Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
India skipper Mithali Raj has been chosen as the captain of the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 team by the International Cricket Council (ICC). She was selected as captain after she led India to the final in the 2017 ICC Women’s World Cup, which was won by England Women Team. Mithali led by example, scoring 409 runs during the 30- day tournament. There are four members of the England women’s team in the Women’s World Cup XI, including Tamsin Beaumont, who was declared Player of the Tournament, and seamer Anya Shrubsole, who captured six wickets in the final to shatter Indian hopes of claiming a maiden title. South Africa also has three members that included opener Laura Wolvaardt and bowlers Marizanne Kapp and Dane van Niekerk.

Notes:
Evo Morales, the President of Bolivia, has recently declared his government’s full independence from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, after announcing last year that Bolivia will no longer respond to their demands. Most of the protests in Bolivia have targeted the policies of the international money lending organizations that have focused on privatisation and austerity measures to combat corruption in the country

Notes:
The Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the first meeting of the newly constituted Islands Development Agency (IDA) on July 24, 2017. After detailed consultations, ten islands namely Smith, Ross, Aves, Long and Little Andaman in Andaman & Nicobar and Minicoy, Bangaram, Suheli, Cherium and Tinnakara in Lakshadweep have been identified for holistic development in the first phase. The IDA was set up on June 1, 2017 following the Prime Minister’s review meeting for the development of islands.

Notes:
The Dredging Corporation of India Limited (DCI) is a Miniratna Indian public sector unit engaged in the business of dredging. DCI is headquartered at Visakhapatnam and it reports to the Ministry of Shipping. Recently, it is in news because a proposal for disinvestment of DCI is under consideration of the Government of India (GoI). The proposal is aimed at upgrading technology, improving capability, infusing capital to buy necessary dredgers and equipments and instilling experienced professional management to optimize the operations of DCI. This information was given by the Minister of State for Shipping and Road Transport and Highways Pon. Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on July 27, 2017.

Notes:
India’s first bullet train project “Mumbai–Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) corridor” will be launched during the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in September 12-14, 2017. Abe and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will jointly inaugurate the bullet train project with the laying of foundation stone and a ground breaking ceremony. This is expected to take place in Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar (Gujarat). This is Rs 1 lakh crore project which involves construction of a 505-km line using Japanese ‘Shinkansen’ technology. For this, Japan will provide a soft loan worth $12 billion, at a cost of 0.1%, for a 50-year period including a 15-year moratorium. The Japanese government will be bearing 80% of the total project cost and the increase in cost estimate has to be borne by both India and Japan.

Notes:
Ajay Singh from India has won bronze medal in 77 kgs men’s junior category at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at Kathmandu, Nepal. With this, India medals tally goes to three. Apart from him, S. Nirpupama Devi had won bronze in 69 kgs women youth category and Konsam Ormila Devi had won gold in 44kg weight category.

Notes:
The Rajaji National Park (RNP) is an Indian national park and tiger reserve located in the three districts of Uttarakhand: Haridwar, Dehradun and Pauri Garhwal and covers an area of over 820 km2. It is home to Asian elephant, Bengal tiger, Leopard, Jungle cat, Striped hyena, Goral, Indian hare, Sloth bear, etc. The park was named after C. Rajagopalachari, a prominent leader of the Freedom Struggle, the second and last Governor-General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

Notes:
The Telangana prisons department has come up with first of its kind offer to rent out its jails to other states to lodge their convicts from 2018. The department has proposed to accommodate prisoners from overcrowded prisons in India at a monthly rent of Rs 10,000 per person that includes food, accommodation, security, mulakhat (meeting family members of visitors) and also skill development trainings. Currently, accommodation is available for 800 prisoners. However, the prisons will lodge convicts in non-grievous and non-serious offences but not under trials and hardcore criminals. Once the Telangana prisons department’s proposal gets the state government nod; Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh which have overcrowded jails, are expected to be its potential client. Presently, Norway is the only country that is shutting down its jails or leasing them out to other countries to lodge their prisoners.

Notes:
Lovepreet Singh from India has won bronze medal in 105 kg men junior category at the Asian Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championships at Kathmandu, Nepal. Lovepreet lifted 151 kgs in snatch and 180 kgs in clean and jerk to get the bronze. He lifted total 331 kgs. This is India’s fourth medal in the championships. Apart from him, Konsam Ormila Devi won gold in the 44kg weight category. While, Ajay Singh and S. Nirpupama Devi have won bronze medal in 77 kgs men’s junior category and in 69 kgs women youth category, respectively.

Notes:
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Minority Affairs & Parliamentary Affairs, has launched “Jiyo Parsi Publicity Phase-2” in Mumbai, Maharashtra under the Jiyo Parsi scheme. The main purpose of the “Jiyo Parsi” scheme (or Central Sector Scheme) is to reverse the declining trend of Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions, stabilize their population and increase the population of Parsis in India.