Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Shashi Shekhar Vempati, a former principal architect of Infosys Technologies, has been appointed the new chief executive officer (CEO) of public broadcaster Prasar Bharati for a period of five years. Currently, Vempati is a part-time member of the Prasar Bharati Board. The appointment comes 7 months after the last Jawhar Sircar resigned from the post. He will succeed Rajeev Singh, member (finance) of the board, who was serving as the interim CEO after S C Panda retired in 2017.

Notes:
Ananya Vinay (12), the 6th-grader from California, has won the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee competition by successfully spelling “marocain” in the final round at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on June 1, 2017. She won $40,000 in cash among other prizes. Ananya is the 13th consecutive Indian-American to win the bee and the 18th of the past 22 winners with Indian heritage, a run that began in 1999 with Nupur Lala’s victory.

Notes:
Indian wild card Nitin Kumar Sinha has won the boys singles title at the 2017 HCL Asian Junior Tennis Championship. He defeated Malaysian player Christian Didier Chin in a final match held at the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge – Balewadi, in Pune. In girls singles final, Mihika Yadav defeated top seed Mahak Jain in two straight sets 6-3, 6-3. The championship is the second highest tournament anywhere in the world after the junior grand slams and provides top Indian players a chance to compete against their global counterparts as well as earn valuable ITF points to build on their overall international ranking.

Notes:
The World Environment Day (WED) is observed every year on June 5 to raise awareness about forests and wider issues of environmental protection. The 2017 theme is ‘Connecting People to Nature’. It implores us to get outdoors and into nature, to appreciate its beauty and to take forward the call to protect the Earth that we share. The host country for the WED 2017 is Canada, where the official celebrations take place.

Notes:
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression is observed every year on June 4 to acknowledge the pain suffered by children throughout the world who are the victims of physical, mental and emotional abuse. It is a time for people all over the world to become aware of the impact of monstrosity of abuse, in all its forms, against children. It is also a time when organisations and individuals learn from or take part in awareness campaigns centred on protecting children’s rights. This day affirms the UN’s commitment to protect the rights of children.

Notes:
The Abohar Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the Fazilka District of Punjab. The formation of sanctuary relates to a unique success story of wildlife conservation in which people of Bishnoi community united themselves for protecting the Black Buck which is regarded as a sacred animal by them. It is also the State Animal of Punjab. It is home to several varieties of flora and fauna viz. Albizia lebbeck, Acacia nilotica, Azadirachata indica, A. tortilis, Wild Boar, Blue Bull, Porcupines, Hare, Jackal, etc.

Notes:
India has signed a $39.2 million loan agreement with the World Bank (WB) for the ‘citizen-centric service delivery’ project in Assam. The programme size is $49 million, of which $39.2 million will be financed by the World Bank and the remaining amount will be funded out of state budget. The programme duration is 5 years. The purpose of the project is to improve access in the delivery of selected public services in Assam. The Project seeks to enable citizens to access services under the RTPS Act in a timely, efficient, and accountable manner. The Project adopts an integrated approach to improve access and accountability.

Notes:
The Telangana Government has become the only state government in India to launch the single-women pension scheme. Under the scheme, a financial assistance of Rs. 1,000 financial is given to single women of the state per month on humanitarian grounds. The scheme will benefit unmarried women, joginis and divorced women. About 1, 08,302 beneficiaries from 31 Districts have been identified by the officials. The single-women pension scheme is the result of petitions filed on the plight of single women deserted by their husbands and relatives.

Notes:
The TATA Projects has launched unique “Green Thumb” initiative in India to promote green cover and to protect the environment on 2017 World Environment Day (WED). The Green Thumb 2017 is in continuation to 2016 TATA Projects’ programme wherein it aimed to get 10,000 people to click (pledge) to plant a sapling on their behalf – the response received was a tremendous 23,000. Encouraged by the response, TATA Projects planted a total of over 42,000 saplings across the country in over 100 locations in the last one year (2016-17). This year, under Green Thumb initiative, the company will plants trees, citizens who wish to do their bit to save the environment, can express their support for the cause. They can do so by clicking on the banner to plant a sapling on the Green Thumb Microsite or on Facebook page, LinkedIn pagea/155507/ or on the company website www.tataprojects.com.

Notes:
Sachin Tendulkar has joined UNICEF’s ‘Super Dads’ campaign that highlights the critical role played by fathers in children’s early development. The campaign features stars from the world of entertainment and sport including David Beckham, Novak Djokovic, Mahershala Ali, Lewis Hamilton and Hugh Jackman. The UNICEF campaign will celebrates Father’s Day and highlights the importance of love, play, protection and good nutrition for the healthy development of young children’s brains. The heart-warming videos and photos of celebrity dads in the campaign will be coupled with stories of super dads from across the world, including those who are doing their best to raise their children in extremely difficult circumstances.