Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The veteran actress Shakuntala Barua has been honoured with the 2017 Mahanayak Samman at Nazrul Mancha in Kolkata for her contribution to the world of cinema. Awards were also presented to Prosenjit Chatterjee, Nusrat Jahan, Arindam Sil, Bickram Ghosh, Soumik Halder and Padmanabha Dasgupta in various categories. Suparnokanti Karati for Bisarjan and Shiboprasad Mukhopadhyay of Windows Productions for Praktan were among awardees for the Best Film and Best Producer categories. The Mahanayak Samman is the highest film award given by the West Bengal government. The awards were instituted in the year 2012 in the memory of the legendary actor ‘Mahanayak’ Uttam Kumar.

Notes:
The BRICS NSAs meeting has started in Beijing, China on July 27, 2017, which will be attended by Ajit Doval, the National Security Advisor (NSA) of India. The visit comes in the backdrop of ongoing standoff between India and China in the Doklam region. Doval is expected to hold separate talks with China’s State Councilor Yang Jiechi on the standoff issue on the sidelines of the meeting. Mr Doval and Mr Yang are Special Representatives of the India-China border mechanism. Besides Doval and Yang, Minister of State Security David Mahlobo of South Africa, Minister Sergio Etchegoyen of the Office of Institutional Security of the Presidency of Brazil, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev of the Russian Federation will also attend the NSAs meeting.

Notes:
N. Dharam Singh (80), the former Karnataka Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader, has recently passed away in Bengaluru 80. He was the 17th Chief Minister of Karnataka and was continuously elected as MLA for 7 times from the Jevargi constituency. Mr Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Bidar constituency in 2009 general election.

Notes:
Nitish Kumar, the President of Janata Dal(United), has been sworn-in as the new Chief Minister of Bihar for the sixth time and BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi was sworn-in as the Deputy Chief Minister. Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi administered him the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan in Patna on July 27, 2017. Earlier, on July 26, 2017, Nitish Kumar had resigned as the Chief Minister citing irreconcilable differences with RJD on corruption charges against Lalu Prasad’s son and former Deputy CM Tejaswi Prasad Yadav. Then, the JDU President joined hands with the BJP to form a new government in the state.

Notes:
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council has formed a selection committee under the chairmanship of cabinet secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha to identify and recommend eligible persons for appointment as the chairman and members of the National Anti-profiteering Authority under GST. The standing committee is empowered to refer cases requiring detailed enquiry to the Director General of Safeguards, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) for consideration of the NAPA. The National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAPA) is tasked with ensuring the full benefits of a reduction in tax on the supply of goods or services flow to the consumers. As per provisions of law, the Authority will be headed by a senior officer of the level of a secretary to the Government of India and shall have four technical members from the Centre and/or the states. The NAPA will have the power to cancel registration of any entity or business if it fails to pass on to consumers the benefit of lower taxes under the GST regime.

Notes:
The Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS) is a protected area and a Project Tiger, tiger reserve located 38 km northwest of Chikkamagaluru town in Karnataka. It has a wide range of flora and fauna and is a popular place for day outings. The 1,875 m above MSL Hebbe Giri is the highest peak in the sanctuary. It is home to tiger, elephant, gaur, sloth bear, wild boar, black leopard, jungle cat, jackal, wild dog, sambar, spotted deer, barking deer, mouse deer, etc.

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:
The Mrugavani National Park (MNP) is located in Hyderabad, Telangana and covers an area of 3.6Km2. It is home to a 600 different types of plant life. The animals include: Indian hare, forest cat, civet, Indian rat snake, Russell’s viper, cheetal and the flower pecker.

Notes:
Aditya Patil and Suhaani Lohia have clinched bronze medals at the 13th edition of Asian Schools Chess Championship (ASCC) 2017 in Panjin, China. Aditya won bronze in the Under-7 rapid championship, while Suhaani Lohia won the bronze in the Under-9 girls blitz championships. Both these prodigious talents are products of the South Mumbai Chess Academy (SMCA).

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).