Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Dada JP Vaswani (99),the Spiritual leader and head of Sadhu Vaswani mission, has passed away in Pune, Maharashtra on July 12, 2018. Born in Hyderabad, Sindh (Pakistan) on 2nd of August 1918, Vaswani was a world renowned spiritual leader known for promoting vegetarianism and animal rights. He is credited to have written over 150 self-help books. Sadhu Thanwardas Lilaram Vaswani, who founded Sadhu Vaswani Mission, was his Guru. He was the recipient of the 1998 U Thant Peace Award, given by the United Nations. Dada Vaswani’s birthday is celebrated as a Global Forgiveness Day.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has invited US President Donald Trump to be chief guest at the 2019 Republic Day Parade. The US is yet to officially accept India’s invite, which offered in April 2018. The invitation has been extended against the backdrop of tensions over tariffs, with the Trump administration pressurizing India to reduce oil imports from Iran. In addition, the abrupt postponement of the heavily anticipated 2+2 dialogue dealt a significant blow to the Indian government. However, the US claimed that the delay would not affect ties, and the summit has been scheduled to take place in September 2018.

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 Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has constituted a 10 Member Committee, headed by the Injeti Srinivas (Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs), for review of the penal provisions in the Companies Act, 2013. The basic aim of the committee is to examine de-criminalisation of certain offences and to suggest ways to replace it with in-house mechanism, where a penalty could be levied in instances of default. The committee will examine the existing compoundable offences in the Companies Act – 2013 viz. offences punishable with fine only or punishable with fine or imprisonment or both. It is also required to be seen as to whether any non-compoundable offences punishable with imprisonment only, or punishable with imprisonment and also with fine under the Companies Act, 2013 may be made compoundable. The Committee shall submit its report within 30 days to the Central Government for consideration of its recommendations.

Notes:
Kutchi community celebrates its New Year on Aashadhi Beej, which falls in month of Ashada (July / August).

Notes:
On 16 July, India’s supersonic cruise missile BrahMos was test fired from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, Odisha under extreme conditions. Brahmos is India’s only supersonic cruise missile and it can cruise at speeds of up to Mach 3.0, or three times the speed of sound.

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 1504 kilometers of Western DFC cover Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra and UP. The Eastern DFC cover UP, Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Punjab and Haryana.