Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

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 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”.

Notes:
Fakhar Zaman from Pakistan has become the fastest player to score 1000 runs in One-Day International (ODI) cricket during the 5th match against Zimbabwe at Bulawayo on July 22, 2018. He took 18 innings to achieve the feat and broke West Indies great Vivian Richards’ record. Richards was the first crickter to complete 1000 runs in ODIs, in Jan 1980, in his 21st innings. Apart from this, Zaman also became the first Pakistan batsman to score a double ton in ODI cricket history and also stitched a world record partnership of 304 runs for the opening wicket with Imam-ul-Haq. For India, Captain Virat Kohli holds the record for being the fastest Indian to cross the 1000-run mark after he took 24 innings to reach the milestone.

Notes:
The first meeting of the India-Bangladesh Joint Committee on Border Haats was held in Agartala, Tripura on July 22-23, 2018. In the meeting both sides noted the positive impact of Border Haats on the livelihoods of the people living in areas adjoining the Haats. Extensive discussions were held on issues related to review of operations of the four functional Border Haats and suggestions for improvement, timeline for setting up the six additional Border Haats that had earlier been agreed to by both sides and the roadmap for further expansion of Border Haats. It was agreed that the next meeting would be held in Bangladesh on mutually agreed dates. The Joint Committee also visited the Border Haat at Kamlasagar (Sipahijala District, Tripura) – Tarapur (Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh) on 22 July 2018, appreciated its vibrant functioning and noted the need for improvement of infrastructure.

Notes:
The 2nd Young Superintendent of Police Conference will be organized by Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D) with theme “Predictive Policing and Contemporary Challenges for Indian Police Forces” in New Delhi on July 26, 2018. The 2-day conference will be inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh. It will be attended by over 100 Superintendents of Police & senior officers from the States & CAPFs. The purpose of the 2-day conference is to create awareness among young Superintendents of Police and Commandants regarding latest technologies in areas of Artificial Intelligence; Predictive Policing/ Crime Analytics/ Big data Analytics; Geospatial Technology; Cyber Crime; Surveillance Tracking & UAVs; CCTV Equipment, for effective delivery of Police Services to citizens. The headquarters of BPR&D is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
Punjab shot-putter Dhanvir Singh set the new record at the 15th National Youth Athletics Championships in Vadodara on July 23, 2018. He clinched gold medal by throwing 19.69m in his 5th attempt to crack the record of 19.34m set by Navtejdeep Singh in 2011. In the event, Dhanvir was declared as the best male athlete while Kerala’s sprint hurdler Aparna Roy won the honours in the girls section. In women’s 400 metre hurdles, Kerala’s Priya won the gold and set the new record by crossing the finish line in a season-best time of 1:02.52 seconds. In doing so, she erased the previous meet record of 1:02.58 seconds set by P O Sanya in Bambolim in 2015. In women’s 200 metre race, Kerala’s Ancy Sojan won the gold in 24.91 seconds. Haryana won the overall title with 165 points while Kerala (150) finished in the 2nd place.

Notes:
The Langshiang Falls is a major waterfall in the Kynshi River near the village of Sangriang, in West Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya. The total height of the falls is generally quoted at around 337m.

Notes:
The Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched a contest “#Childline1098” to spread awareness on human trafficking and to mark the 2018 World Day against Trafficking in Persons. In it, people are invited to share images of the Childline 1098 logo that they spot at unique locations and send it with a tagline. The #Childline1098 contest carries a cash price of Rs 2,000. The details of the contest are available on the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the ministry. The Childline 1098 is India’s first 24-hour, free, nationwide emergency phone service for children in need of aid and assistance. At present, it is operational at 450 locations including 76 key railway stations. As Railways often act as carriers of trafficked children, the Ministry signed an MoU with the Ministry of Railways to rescue and rehabilitate runaway, abandoned, kidnapped and trafficked children via Railways.

Notes:
The citizen centric online portal “Innovate India Platform” has been jointly launched by NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and MyGov on July 26, 2018. The portal will serve as the common point for all the innovation happening across the nation. Through the portal, users can view, comment, share, and rate the innovations crowdsourced on the #InnovateIndia platform. They can view the leaderboard which is calculated based on the votes on each innovation. Citizens can also share their or other organisations’ innovation on the platform by logging into the MyGov website. These innovations can also be shared on various social media platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook, and Twitter.

Notes:
Kane Tanaka (115), a Japanese super centenarian, has become the world’s oldest verified living person following the death of Chiyo Miyako on July 22, 2018. Born on 2nd January 1903, Tanaka is in good health, occasionally playing board games and taking short walks in the facility’s hallways. She credits family, sleep and hope as her secrets for longevity.