Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

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On 15 July, 2018, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated the Bansagar canal project in Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. This dam project is a joint venture between Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and includes a total canal network of 171 kms. These canals will bring waters from Shahdol district in Madhya Pradesh for Adwa Barrage, Meza Dam and Jirgo reservoir.  The project promises to be greatly beneficial for the farmers of Mirzapur and Allahabad districts of Uttar Pradesh. It would hopefully  benefit 1 lakh 70 thousand farmers of Mirzapur and Allahabad districts.

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The planned National Youth Empowerment Scheme will provide military training to 10 lakh young men and women every year to instil nationalism, discipline and self-esteem.

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The Union Government has constituted a committee under the Chairmanship of Anil Swarup ( former Secretary of School Education) to suggest measures to strengthen National Cadet Corps (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS). The Committee will deal with on issues like expansion, strengthening training infrastructure, rationalizing resources, reducing manpower deficiency affecting NCC and NSS. The Committee will also submit recommend for building synergies between these two institutions viz. NCC and NSS and further strengthen them for empowering the youth. At present, there are 13.5 lakh cadets in NCC in the age group of 12 to 26 years with pan India presence in about 703 out of 716 districts.

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Aruna Sairam, the renowned Carnatic vocalist, has been selected for the 2018 Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy. She will preside over the 92nd annual conference to be held between December 15, 2018 and January 1, 2019. The award will be conferred to her on January 1, the day of Sadas. Beside her, Mridhangist Thanjavur R. Ramadoss and vocalist K. Oman Kutty will receive the Sangita Kala Acharya award. T.T.K. Awards will be given to veena player Kalyani Ganesan and nagaswaram player S.R.G. Rajanna. Dr. Premeela Gurumurthy, the Vice Chancellor of Tamil Nadu University for Fine Arts, will get the musicologist award and dancer Shanta Dhananjayan will get the Nritiya Kalanidhi award, which will be conferred on her January 3

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The book “The House of Islam: A Global History” has been authored by Self-proclaimed former Islamist radical Ed Husain. It explores the intricacies of Islam and the inner psyche of the Muslim world. Through the book, he makes three suggestions to help heal the rancour in the Islamic world – create a Middle East union, implement a Muslim Marshall plan and expel extremists from within Islam. The author also feels that as long as the house of Islam provides shelter for Salafi-jihadis, the rest of the world will attack Islam and Muslims. Salafi-jihadis claim to be the truest of true Muslims and inject total certainty into the minds of their adherents, so that they would be prepared to kill if they could. He suggested that there needs to be a global declaration by all 50-plus Muslim governments and their Islamic leaders, disowning these theological brigands as disbelievers.

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On July 19, the 10th edition of the Delhi Dialogue has started in New Delhi with theme ‘Strengthening India-ASEAN Maritime Co-operation’. The Delhi Dialogue is a premier annual track 1.5 event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement between India and ASEAN. In the 2-day event, the political leadership, policymakers, officials, diplomats, business leaders, think-tanks and academicians from India and ASEAN Member States are participating in the discussions. This is the first major event to be organized after the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit that was held in New Delhi in January 2018.

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Recently, Myanmar has joined the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA) and became the 68th signatory to the Framework Agreement of the ISA. The primary aim of the alliance is to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It is headquartered at Gwal Pahari village in Gurugram, Haryana. The initiative was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande at the Paris climate summit in 2015. It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.

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Recently, Australia announced plans to explore concepts such as firing salt into clouds and covering swathes of water with a thin layer of film in a bid to save the embattled Great Barrier Reef. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed reef, about the size of Japan or Italy, is reeling from two straight years of bleaching as sea temperatures rise because of climate change. The site contains the world’s largest collection of coral reefs, with 400 types of coral, 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 types of mollusc. Experts have warned that the 2,300-kilometre long area could have suffered irreparable damage. To resolve the issue, the Australian Government offered US$1.5 million to attract innovative ideas to protect the site. Out of 69 submissions, 6 schemes has been shortlisted that will be tested to see if they are feasible. The short-listed projects include mass producing coral larvae with the aid of 3D-printed surfaces to support new growth, and large-scale harvesting and relocation of larvae.

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A young Afghan basketball player, Samira Asghari has been nominated for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) membership. She is among 9 candidates for membership of the body in a move to boost women’s rights. Regarding to this, IOC President Thomas Bach stated that the nomination of Samira Asghari will send a message not only to men and women in Afghanistan but also in all those countries where women are facing serious obstacles to pursue sport. For membership, 5 of the 9 candidates due to be voted in October are “Individual Members” proposed by a special committee, 3 of those are women. The other four represent either National Olympic Committees (NOCs) or international sports federations (IFs) which are entitled to representation. All four are men.

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The Odisha police has launched a drive to bust an international syndicate that peddles “endangered” pangolin, one of the world’s most illegally traded mammals. Through Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT), the Odisha police will crack the international pangolin smuggling racket. MLAT is an agreement between nations to exchange information or provide legal assistance for enforcing laws. Pangolins are the only known mammals with large keratin scales and they use those scales to protect themselves from predators in the wild. They are toothless, nocturnal, live in burrows and feed mainly on ants and termites. Of the 8 species found worldwide, two are found in India: Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) and Chinese Pangolin (Manis pentadactyla). Both the species are listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Hence, hunting, trade or any other form of utilisation of the species or their body parts and derivatives is banned. Beside this, In the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List, Chinese pangolin are listed as “critically endangered” and Indian Pangolin as “endangered”.