Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Shrimat Pandey is the newly-appointed chairman of the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission (RERC) and will have tenure of five years. Justice Pradeep Nandrajog, the Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, administered oath of office to Pandey. The Commission was established on 2nd January 2000 under the ERC Act, 1998 o play a more effective role in the development of energy sector.

Notes:
Angelique Kerber has won the 2018 women singles’ Wimbledon tennis tournament by defeating 7-time winner Serena Williams by 6-3 6-3. With the win, Kerber has become the first German woman to win the title since Steffi Graf in 1996. Serena was bidding a record-equaling 24th major trophy.

Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a two-day tour of eastern Uttar Pradesh, dedicated the 171 km long Bansagar Canal Project to the nation in Mirzapur on July 15, 2018. The project, which is a joint venture of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, has been constructed at the cost of about Rs 3400 crore. This project will provide a big boost to irrigation in the Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh and about two Lakhs farmers will be benefited. Apart from dedicating the Bansagar Canal Project, PM Modi dedicated a bridge over River Ganga at Balughat in Chunar, which will facilitate connectivity between Mirzapur and Varanasi. PM also laid the Foundation Stone of the Mirzapur Medical College. Beside this, Mr Modi will also lay the Foundation of two bridges on local river Belan. The construction of both the bridges is much awaited demands of villagers of Halia block of the district for better transportation particularly in rainy season.

Notes:
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has adopted a resolution 2428 (2018) to impose an arms embargo on South Sudan. The measure will stop the flow of weapons to armed groups in the country. It is in addition to the current sanctions, till May 31, 2019. Under the terms of Resolution, all Member States must prevent arms and related equipment of all types from entering South Sudan. The Resolution 2428 renews a travel ban and asset freeze against designated individuals and entities till May 31, 2019. It also renews the mandate of the Panel of Experts, who assists the work of the sanctions committee, until July 1, 2019. The resolution expresses deep concern at the failures of South Sudanese leaders to bring an end to the hostilities and condemns the continued and flagrant violations of previous peace agreements.

Notes:
The play script “Guilt”, which is being shortlisted for The Hindu Playwright Award 2018, is written by Bengaluru-based Swetanshu Bora. The play script is about re-discovering relationships, post tragedy. An actor and playwright, Mr. Bora performs and writes in Hindi and English. The winner of The Hindu Playwright Award will be announced on August 9, 2018 on the eve of the opening of the 14th edition of The Hindu Theatre Fest in Chennai on August 10. The award, instituted in 2008, carries a prize of Rs 2 lakh for the best original, unpublished and unperformed play script in English.

Notes:
Under the existing legal regime, a candidate is allowed to contest from up to a maximum of two constituencies in Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly polls. The PIL filed seeks to limit this to one seat because it leads to wastage of public money in getting the election conducted once again for the constituency which is left vacant by the winning candidate.

Notes:
Paudhagiri campaign has been launched by Haryana CM M L Khattar for increasing the green cover in the state. Under this campaign, 22 lakh students from class 6 to 12 of all government and private schools in Haryana will plant a sapling each during three months of monsoon — July, August and September.

Notes:
On July 12, the government sharply increased the monetary threshold for filing appeals in tax disputes in various courts and decided to withdraw many pending appeals to cut down litigation and improve ease of doing business. The new monetary threshold for filing appeals in tribunals handling income tax as well as customs, excise and service tax disputes has been doubled from Rs.10 lakh to Rs.20 lakh. In the case of high courts, the monetary threshold is now Rs.50 lakh instead of Rs.20 lakh earlier. In the Supreme Court, the threshold has been increased from Rs25 lakh to Rs 1 crore. This will bring down tax litigation by 37%.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government has inaugurated the state-run power giant National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)’s 250 MW Solar Power Plant at Suwasra in district Mandsaur. This project has been set up mainly on non-agricultural land and generation of electricity has been achieved without affecting the natural eco-system with zero carbon emission at an investment of about Rs 1,500 crore. This is one of the biggest solar plant developed using domestically manufactured Solar cells and modules under the Make in India initiative. The Project has been commissioned in June 2017 and generated electricity is being supplied for consumption in Madhya Pradesh, the sole beneficiary.

Notes:
Veteran actress Rita Bhaduri (62), who worked extensively in films and television shows, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on July 17, 2018. In her over three decades-long career in the entertainment industry, Rita acted in over 70 movies like Raja, Julie, Beta, Dil Vil Pyar Vyar and 30 TV shows including Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Choti Bahu, Kumkum, Khichdi and many others.