Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The water conservation model “Project Jal Sanchay” has been selected for the national award for excellence in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (MGNREGP). The award will be conferred at a function held at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on June 19, 2017. The model is adopted successfully by the authorities in Nalanda district of south central Bihar. Under the project, check dams were created and traditional Aahar-Pyne irrigation system and traditional water bodies were desilted and renovated to create awareness about rainwater harvesting. In it, the traditional water conservation system was used in water management and in maintaining water table in the area. Thus, through campaigns and support from local farmers, the water conservation project has not only improved the availability of water but has also positively impacted farm production in the areas covered by the project.

Notes:
Jelena Ostapenk, a Latvian professional tennis player, has won the 2017 French Open Women’s Singles Tennis Tournament by defeating Simona Halep from Romania in the final by 4–6, 6–4, 6–3. With this win, Ostapenk became the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament and the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933. She is known for her highly aggressive playing style, including powerful inside-out groundstrokes and a tendency to aim for the lines.

Notes:
NTPC has commissioned a150 KW India’s first canal top solar PV System on Cooling Water (CW) channel at its 2320 MW Mouda Thermal Power Project, near Nagpur in Maharashtra. This novel Solar PV system makes use of side walls of CW channels as load bearing structure thereby significantly decreasing cost of civil and mounting structure. The system also has several other unique advantages such as land conservation and water conservation due to reduced evaporation. It also increases PV generation due to cooling from the water and a reduction in dirt.

Notes:
The book titled “Yug Purush, Bharat Ratna, Atal Ji” is based on the on the social and political life of former Prime Minister of India Atal Bhihari Vajpayee. It is authored by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank”, who is the BJP MP and former Uttarakhand chief minister. Recently, Pokhriyal has officially handed over the first copy of the 450-page book to the President of India Pranab Mukherjee. Though, the book will be launched soon in the market for all.

Notes:
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations for coordinating economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementing internationally agreed development goals.

Notes:
Ana Brnabic, a graduate of the University of Hull in England, will become the first gay and first female prime minister of Serbia, following her nomination by the nation’s president, Aleksandar Vucic. She will succeed Ivica Dacic on June 2017. The role of the Prime Minister in Serbia is to direct the work of the Government, and to submit to the National Assembly the Government’s Program, including a list of proposed ministers. The resignation of the Prime Minister will cause the fall of the Government.

Notes:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched digital enrollment process “APY@eNPS” for Atal Pension Yojana (APY) to expand the outreach of the scheme. The APY is the government’s flagship social security scheme which may be availed by every citizen of India who is in the age group of 18-40 years. The scheme provides a minimum guaranteed pension to everyone enrolled. Currently, the scheme boasts of over 54 lakh subscribers and has generated a return of 13.91%.

Notes:
The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed every year on June 19 to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes. The 2017 theme is “Preventing Sexual Violence Crimes through Justice and Deterrence”.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has tied-up with Tirumala Milk Products to provide loans to dairy farmers who supply milk to the latter. As per the scheme for financing dairy units, SBI offers loans for construction of shed, and purchase of milch animals, milking machine, and chaff cutter. Apart from this, the bank also provides loans to dairy societies for modernisation and creation of infrastructure such as purchase of automatic milk collection system, purchase of transport vehicles and bulk chilling unit. The Tirumala Milk Products is a South- based company, which was acquired by France-based Groupe Lactalis in 2014.

Notes:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved the membership of Argentina, the Republic of Madagascar and the Kingdom of Tonga at its 2nd annual meeting of Board of Governors in Jeju, South Korea, June 16, 2017. The three prospective members will officially join the AIIB once they complete the required domestic processes and deposit the first installment of capital with the bank. The 2017 AIIB annual meeting was held under the theme of “Sustainable Infrastructure,” seeking strategic directions of the international infrastructure bank and making major decisions on the bank’s management.