Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Antonio Vitorino, a lawyer and politician from Portugal, has been elected Director General of International Organization for Migration (IOM). He will succeed William Lacy Swing on 1st October 2018. IOM is the UN Migration Agency and is the leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration with over 10,000 staff serving in over 400 offices across more than 150 countries. It provides services and advice to Governments and migrants, such as humanitarian assistance to migrants in need, including refugees and internally displaced people.

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:
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:
Indian Kabaddi team clinched the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 title by defeating Iran 44-26 in the summit clash in Dubai on June 30. In a battle between the top two sides of the world, the three-time world champions did not give Iran any ground to recover with Captain Ajay Thakur and youngster Monu Goyat led the raid charts. India’s defence was also excellent with Surjeet Singh returning with seven tackle points. India inflicted two all-outs on Iran, en route the massive victory. The six-nation invitational tournament was organised by International Kabaddi Federation (IKF). The Indian team will now focus on the Asian games. India is the reigning world champions and they now hold the title of the Kabaddi Masters too.

Notes:
The Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS) under the Government of NCT of Delhi has been ranked the “Best Dental College” in India for the 7th year in a row. The evaluation was done on the basis of reports of independent rating agencies of Hansa Research, Drshti Strategic Research Services and Nielsen India. MAIDS outshone 310 dental colleges to become No 1 in dental education in India. The MAIDS is the first and only dental hospital in India to be accredited by the National Accreditation of Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). The institute offers a five-year undergraduate programme, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), with an annual intake of 40 students and is the only government institute to offer a postgraduate program, Master of Dental Surgery (MDS), in all nine dental specialties.

Notes:
Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra, is set to host the Monsoon session of the state Legislature today after a gap of 47 years. This will be the fourth time that the monsoon session of the state Legislature, normally held in Mumbai, will take place in Nagpur. The session will commence in Nagpur from July 4 to 20, 2018. Traditionally, Nagpur hosts the winter session of the legislature in December every year whereas the budget and monsoon sessions are held in Mumbai. According to an official of the Vidhan Bhavan, the monsoon sessions of the state Legislature were earlier held in Nagpur in 1961, 1966 and 1971. As per the Nagpur Pact-1953, the district in the Vidarbha region was accorded the status of second capital of Maharashtra. The pact also required one session of the state Legislature to be held in Nagpur every year.

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:
India’s first ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ will be organised by NITI Aayog in New Delhi on September 7-8, 2018. The six themes for the summit are: Asset Utilization and Service, Comprehensive Electrification, Alternative Energy, Reinventing Public Transit, Logistics and Goods Transport, and Data Analytics and Mobility. The purpose of the MOVE Summit is to bring together and engage with key stakeholders within the rapidly transforming global mobility landscape and to evolve a public interest framework for a shared, connected, zero emission and inclusive mobility agenda for the future. This Summit will help drive Government’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth and also speed up India’s transition to a clean energy economy. Approx 1,200 experts from across the world including Government leadership, Industry leaders, Research Organizations, Academia, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organisation will participate.

Notes:
“Pandharichi Wari” is the most important pilgrimage of Maharashtra. It is more than 700 years old tradition in which devotees of Lord Vitthala called Varkari trace the route to Pandharpur. This year, in 2018, Wari will resume from July 6. For this holy function, thousands of devotees will trace WARI route from Dehu and Alandi, the native places of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshvar Maharaj in Pune district, on foot. Both the sants were the renowned devotee of Lord Vitthala. Dnyaneshwar’s palakhi leaves from Alandi, while Tukaram’s begins at Dehu. The chants of Vitthal Vitthal Jay Hari Vitthal will resonate in the air next 20 days when Wari will resume from Dehu. It will reach its final destination at the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur on July 22 for Ashadhi Ekadashi celebration. Upon reaching Pandharpur on Ashadi Ekadashi, these devotees take a holy dip in the sacred Chandrabhaga River/Bhima River before proceeding to visit the Vitthal temple.

Notes:
The Kerala government has constituted an expert panel comprising eminent writers and language experts to choose an official song for the state. Rani George, the Cultural Department Secretary, would be the convenor of the panel. While eminent critic M Leelavathi, poet Ezhachery Ramachandran, M M Basheer, M R Raghava Warrier and K P Mohanan would be the members of it. The expert panel would select a suitable song from among the entries received and shortlisted by the Akademi.