Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The Chhattisgarh government has launched an online portal and mobile app ‘Aabhaar-Aapki seva ka (Gratitude-For Your Service)’ to provide transparency in the pension facility. Through this app and the website, 80,000 pensioners of the state will now get all the information related to pension and payment online. The pensioners will get the benefit of senior pension with the State government’s 7th pay scale before January 1, 2016. This pension system was launched by the Online Pension Management System (OPMS) for the pensioners of the state.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
The World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) is observed every year on July 15 to call for increased prospects for youth to gain access to quality training and skills development. The purpose of the day is to spread awareness on the importance of youth developing skill development. The 2018 theme is “Improving the image of TVET (Technical & Vocational Education and Training)”.

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.

Notes:
In the Junior Asian Wrestling Championships 2018, Indian wrestler Mansi Ahlawat had to settle for a Silver after she lost to Japan’s Akie Hanai in the 57 kg category final in New Delhi on July 20. In the 53 kilogram category, the Bronze medal was won by Swati Shinde after she defeated Thailand’s Duangnapa Boonyasu in the play-off. Earlier, India had clinched a Silver medal through Divya Kakran in the 68 kg category, while the two Bronze medals came through Reena in 55 kgs and Karuna in 76 kgs.

Notes:
Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri was named the 2017 All India Football Federation (AIFF) Player of the Year in the men’s category. Recently, Chhetri became the 2nd Indian footballer to play 100 international games after Baichung Bhutia. He is a star striker for both India and Bengaluru FC. Beside him, Kamala Devi was adjudged the 2017 AIFF Woman Player of the Year and Young Anirudh Thapa was declared as the 2017 Emerging Player of the Year. E Panthoi was named as the 2017 woman Emerging Player of the Year.

Notes:
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has launched the South East Asia’s first-ever Centre for Climate Change (CCC) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of the centre is to accelerate concerted climate action by various stakeholders in government, private, financial and non -government actors. The Lucknow Centre would help NABARD in increasing its capacity building efforts manifold. Besides, the new institution would also extend professional support to stakeholders for designing climate related projects and take up collaborative studies and action research projects in area of climate change. It would also support capacity building and project preparation effort in developing countries in the region as also in Africa.

Notes:
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has set up a ministerial committee to prepare a draft policy for the development of Odia film industry. The committee will also examine different problems being faced by the Odia cinema industry and recommend measures for renovation of the Kalinga Studio, located on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar. The committee, headed by Finance Minister S B Behera, will have to submit its report to the government within one month suggesting steps to be taken for the purpose.

Notes:
On July 23, the Union government has constituted a high-level committee to suggest laws against mob lynching and violence. The high-level committee, headed by the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba, will submit its suggestions to the Home ministry within 4 weeks. Beside this, the government has also constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM), headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, to consider the recommendation of the high level committee. The GoM will then examine the report and submit its suggestions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The move came after the Supreme Court asked the government to enact a law to deal with such incidents, terming them as “horrendous acts of mobocracy”.