Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Justice Thottathil Bhaskaran Nair Radhakrishnan has been sworn in as new Chief Justice of the Hyderabad High Court for the states of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh in Hyderabad. Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh ESL Narasimhan administered the oath at a function in the Raj Bhavan on July 7, 2018. Justice Radhakrishnan was Chief Justice of the Chhattisgarh High Court before being shifted to Hyderabad. He was the Acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court for a brief period.

Notes:
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, who retired from the Supreme Court on 7th July 2018, has been appointed the new chairperson of the National Green Tribunal (NGT). His tenure as NGT Chairperson has been specified as being for a period of 5 years from the date he assumes office, or till he reaches the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier. He will succeed Justice Jawad Rahim, who is the acting chairperson of NGT. The NGT was established on October 18, 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act for effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection and conservation of forests and other natural resources. The tribunal’s principal bench is located in New Delhi while its zonal benches are in Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai and its circuit benches are in Shimla, Shillong, Jodhpur and Kochi.

Notes:
On July 6, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) declared the 438 sq. km. of area around Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) as an Eco-Sensitive Zone (ESZ). The move will prohibit construction and commercial mining activities and restrict hotels and resorts near the reserve in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. The area supports an ecologically sustainable habitat in the Western Ghats landscape for about 60-65 tigers, 600 to 800 Asian elephants and gaur apart from other animals of significance. This reserve harbours 227 species of birds, 50 species of fish, 21 species of amphibians and 34 species of reptiles. The reserve, comprising the wildlife sanctuary and the national park, extending over an area of 321 sq. km, was declared a core/critical tiger habitat in 2007. The reserve is a critical part of the Nilgiris Biosphere Reserve spread over 5,500 sq. km.

Notes:
J N Sadhu (94), the Veteran journalist, has passed away in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh. He worked with The Indian Express for nearly 35 years. Sadhu retired from The Indian Express over three decades back and settled down in Shimla. After retirement, he was into active writing as freelance journalist.

Notes:
The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javadekar inaugurated the 17th World Sanskrit Conference (WSC) in Vancouver, Canada on July 9, 2018. More than 500 scholars and delegates from over 40 countries are participating in the 5-day conference and will exchange their knowledge by presenting papers on various subjects. There will be a special panel discussion on over a dozen topics like – History and Education of Women in Vedic Literature, Sanskrit Buddhist Manus, introducing Bhagavata Purana Commentaries and research on the Gargiyajyotisa. Over 500 papers on various themes are likely to be presented during the conference. The purpose of this conference is to promote, preserve and practice the Sanskrit language all over the world by the people. The World Sanskrit Conference is being held in various countries across the globe once in every three years and so far it has been held thrice in India.

Notes:
The book “Winning Like Sourav: Think & Succeed Like Ganguly” has been authored by Abhirup Bhattacharya. As per the book, Ganguly’s mantra was simple: If he believed that a youngster was talented, he would have enough opportunities to prove his worth. This provided a much-needed calmer atmosphere for the young player as it was certain that he will not be dropped after one failure. Ganguly is credited with nurturing players such as Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and building concept of ‘Team India’ and ‘Men in Blue’. It was Sourav Ganguly’s gamble on talented youngsters waiting for the opportunity that helped India from losing one of its greatest cricketers of all times – Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Ganguly had taken over the reins of the Indian cricket team from Sachin Tendulkar after the match-fixing exposes in 2000. Bhattacharya says the book, replete with statistics and anecdotes, is not a biography but attempts at drawing management lessons and inspiration from the life of an exemplary skipper like Ganguly.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved Lining Project of Son Canal in Shahbad-Bhojpur region of Bihar, which would benefit the agriculture sector immensely in the region. The estimated cost of this project is USD 503 million out of which US 352 million is being provided by ADB. This project on completion will bring immense benefits to agriculture sector of Shahbad-Bhojpur region of Bihar.

Notes:
The World Population Day (WPD) is observed every year on July 11 to bring attention on the urgency and importance of population issues. One must know that Earth has limited resources & for humanity to prosper, we must use them optimally. The 2018 theme is “Family planning is a human right”. Let’s take a conscious call while planning our families, so our children can coexist with the environment without any dearth of resources.

Notes:
India has been ranked 57th most innovative nation among 130 countries in the 11th edition of Global Innovation Index (GII-2018), which is developed jointly by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). GII is a leading bench-marking tool for business executives, policymakers and others seeking insight into the state of innovation around the world. The ranking is constantly being used to evaluate progress on a continual basis. The GII ranks 126 economies based on 80 indicators. It is now in its 11th edition and has become a major input for policymakers on innovation around the world. On the global front, Switzerland maintained its number one position in the Global Innovation Index rankings. Other countries that fell in the top 10 list were Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, the US, Finland, Denmark, and Germany.

Notes:
State-run telecom firm BSNL has become the India’s first Mobile operator to launch Internet Telephony Services. The facility will allow users to dial any telephone number in India through its mobile app. Now, BSNL Customers will be able to make calls using BSNL’s mobile app “Wings” to any phone number in the country and even from abroad. The app can be activated using internet anywhere in the world and calls can be made. The fee of Rs 1,099 includes unlimited calling within India. Before this, phone calls on mobile apps were possible within users of a particular app and not on telephone numbers. Using this service, BSNL customers will be able to make calls on any network in the country even by using BSNL wi-fi or any other service provider. The services will be activated from July 25 onwards.