Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a dedicated portal ‘SBI Realty’ that will help home buyers to choose flats from its 3,000 approved projects across the country. The portal will help customers to choose their dream home from 3,000 SBI approved projects, which are spread across 13 states and Union Territories covering 30 cities. At present, there are 9.5 lakh home units available on the website. Customers can compare current and past trends of prices for the properties in various localities in the city. The portal will assist customers in calculating appropriate loan amount a customer should borrow based on income and credit profile. The SBI Realty website “www.sbirealty.in” has been developed by SBICAP Securities in association with PropEquity in terms of data support, project information, etc.

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The Ministry of Science and Technology (S&T) has launched a low-cost indigenous newborn hearing screening device “Sohum” in New Delhi to detect a congenital hearing loss in newborns. The device has been developed by School of International Biodesign (SIB) startup M/s Sohum Innovation Labs India Pvt. Ltd. The portable Sohum hearing screening device measures auditory brain waves via three electrodes placed on the baby’s head. When stimulated, they detect electrical responses generated by the brain’s auditory system. If there is no response, the child cannot hear. The battery-operated device is non-invasive, which means babies do not need to be sedated, which is the current and risky, testing in process at present. It must be noted that 800,000 hearing impaired babies are born annually across the world, of which nearly 100,000 are in India.

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The Union Cabinet has recently given ex-post facto approval for insurance regulator IRDAI’s admission as a signatory to IAIS Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMoU) due to increasing integration of financial markets. The MMoU is a statement of its signatories’ intent to cooperate in the field of information exchange as well as procedure for handling information requests. The MMoU provides a formal basis for cooperation and information exchange between the signatory authorities regarding the supervision of insurance companies where cross- border aspects arise. The International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) is a global framework of cooperation and information exchange between insurance supervisors. The MoU provides a formal basis for cooperation and information exchange between the signatory authorities regarding the supervision of insurance companies where cross- border aspects arise.

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The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has recently approved the proposals for climate adaptation projects submitted by Rajasthan, Gujarat and Sikkim. The three projects approved by the National Steering Committee on Climate Change (NSCCC), under the Chairmanship of Secretary MoEF&CCm Ajay Narayan Jha, will receive funds under the National Adaptation Fund for Climate Change (NAFCC). The current projects address a range of climate change vulnerabilities in the states, which are not addressed under the ongoing schemes of the Central and State governments. The projects in Rajasthan and Sikkim are targeted at water security, while in Gujarat, the project will focus on increasing the adaptive capacity of communities dependent on natural resources in the Kachchh district. The NAFCC is a flagship Scheme of Government of India, which provides 100% grant to the State Governments for implementing climate change adaptation projects

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The global food fair “World Food India 2017” will be held in New Delhi on November 3-5, 2017 to boost food sector. The fair will be organized by the Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). In it, West Bengal will be the focus state and will showcase its innovative food processing methods in the food fair. The WFI will also provide global businesses with a platform to explore Indian market across the value chain in food processing and allied industries as well as in food retail.

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The 1817 Paika rebellion (Paika Bidroh) was an armed rebellion against the British East India Company’s rule in Odisha under the leadership of Bakshi Jagabandhu. The rebellion quickly spread across most of Odisha before being ruthlessly put down by the company’s forces. It is in news because President Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated a function in New Delhi to commemorate 200th year celebration of heroic Paika Rebellion of Odisha on July 20, 2017 to pay tribute to the martyrs. The President is scheduled to felicitate 150 Paika descendants at the function to be held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi. The function was organized by the Union Ministry of Culture.

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The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched a new pension scheme Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) for the senior citizens in New Delhi on July 21, 2017. The scheme can be purchased offline as well as online through LIC and is exempted from Service Tax or GST. The PMVVY scheme will be available till 3rd of May next year and will provide an assured return of 8% per annum payable monthly for 10 years. Loan upto 75% of purchase price will be allowed after 3 policy years to meet the liquidity needs. The scheme also allows for premature exit for the treatment of any critical or terminal illness of self or spouse. On such premature exit, 98% of the Purchase Price shall be refunded. On death of the pensioner during the policy term of 10 years, the purchase price will be paid to the beneficiary.

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The Arunachal Pradesh State Civil Secretariat has become the India’s first secretariat to be fully under wireless coverage enabling end-to-end wireless connectivity. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has recently inaugurated the Wi-Fi Local Area Network (LAN) at the State Civil Secretariat in Itanagar.

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The Union Government has launched the mobile phone app “Aarambh” to simplify the maintenance management of rural roads. The purpose of the app is to use of Geographic Information System (GIS) based mapping for making road inventories, condition surveys and producing cost estimates and other relevant data for preparation and monitoring of annual road maintenance plans. Its usage would greatly enhance the service delivery of the state level institutions in planning and implementing performance based rural roads maintenance contracts. The app was launched jointly by the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Drinking Water & Sanitation Narendra Singh Tomar and ILO Deputy Director General (Policy) Ms. Deborah Greenfield on July 24, 2017. Apart from this, the Ministry has also launched a concept note and guidance note “Mobilizing Funds for Maintenance of Rural Road” to outline innovative ways which can be adopted by the state Governments for mobilizing additional funds for road maintenance and presents some international best practices worldwide.

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Prof Yash Pal (90), the internationally acclaimed physicist and higher education reformer, has passed away in Noida in Uttar Pradesh on July 25, 2017. He was born in 1926 in Jhang district of British India that is now in Pakistan. He gained recognition due to his contribution in the study of cosmic rays. Professor Yash Pal was lappointed as the Chief Consultant of the Planning Commission. He acted as the Secretary of Department of Science and Technology from 1984 to 1986. He was appointed as the Chairman of University Grants Commission where he served a full single-term of five years and also served as the Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University. He served as a member of UN Advisory Committee on Science and Technology for Development. He is also known for his appearances on the science programme, Turning Point on Doordarshan and explaining scientific concepts in layman’s language. Pal was honoured with Padma Bhushan in 1976 and Padma Vibhushan in 2013 for his contribution to Science.