest report of BMI Research, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to grow at 6.9% for FY 18 (2017-18). As per report, India’s growth is expected to pick up following the negative ramifications from the demonetisation drive in November 2016, but weak public banks will likely cap the recovery. The Fitch Group company noted that the negative effects from the demonetisation measure is already wearing off, and the Indian economy will likely benefit from positive demographic trends, greater external stability (due to improved terms of trade from lower oil prices), and continued reforms that should help to improve the country’s admittedly poor business environment. However, the report noted that the public banking sector is still weak and plagued with mounting non-performing assets and it is likely to weigh on India’s growth potential.

Notes:
Indus OS, the domestic android-based mobile operating system, has partnered with YES Bank to launch an OS-integrated UPI payment platform in India. Through this partnership, Indian users with Indus OS will be able to use this UPI payment platform on SMS/ messaging, dialler interface and on third party apps like WhatsApp. The platform is expected to launch in this quarter.

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:
Khaltmaagiin Battulga, the leader of Democratic Party (DP), has won the 2017 Mongolian presidential election by 50.6% votes & has taken office on July 10, 2017. Mongolia is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, where the President is directly elected. The government is run by a prime minister, but the president has powers to veto legislation and make judicial appointments. The President of Mongolia is elected using the two-round system. Here, the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Notes:
Tata Steel Ltd. (TISCO) has won the Prime Minister’s trophy for ‘Best Performing Integrated Steel Plant’ in India during 2014-2015 and 2015- 16. This makes it the third consecutive-year for the firm to be honoured with this coveted award. Tata Steel has been recognised as the best integrated steel plant for 12 times and has won the PM’s Trophy 10 times. The Tata Steel Group is among the top 10 global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of 27.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) as on March 31, 2017. It is the world’s second-most geographically diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries.

Notes:
Debi Prasad Dash, a 1985-batch Indian Revenue Service (customs) officer, has taken over as director-general of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the premier agency that tackles smuggling and black money. Dash was the acting DRI chief for the past 5-months. Earlier, he has worked in the UN Security Council, Commonwealth Secretariat and the CBI. The DRI is the major intelligence agency that works to secure India’s national and economic security by preventing the outright smuggling of contraband such as firearms, gold, narcotics, Fake Indian Currency notes, antiques, wildlife and environmental products. Furthermore, it also works to prevent the proliferation of black money, commercial frauds and trade based money laundering. The headquarters of DRI is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Government of West Bengal to formalize its support to set up a state-of-the-art Centre of Excellence in Transfusion Medicine, also known as Metro Blood Bank, at Kolkata. The Centre has approved an outlay of about Rs 200 crores for this venture towards equipment, manpower and running costs. The land for this initiative will be provided free of cost by the State government. The move intends to strengthen the blood transfusion services in the State and the surrounding region. The Metro Blood Bank Project is conceived to be a Central Sector Scheme of the Health Ministry to set up state-of-the-art Centres of Excellence in transfusion medicine in the four metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. These centres are high volume blood collection centres where there is state-of-the-art technology in transfusion medicine for component separation, processing of blood and quality systems. Under the first phase, these facilities would come up in Chennai and Kolkata and the Centre has given its approval.

Notes:
The Karnataka Government has constituted a 9-member committee to study and submit a report to the government on the possibility of designing a separate flag for Karnataka and providing it a statutory standing. The committee will be headed by Principal Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture. It must be noted that there is no prohibition in the Constitution for the State to have its own flag. As per S.R. Bommai v/s Union of India (Supreme Court 1994) case, the Supreme Court has declared that federalism is a basic feature of the Constitution and States are supreme in their sphere. This being the Constitutional position, however, the manner in which the State flag is hoisted should not dishonour the national flag. It has to be always below the national flag. The national flag code specifically authorises use of other flags subject to the regulation by the court. So, State flag is not unauthorized.

Notes:
India is the world’s largest producer of milk, contributing about 19% of the world’s total milk production with over 150 million tonnes of milk production every year. India, whose milk output surpasses that of all the European Union countries combined, is followed by the US, China, Pakistan and Brazil.

Notes:
India’s first Technology and Innovation Support Center (TISC) will be set up at Patent Information Centre in Punjab under the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) TISC program. For this, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has signed an institutional agreement with the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology in New Delhi. The objective of the TISC is to stimulate a dynamic, vibrant and balanced Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) system in India to foster creativity and innovation, thereby promoting entrepreneurship and enhancing social, economic and cultural development by establishing a network of TISCs in India.