Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
The 2018 Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit is to commence from August 30, 2018 in Nepal. This is the fourth summit of BIMSTEC since its formation in 1997. Nepal is hosting it for the first time. It will see the heads of states from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand along with Nepal.

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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.

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On July 14, Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, columnist Rakesh Sinha, Sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra and farmer leader Ram Shakal have been nominated by the President Ram Nath Kovind to the Rajya Sabha. The new nominations have been made to fill the vacancies caused due to the retirement of nominated members Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha, Anu Aga and K Parasaran. Under Article 80 of the Constitution, the President can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha “from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.” The nominated members have six-year term. The other sitting nominated members include boxer Mary Kom, columnist Swapan Dasgupta, advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, economist Narendra Jadhav and BJP members Subramanian Swamy, Roopa Ganguly, Suresh Gopi and Sambhaji Chhatrapati.

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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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Rajmata Satvashila Devi Bhosle (83), the noted activist from Konkan region in Maharashtra, has passed away at Sawantwadi on July 18, 2018. She was associated with Sawantwadi Sansthan. She was the wife of the last King of the Sawantwadi Kingdom late Shivramraje Bhosle who was coronated before the merger of the princely state into Union of India.

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Repco Micro Finance Ltd (RMFL), a non-banking finance company promoted by Repco Bank, has won the 2018 NABARD award for its service to Self-Help Group (SHG) linkage in Tamil Nadu for the fiscal year 2017-18. Since its inception, the NBFC has disbursed loans amounting to Rs 2,500 crore to over 10 lakh beneficiaries through 50,000 SHGs.

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Viresh Kundu has won bronze in the 97kg Greco-Roman wrestling category at the 2018 Asian Junior Championships in New Delhi on July 18, 2018. Viresh, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and trains in Zirakpur, defeated South Korea’s Jeongyul Kwon by 14-5 in the 97 kg Bronze medal play-off to win his first international medal.

Notes:
Israel has passed a law to declare that only Jews have the right of self-determination in the country. The nation-state law, backed by the right-wing government, was passed by a vote of 62 for and 55 against and two abstentions in the 120-member parliament after months of political argument. The law was enacted just after the 70th anniversary of the birth of the state of Israel. It stipulates that Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish people and they have an exclusive right to national self-determination in it. The bill also strips Arabic of its designation as an official language alongside Hebrew, downgrading it to a special status that enables its continued use within Israeli institutions. The members of the Arab minority have criticized the law as racist and verging on apartheid.

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The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur has developed an online tool “TreadWill” to help people cope with issues related to mental health. The tool has been developed by a team with collaborative support from the Computer Science and Engineering and Humanities and Social Sciences, HSS (Psychology) departments. TreadWill is a website designed to help people deal with stress, low mood, lethargy and other depressive symptoms through different online exercises, questionnaires and games. It will help in overcoming depressive symptoms and becoming more resilient against stressful events in the future.

Notes:
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.