Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of State for Tolerance, has topped a poll of the most powerful Arab women in government 2017, according to latest Forbes Middle East report. Ms Qasimi was followed by Sahar Nasr, Ghada Wali, Hind Subaih Barrak Al-Subaih, Iman Houda Feraoun and Iman Houda Feraoun. Forbes has also released a list of the top 100 most powerful Arab businesswomen for 2017, and the UAE represents the highest number of women, with 18, followed by Egypt, with 16. As per the report, women in the Arab world were pioneering in the banking sector and women in this industry represents 28% of the 2017 businesswoman list. The rankings were compiled by taking into account scope of the role or ministry, years of experience and company revenues, or GDP in the case of government.

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.

Notes:
Fanaceso Totti, the legendary Italian footballer, has finally confirmed his retirement from professional football on July 17, 2017 and announced that he had accepted an offer from his former team Roma to become a club director. Totti is regarded as one of the most talented Italian players of all time for his vision, technique, and goalscoring ability. He is the second-highest scorer of all time in Italian league history with 250 goals; he also holds the record for the most goals scored in Serie A while playing for a single club.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The 5th North East Connectivity Summit- 2018 will be held in Arunachal Pradesh. This was informed by Ranjit Barthakur, the Chairman of North East Advisory Council (NEAC) of Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The summit organised by the FICCI is one of the most important forums for action oriented deliberations on sub-regional economic integration and connectivity between North East India and South East Asia. The 4th North East Connectivity Summit will be held in Nagaland in the month of September 2017.

Notes:
Brenda Marjorie Hale, the senior-most judge of United Kngdom (UK) has been appointed as the first female President of the Supreme Court (SC). She will take charge as the head of Britain’s top judging panel in September following the retirement of current President, Lord Neuberger. She has served as Neuberger’s deputy since 2013. Three new justices have also been appointed to the Supreme Court – Lady Justice Black, Lord Justice Lloyd Jones and Lord Justice Brigg – who will take up the role when Lady Hale is sworn in officially as President on 2nd October. The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the UK, and criminal cases from England, Northern Ireland and Wales – which means it considers cases where an order had already been made in a lower court and is being challenged.

Notes:
In a first of its kind, Telangana State will have eco-friendly bridges over a canal cutting across the tiger corridor linking the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra with the forests in Telangana’s Kumram Bheem Asifabad district. It requires the laying of fertile soil to grow grass and plants over the structure, so that fragmentation of the reserve forest is camouflaged. The ‘eco-bridges’ will be constructed at key spots along the 72 km-long, and at some places over a kilometre wide, right flank canal of the Pranahita barrage in the Bejjur and Dahegaon mandals.

Notes:
Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, has launched an online complaint system ” Sexual Harassment e-box (SHe-Box)” for registering sexual harassment complaints at workplace in New Delhi on July 24, 2017. Initially, this online portal is open for central government women employees only and later on, complaints from private sector will be entertained effectively. The complaint management system has been developed to ensure the effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (SH Act). This portal will provide a platform to women working or visiting any office of Central Government to file complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace under the SH Act. Beside this, the Ministry will soon conduct a national level survey to examine the magnitude of sexual harassment at workplace.

Notes:
Indian Shuttler H S Prannoy has won the 2017 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament title by defeating his compatriot Parupalli Kashyap at Anaheim, California. He beat Kashyap in the final by 21-15, 20-22, 21-12. Prannoy had found place in the final defeating Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen while Kashyap overcame Korean Kwang Hee Heo in the semi-finals. In the women’s singles of the tournament, Japanese Aya Ohori won the final beating Michelle Li of Canada.

Notes:
The National Broadcasting Day (NBD) is celebrated every year on July 23 because on this day, in 1927, the radio broadcasting was started in India. The first ever radio broadcast in India went on air from the Bombay Station on July 23, 1927 under a private company, the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC). It was by the British Viceroy of India Lord Irwin. On June 8, 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service became All India Radio (AIR).