Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
On July 4, the Gujarat government launched a statewide mission ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ to eradicate malnutrition among children by providing them nutritious food through Anganwadi centres. The state government has also launched ‘Purna’ project to eliminate malnutrition among girls in the age group of 14 to 18. ‘Purna’ stands for Prevention of Under Nutrition and Reduction of Nutritional Anaemia among Adolescent Girls. The nationwide National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan) was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan on March 8, 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:
Uday Kumar Varma, the former Information and Broadcasting secretary, has been appointed as new member of the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC), a self-regulatory body for general entertainment channels. Varma, who is former IAS officer of 1976 batch from the Madhya Pradesh cadre, succeeded Wajahat Habibullah. The 13-member council, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramajit Sen, has actor Sharmila Tagore, theatre person Arundhati Nag and JNU professor Ira Bhaskar as some of its members, besides representatives of the National Commission for Women, National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights and the National Commission for Minorities, among others. The BCCC is an independent self-regulatory body set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) in June 2011 to look into complaints pertaining to all non-news general entertainment channels in India.

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:
Kabutari Devi (70), the famous Kumaoni folk singer, has passed away in Pithoragarh , Uttarakhand on July 7, 2018. Devi, whose songs depicted the struggles in the life of Pahari women, shot to fame after her maiden performance at All India Radio, Lucknow in the 1980s. The folk singer has received several honours, which includes the Ministry of Culture, Government of Uttarakhand for her outstanding contribution which echoed the sound of Kumaon hills. Devi is remembered by folk historians as an original voice that represented the culture of the hills.

Notes:
The International Day of Cooperatives (IDC) is observed every year on first Saturday of July to recognize and reaffirms the role of cooperatives in economic, social and cultural development and in the achievement of social policy objectives. The 2018 IDC was celebrated on the 7th of July with theme ‘Sustainable societies through cooperation’. The 2018 theme is to create an opportunity for cooperatives to show how they run successful businesses while respecting our natural environment and the resources it offers.

Notes:
Anju Khosla (52) has become the oldest Indian woman to complete an Ironman Triathlon, which is one of the toughest one-day sporting events. The New Delhi resident completed her first full Ironman Triathlon, in Carinthia, Austria, in 15 hours, 54 minutes and 54 seconds. It comprises 3.86 km swimming leg, 180.25 km bike leg followed by a marathon (42.2 km), to be completed without a break. In Austria, out of the 2,761 competitors, 2,315 crossed the finish line with Anju 38th out of 41 in her age category (W50). Among women, she was 319th out of 336 athletes and overall 2,257th.

Notes:
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has launched a mobile help centre “‘Saathi'” to reach out to people undertaking the annual pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high holy cave shrine of Amarnath. The initiative ‘Saathi’ was launched by Abhay Vir Chauhan , the Inspector General of CRPF (Jammu Sector). The purpose of this initiative is to provide help and information to yatris staying in camps outside the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu. The CRPF personnel of the mobile help centre will be visiting various camps in Jammu and apprising the pilgrims about the security measures to be kept in mind. In addition , the trained CRPF personnel of the centre would provide first aid treatment to people in need and would also be distributing medicines. Beside this, a help desk of the CRPF is already functional at the Bhagwati Nagar Base Camp and another named ‘Madadgaar’ (helper) at the Jammu Tawi Railway Station and other information centres.

Notes:
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched ‘The Eat Right Movement’ to empower the citizens by improving their health and well-being. It is a platform to provide credible information to help make informed and healthful eating choices. It is built on two broad pillars – “Eat Healthy and “Eat Safe”. “Eat Healthy” is about making healthy food choices. “Eat Safe” is about ensuring food safety from procurement to consumption and disposal of food. Led by the FSSAI, it is a collective effort, to nudge the citizens towards making right food and dietary choices. The aim of the programme is to cut down salt/sugar and oil consumption by 30% in three years.