Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
Raymond Chikapa Enock Phiri (70), the legendary South African jazz musician, has passed away in Nelspruit, South Africa on July 12, 2017. Internationally, Phiri was known primarily for his contributions to Paul Simon’s Graceland album and ensuing tours.

Notes:
The Indian Railways has recently launched a virtual server “RailCloud” with an inbuilt security system to optimise server usage and faster connectivity. The technology is developed by rail PSU RailTel at an estimated cost of approx Rs 53 crore. The RailCloud technology enables maximising the usage of available server and storage resulting in accommodation of bigger data and more applications within same server space. It will cover all management related to various services like human resources, health and hospital, signal assets, freight and logistics and energy among others. Beside this, the first IT application on RailCloud “Nivaran-Grievance Portal” was also launched. Nivaran is a platform for resolution of service-related grievances of serving and former railway employees.

Notes:
India’s first high-speed rail training centre will set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat at a cost of Rs 600 crore, and is expected to start operating by 2020. The center will provide advanced training modules on cutting edge technologies. The construction will begin shortly after the foundation-laying ceremony is held in September 2017. It also has a sample bullet train track for testing. Over 4,000 rail engineers are expected to be trained by 2020.

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 fourth edition of Everest International Model United Nations (EIMUN) Regional Conference was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from July 10-14, 2017. The event is organised by the US Embassy in partnership with the Youth Thinker’s Society (YTS). Youths from 12 South and Central Asian countries including India participated in 5-day conference. The basic aim of the EIMUN was to provide a platform to young minds to channelize energy and resources for a more prosperous and peaceful world. The conference simulate four UN committees-United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Economic and Financial Committee (ECOFIN), United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Notes:
Indonesia has renamed the northern reaches of its exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea as the North Natuna Sea on July 14, 2017. It is the latest act of resistance by Southeast Asian nations to China’s territorial ambitions in the maritime region. The part of the renamed sea is claimed by China under its contentious maritime boundary, known as the “nine-dash line”, that encompasses most of the resource-rich sea. It should be noted that the South China Sea is a crucial shipping route and believed to be rich in natural resources, such as oil and gas.

Notes:
The book “President’s Lady” (Pranaber Preyosi) has been authored by Sangeeta Ghosh, which is recently released at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The book is on Late Suvra Mukherjee, the wife of honourable President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Ms. Mukherjee was essentially a private person with a strong interest in music (particularly Tagore music) and paintings. She restricted herself to music, painting and writing and she tried to take Tagore music to a non-Bengali audience.

Notes:
The second edition of United Nations Peacekeeping Course for African Partners (UNPCAP-02) has started at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi from July 17 and will continue till Aug 04, 2017. The purpose of the course is to build and enhance the capacity of the African Troop Contributing Countries to the UN and to further train the trainers from these countries. The course is one of the many steps that India has initiated towards active contribution to peace support activities. The course is being attended by officers from 19 countries including India. The students include officers who are currently employed in their respective peacekeeping training centres in African peacekeeping training institutions. The Centre for United Nations Peacekeeping (CUNPK) is conducting the UNPCAP-02 jointly with the United States.

Notes:
The International Swimming Federation (FINA) has recently selected the Russian city of Kazan and Budapest (the capital of Hungary) to host the 2022 and 2024 World Short Course Swimming Championships, respectively. The 25-meter pool championships are staged every two years in December and include hosting the FINA World Aquatics Convention. Apart from this Hangzhou in China in 2018 and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 2020 are due to host the World Short Course Championships and Convention.

Notes:
Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, has recently dedicated the state’s longest road bridge “Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Setu” to the nation. The 2.88 km bridge is built on river Kathajodi (a tributary of Mahanadi) at an approximate cost Rs 114 crore. The Netaji Setu will not only lessen the distance between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack by 12 km, it will also help divert traffic and ease commute.