Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The 2017 International Conference on Financial Markets and Corporate Finance was held at Vinod Gupta School of Management in IIT Kharagpur on July 7, 2017. The 2-day was Conference was inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman. The purpose of the annual conference is to provide a forum to showcase cutting edge research in the areas of financial markets and corporate finance. This conference saw submission of some 75 research papers and brought together researchers from academia, industry and regulatory organizations to deliberate on theoretical work, empirical findings and policy implications related to financial market microstructure and challenges in corporate finance.

Notes:
The 2017 Family Planning Summit (FPS) has started in London, United Kingdom (UK) on July 11, 2017 to discuss efforts to reach Family Planning 2020 goals and ensure that more women and girls around the world are able to plan their families and their futures. The summit has been organized by the UNFPA, the United Kingdom and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is taking place on 11 July, which is World Population Day (WPD), a day to focus attention on population issues, including family planning. The event will focus on four key issues: innovative financing models for procuring and delivering high-quality contraceptives; strengthening supply chains and expanding the range of contraceptives available to women; empowering young people with access to family planning information and care; and reaching the hardest to reach, such as women in humanitarian crises or facing cultural barriers.

Notes:
Valtteri Bottas, a Finnish racing driver currently competing in Formula One with Mercedes, has won the 2017 Formula One Austrian Grand Prix tournament at Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria.

Notes:
Dr Mukul Sangma, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya, has recently launched a flagship programme ‘Livelihood Intervention and Facilitation of Entrepreneurship’ (LIFE) at Songsak in East Garo Hills for the state on July 11, 2017. LIFE is a programme of the State Rural Livelihood Society, an agency of the Community and Rural Development Department, which is implementing the Centre’s flagship programme – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM). NRLM promotes livelihood through women Self Help Groups (SHGs) and their Federations. The programme offers thrust on improving the livelihood of rural poor in a sustainable manner through the process of SHGs, Village organisation and Producers Groups.

Notes:
The 22nd edition of World Petroleum Congress (WPC) International Conference has started in Istanbul, Turkey from July 10 – 12, 2017 under the theme ”Bridges to Our Energy Future”. The WPC’s 65 member countries represent over 96% of the world’s oil and gas consumption and production. The purpose of the conference is to promote the management and sustainable use of oil, gas and other energy resources worldwide for the benefit of all. Dharmendra Pradhan, the Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, is representing India in the conference. The tri-annual WPC Conference is widely recognized as the `Olympics` of the oil and gas industry.

Notes:
Dr. Kishore Sansi, the managing director and CEO of Vijaya Bank, has been conferred the 2017 Personality of the Year award by Skoch Consultancy Services (SCS). The award is part of the ‘Skoch Banking and Financial Leadership’ series. Past recipients of the award include C Rangarajan, Dilip Parekh and Nandan Nilekani.

Notes:
The Haryana government has decided to set up a hi-tech and ultra-modern ornamental fish hatchery that would be the first-of-its-kind project in India. The fish hatchery would be set up in district Jhajjar at a cost of Rs.13.68 crore. At present, Haryana is at second position in the country with fish production of 7,200 per kilogram per hectare per year in the year 2016-17. The fish production is aimed to be increased to 10,000 per kilogram per hectare per year in 2017-18.

Notes:
The Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS) is located in the East Sikkim district of the state of Sikkim. The total notified area of the park is around 124 square kilometres while inside the wildlife sanctuary there are a few hamlets: Aritar, Lingtam, Phadamchen, Zuluk, Gnathang valley and Kupup. This wildlife sanctuary is linked to the forests of Bhutan and Neora Valley National Park of West Bengal. It is home many birds such as kalij pheasant, Oriental honey buzzard, blood pheasant, white-crested laughingthrush, striated laughingthrush, etc. It is also home for some rarities like the speckled wood pigeon and bay woodpecker.

Notes:
Maryam Mirzakhani (40), an Iranian- born mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University, has died of cancer in a US hospital on July 14, 2017. Mirzakhani was the first woman and the first Iranian to win the coveted Fields Medal in 2014, the most prestigious award in mathematics. The award recognized her sophisticated and highly original contributions to the fields of geometry and dynamical systems, particularly in understanding the symmetry of curved surfaces such as spheres. Her research topics include Teichmüller theory, hyperbolic geometry, ergodic theory, and symplectic geometry.

Notes:
I H Manudev has won the first National Masters snooker tournament title by defeating Alok Kumar, a former national men’s champion, in the final by 68-42, 60-22, 65-59, 17-66, 63-33 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.