Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU with Govt. of Uttarakhand for development for aviation sector in the state. The scope of the MoU is to identify relevant factors influencing the development of civil aviation infrastructure in Uttarakhand, assessing commercial potential of various airports of the state, identifying technical considerations for airport operations in the state, evaluating site related technical and engineering parameters for development of projects, making estimate of the capital outlay for the future projects and development of master plan for existing and future civil aviation infrastructure in the state. AAI will also assist UCADA in obtaining necessary clearances for airport operations starting with the upgraded airport at Pithoragarh and later at Chiniyalisaur.

Notes:
The Fakim wildlife sanctuary is located in the eastern part of Nagaland under Kipheri district bordering Myanmar. The sanctuary lies in the Pungro circle headquarters and is spread over an area of 642 hectares. It receives high rainfall and is home to rare species. The area is covered with hills, high ridges, deep gorges and narrow valleys. Because of this variation in altitude, vegetation is equally varied. It is home to tiger, hoolock gibbon, panther, jungle cat, Himalayan bear, bison, sambar, barking deer, etc.

Notes:
Indian delegation led by Bandaru Dattatreya, the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour & Employment, participated in the BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meet, held on July 26-27, 2017 at Chonqging, China. China is the chair for the BRICS Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meet for the year 2017. The meeting concluded with the adoption of the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministerial Declaration by the BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers. The declaration covered a variety of areas that are of critical importance to all BRICS countries including India and called upon strengthening collaboration and cooperation on these through appropriate institutionalisation . These areas consisted of : “Governance in the Future of Work”, “Skills for development in BRICS”, “Universal and sustainable social security systems”, “BRICS Network of Labour Research Institutions”, “BRICS Social Security Cooperation Framework” and “BRICS entrepreneurship research”.

Notes:
Professor K. Gopalan has been honoured with the Life Time Excellence Award at the 2017 National Earth System Sciences (NESS) awards for his significant contribution in the field of isotope geo-science. The awards are presented on the Foundation Day of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) i.e. July 27, 2017. The National Awards for Ocean Science & technology, Atmospheric Science & technology and Geoscience & technology has been presented to Prof. P. N. Vinayachandran, Dr. K. Krishnamoorthy and Professsor K. S. Krishna respectively. The Young Researcher Awards have been bestowed to Dr. Dhanya C. T. and Dr. Vikram Vishal for their outstanding work in Earth Science & Technology. The Life Time Excellence Award carry an award money of Rs.5,00,000/-; National Awards carry an award money of Rs.1,00,000/- each and Young Researcher Award carry an award of Rs.50,000/- each.

Notes:
Axis bank has acquired Snapdeal-owned mobile wallet FreeCharge in an all-cash deal worth Rs 385 crore to strengthen its position in the payments space. This acquisition is expected to help the bank take a significant step towards digital distribution of financial products. The platform provides access to agile customer-facing technology, which will help the bank to serve its existing customers better and approach new digitally native customers in an efficient manner.

Notes:
According to 2017 Dell Women Entrepreneur Cities (WE Cities) index, Bengaluru (40th) and Delhi (49th) are the only Indian cities among the top 50 global cities that foster high-potential women entrepreneurs. The list is topped by New York, followed by Bay Area, London, Boston, Stockholm and Los Angeles.   The index ranks cities in terms of its ability to attract and foster growth of women-owned firms. It provides a diagnostic tool to advise entrepreneurs and policy-makers on how to improve conditions to enable businesses founded by women to thrive. The index also  ranked cities based on the impact of local policies, programmes and characteristics in addition to national laws and customs.

Notes:
Ravi Mittal, additional secretary in the Ministry of Finance, has been appointed as the part-time member of the board of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDA). He succeeded N S Rao at IRDAI, who is a joint secretary level officer. Former finance secretary Sushma Nath is another part-time member on the IRDAI board. Besides, Maruthi Prasad Tangirala, a 1990-batch IP&TA&FS officer, has been appointed as Executive Director (ED) at IRDAI and his position will be equivalent to a joint secretary.  Tangirala has replaced Sriram Taranikanti, who is a 1992 -batch IAS officer.

Notes:
K. E. Mammen (96), the noted Gandhian and freedom fighter, has recently passed away in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi and is often referred to as the Kerala Gandhi. He became active in the freedom movement as a college student. He was first jailed for taking an open stand against C.P Ramaswamy Iyer, the then Dewan of the erstwhile Travancore state. After being denied an opportunity at continued studies here, he shifted to Madras Christian College in 1940. He was ousted from there too, following his participation in the Quit India Movement. He was also actively involved in anti-liquour campaigns across the state of Kerala till his death.

Notes:
The Indravati National Park (INP) is located in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh and covers an area of approximately 2799.08 km2. It is home to one of the last populations of rare wild buffalo. The flora in the Indravati National Park is mainly comprises tropical moist and dry deciduous type with predominance of the sal, teak and bamboo trees. It is also home to tigers, leopards, Indian bison, nilgai, blackbuck, chausingha , sambar, chital, Indian muntjac, Indian spotted chevrotain, etc.

Notes:
The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has stated that women have the constitutional right to enter the famous Sabarimala temple in Kerala and pray like men without being discriminated against. The court was hearing a bunch of petitions that challenged the traditional ban on the entry of women between 10 and 50 years of age in the Sabarimala temple, which is dedicated to Lord Ayyappa. A 5-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said that even if there was no law, women cannot be discriminated against with regard to offering prayer in a temple. As per the temple tradition, entry of women in the 10-50 age group is restricted in the shrine dedicated to Lord Ayyappa, who is considered a ‘Naishtika Brahmachari’ (perennial celibate).