Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
In a remarkable achievement, the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai has been declared as a World Heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 30th June 2018. The decision was taken at the 42nd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at Manama in Bahrain. This makes Mumbai city the second city in India after Ahmedabad to be included on the World Heritage List. Now, India has overall 37 World Heritage Inscriptions with 29 Cultural, 07 Natural and 01 Mixed sites. While India stands second largest in number after China in terms of number of World Heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific) region, it is overall sixth in the world.

Notes:
On June 29, the Odisha government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for enhancing early warning system for effective management of all kinds of disaster in the state, including flood, drought, heat wave, lightning, and road accidents. The MoU will help state government to integrate new generation digital algorithm-based technologies and best practices from 48 RIMES member countries with the Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA). The RIMES is a UN Registered international and inter- governmental institution, owned and managed by its 48 Members and Collaborating States for building capacities in the generation and application of user-relevant early warning information.

Notes:
S Ramesh, a 1981 batch officer of the Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise), has taken over charge as the new chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the apex policy-making body for indirect taxes. Prior to his elevation, he was Member (Administration) in the Board. He succeeded Vanaja N Sarna, who superannuates on June 30, 2018. The CBIC is the apex body for administering the levy and collection of indirect taxes of the Union of India viz. Central Excise duty, Customs duty and Service Tax, and for facilitating cross border movement of goods & services. It is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance. It deals with the tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs & Central Excise duties and Service Tax, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax and Narcotics to the extent under CBEC’s purview.

Notes:
The conference of Ministers for Power, New & Renewable Energy of States & Union Territories will be held on 3rd July at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. The purpose of the conference is to review the implementation of various ongoing Schemes/ Programmes & deliberate on a host of issues pertaining to Power and Renewable Energy sectors. The excerpts of the issues to be discussed on the conference are as follows: 100% Household Electrification (under Saubhagya) by December 2018, UDAY performance assessment, shifting to prepaid system in three years and 24X7 Power for All – From 1st April 2019. The delegates will also discuss the proposed draft amendments in the provision of Captive Generating Plant in Electricity Rules, 2005 and flexibility in utilization of Coal. The conference will be inaugurated by R K Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy.

Notes:
Anjolie Ela Menon, the well known muralist, has recently been conferred with the prestigious National Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government in Delhi for her contribution in visual arts. The award was conferred in recognition of her insightful and sensitive portrayal of the identity and spirit of women through her meaningful paintings in a variety of media. Beside her, Artist A. Ramachandran was also conferred with the Kalidas Award. Menon is counted among India’s most accomplished artists and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the Padma Shri. She recently received a doctorate from Rabindra Bharati University.

Notes:
For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the world’s first-ever cannabis-based medicine “Epidiolex” made from marijuana. It is a milestone approval that could spur more research into a drug that remains illegal under federal law. The drug, manufactured by UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals, will be used to cure children aged 2-years old, who suffer from Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, rare childhood-onset forms of epilepsy. Epidiolex is a purified form of cannabidiol (CBD), one of the hundreds of molecules found in the marijuana plant. It contains less than 0.1% of Tetra-Hydro-Cannabinol (THC), which makes people high. In simple words, the new drug is an oral solution of cannabidiol (CBD) and does not cause intoxication or a high.

Notes:
The Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) in Assam has become the first oil public sector undertaking (PSU) to adopt an online legal compliance system by introducing ‘Legatrix’. The cloud-based compliance management system ‘Legatrix’ is a one-stop solution for effectively managing the organisation’s legal and regulatory compliances through monitoring control at different levels. It encompasses the requirements of laws like labour, taxation, IT, commercial, export-import, corporate laws and other industry-specific laws. This initiative augments the NRLs contribution towards the Digital India Mission and induces greater transparency in its operations.

Notes:
Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, launched the ‘Happiness Curriculum’ for students of nursery to Class 8 in government schools on July 2, 2018. The curriculum was launched in the presence of the Dalai Lama. Students across schools can expect a ‘happiness’ period of 45 minutes. Each class will begin with a five-minute meditation session. The Happiness period was designed and prepared by a team of 40 Delhi government teachers, educators and volunteers over a period of six months. It will also include value education and mental exercises.

Notes:
The Union government has constituted a ministerial panel headed by the finance minister to decide about fund allocation for infrastructure projects from the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) announced in the budget. The 4-member committee will approve recommendations made by the sub-committee headed by the Economic Affairs Secretary on list of infrastructure projects to be financed from the CIRF. Other members of the committee include Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Shipping; Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Railways Minister and Human Resource Development Minister. The 15-member sub-committee has secretaries from different ministries who will examine and evaluate proposals received from ministries on infrastructure projects. Besides, it will prioritize the list of infrastructure projects each year for being financed by the fund. The budget 2018 has amended the Central Road Fund Act, 2000, and has renamed the Central Road Fund as CRIF.

Notes:
The National Security Guard (NSG) will be the first central paramilitary force to opt for e-ticketing instead of the railway warrant under an agreement signed with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The MoU was signed between NSG and IRCTC at the headquarters of the special force in New Delhi. This system will eliminate the need for carrying railway warrants by the NSG personnel. Under the MOU, the IRCTC will extend the ticketing facility to the NSG headquarters and it may be later provided to the field units. A railway warrant is a voucher issued for train travel for certain categories such as government employees, security force personnel and retirees at subsidised rates or free of charge, exchangeable for a ticket.