Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The World Population Day (WPD) is observed every year on July 11 to increase the awareness of the people towards the worldwide population issues. The 2017 theme is “Family Planning- Empowering People, Developing Nations”. Family planning allows people to attain their desired number of children and determine the spacing of pregnancies. The world population has grown tremendously over the past years. It should be noted that China has the highest population in the world and India stood at second.

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:
The Karnataka government will organize the 2017 International conference “Reclaiming Social Justice, Revisiting Ambedkar” from July 21 at the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bengaluru to mark the 126th birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar. The 3-day event will see delegates deliberate on universal principles of democracy and importance of social justice in the current global environment. The conference will come out with a ‘Bengaluru declaration outlining a new deal for India – who are & who we can be’. This conference is an invitation to substantially re-think current social, political and economic paradigms motivated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s imaginative and creative work. Approx, 2000 delegates from across the globe are expected to participate.

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:
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:
Indian skipper Mithali Raj has become the first player in the history of women’s ODI cricket to have crossed 6000 career runs. She reached the milestone in India’s ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 match against Australia on July 12, 2017. So far, Mithali has scored 6028 runs with the help of five centuries and 49 half-centuries. Now, she is the all-time highest run-scorer in women’s cricket, surpassing the record previously held by England’s Charlotte Edwards (5992).

Notes:
Liu Xiaobo (61), the Chinese Nobel Peace Prize laureate and democracy campaigner, has died of multiple organ failure while under guard at a hospital in Shenyang, China on July 13, 2017. Liu had been serving an 11-year jail sentence for demanding an end to one-party rule and for introduction of multi-party democracy. He was the most prominent human rights and democracy advocate of China. Now, Xiaobo became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since Carl von Ossietzky, the German pacifist and foe of Nazism who won the prize in 1935 and died under guard in 1938 after years of maltreatment.

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:
Indian Railways has launched an integrated mobile app “Rail Saarthi” to cater to all kinds of passenger requirements, which includes ticket booking, inquiry, onboard cleaning and ordering a meal on a single platform. The acronym of Rail “Saarthi” stands for “Synergised Advanced Application Rail Travel Help and Information”. The app has various features such as women safety feature, compliant facility and suggestion for improvement. One can also book unreserved seat tickets and platform tickets besides reserved seat tickets.

Notes:
Lilly Singh, an Indian-origin Canadian YouTube star, has been appointed as the new UNICEF’s Global Goodwill Ambassador at a special event in New Delhi. As the UNICEF ambassador Lilly will use her channel to showcase the organisation’s work and urge millions of her followers to work for children’s rights.