Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
The 6th edition of biennial World Cities Summit (WCS-2018) has started in Singapore with theme “Liveable & Sustainable Cities: Embracing the Future through Innovation and Collaboration” from July 8. The 2018 theme will explore how cities can be more liveable and resilient through better governance and planning, technology and social innovations, as well as collaborations with various stakeholders and with other cities. It is an exclusive platform for government leaders and industry experts to address sustainable city challenges, share integrated urban solutions and forge new partnerships. The key highlights of the Summit include the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize and the annual World Cities Summit Mayors Forum. The 5-day event is co-organised by the Centre for Liveable Cities and the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It is held in conjunction with the Singapore International Water Week, the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore, and the Singapore International Transport Congress and Exhibition.

Notes:
The 67th plenary meeting of North Eastern Council (NEC) has started at Shillong in Meghalaya on 9th of July, which was chaired by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. NEC is a regional planning body of eight Northeastern states. DoNER Minister Jitendra Singh, Governors and Chief Ministers of all the Northeastern states took take part in the 2-day meeting, which is being held for the first time after the Union Cabinet brought NEC under direct control of the Home Ministry. During the meet, they reviewed various presentations on matters related to all-round development of north-eastern region. Apart from this some of the major issues including transformation of several districts in the region, strengthening livelihood programmes, water resources management, doubling farmers’ income by 2022, road connectivity, Implementation of ‘Poshan Abhiyan’ Ayushman Bharat pertaining to the northeastern states were discussed in the plenary.

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:
The Western Ghats (India) bagged the 4th best tourist spot in Lonely Planet’s top five “2018 Best in Asia” list, a collection of 10 of the best destinations to visit in the continent for the year. The Western Ghats is older than the Himalayas and well known for its rich and unique flora and fauna. It is one of the Hottest Biodiversity Hotspots and UNESCO World Heritage site. It supports the life of 7,402 species of flowering plants, 1814 species of non-flowering plants, 139 mammal species, 508 bird species, 179 amphibian species, 6000 insects species and 290 freshwater fish species. Lonely Planet is considered a Bible by travellers worldwide. The list is topped by Busan in South Korea, followed by Uzbekistan and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

Notes:
The India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre has been established at the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) premises in New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Giriraj Singh (Minister of State (I/C) MSME ) and Hong Jong- hak (Minister of SMEs and Start-ups of Republic of Korea). The purpose of the Technology Exchange Centre is to create a platform for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) of India and Korea where they can be assisted to identify and exchange latest technologies, share management expertise, product development and technology applications for product development. The centre will work towards identifying Indian technologies which can be exported to Korea and find suitable Korean partners for the same.

Notes:
The Rajasthan government has signed a MoU with Microsoft to provide free digital training to 9,500 students of 50 government colleges in a year. It will also train 500 faculty members. The objective of this pact is to develop technical education at government colleges, capacity building, increasing digital literacy and improving digital education in Rajasthan. The initiative will enhance the employability of youth in the state in addition to empowering them with technical education. Microsoft will also train educators from government colleges through the Microsoft Innovative Educator Programme, building capacity for innovative use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the classroom

Notes:
For the first time, Indian Navy’s Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft Boeing P- 8I (Poseidon Eight India) from Indian Naval Ship (INS) Rajali has inducted for participating in the 26th edition of RIMPAC-18, the Rim of the Pacific Multinational Naval exercise. During the exercise, IN P8I will be operating from Joint Airbase Hickam, Honolulu in Hawaii. This is the first time ever that an Indian Naval aircraft has traversed so far east into the Pacific. In doing so, the aircraft has attained many additional firsts for an IN aircraft. It is the first IN aircraft to cross the International Date Line, undertaking the longest ferry of nearly 3300 nm from Guam to Hawaii and the first IN aircraft to participate in RIMPAC. RIMPAC is the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy’s Pacific Fleet, headquartered at Pearl Harbor.

Notes:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted Resolution 2427 to protect children in armed conflict. It aimed at providing legal framework for mainstreaming protection, rights, well-being and empowerment of children throughout the conflict cycle. The resolution 2427, which won unanimous approval of the 15 members of the council, strongly condemns the recruitment and use of children by parties to armed conflict as well as their re-recruitment, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and abductions. It demands that all relevant parties immediately put an end to such practices and take special measures to protect children. The resolution also emphasizes the responsibility of all states to put an end to impunity and to investigate and prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other egregious crimes perpetrated against children. The council was chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Notes:
On July 12, Indian Army signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Bank of India (SBI) on the Defence Salary Package that will include free personal accident death, free permanent total disability cover and other accidental benefits to the deceased soldier and family. The revised MoU will benefit a large number of serving and retired Army personnel who have their accounts with the SBI. The first MoU between SBI and the Indian Army was signed in 2011 and was renewed in February 2015. The renewed MoU will be valid till January 3, 2019.