Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Haryana Government has decided to conduct a survey to provide affordable houses under ‘Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna-Housing for All’ to the people living in urban areas in the state. The residents of the state living in urban areas as on June 17, 2015, would be eligible to participate in the survey. Only those applicants would be given the benefit of the scheme who would have Aadhar card, a bank account and nobody in his family have any pucca house in any locality. Those who have been benefited under any Central or State Housing Scheme would not be eligible to avail the benefit of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. The people in urban areas belonging to economically weaker sections, low income group and medium income group would be eligible for credit linked subsidy and affordable houses.

Notes:
Austin has topped the list of 22 tech cities across the world, as per the 2017 Savills Tech Cities Index. San Francisco has acquired 2nd position followed by New York and London. From India, Bengaluru ranked 20th among tech cities in the world. But when it comes to the cost of living index, Bengaluru tops the charts with a weekly residential rent for tech employees and household standing at $236 – compared to the tech cities’ average of $368. The purpose of 2017 Savills Tech Cities programme is to understand the diverse factors that make up a good location choice for the tech sector.

Notes:
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed every year on May 17 to mark the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention (ITC) and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The purpose of the day is to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. The 2017 theme “Big Data for Big Impact” focuses on the power of Big Data for development and aims to explore how to turn imperfect, complex, often unstructured data into actionable information in a development context.

Notes:
The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) is observed every year on May 22 to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The 2017 theme “Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism” provides an opportunity to raise awareness and action towards the important contribution of sustainable tourism both to economic growth and to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

Notes:
China has become the largest stainless steel producer in the world in 2016, according to data released by the International Stainless Steel Forum (ISSF) at annual conference held on May 14-19, 2017 in Tokyo, Japan. India overtook Japan as the second- largest producer in 2016. ISSF is a non-profit research and development organisation founded in 1996 and serves as the focal point for the international stainless steel industry. As per the report, India’s stainless steel production rose to 3.32 million tonne in 2016 showing an impressive growth of about 9% over 3 million tonne it produced in 2015.

Notes:
Konstantinos Mitsotakis (98), the former conservative Prime Minister of Greece, has recently passed away in Athens, Greece on May 29, 2017. He will be remembered for fierce confrontations with Greece’s liberal and socialist parties as well as early free-market reforms during a 60-year political career. He was credited with starting unpopular free-market policies, which were quietly continued by later governments, and with improving relations with Turkey. But he was often considered a divisive figure in a country struggling to escape its volatile political history.

Notes:
The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) of India has won prestigious International Award of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) titled “APQN Quality Award 2017 for International Co-operation in Quality Assurance” in Moscow, Russia on May 26, 2017. The NAAC is an organisation that assesses and accredits institutions of higher education in India. It’s headquarters is located in Bangalore, Karnataka.

Notes:
The researchers at IIT Kharagpur has developed a wireless technology ‘AmbuSens‘ for remote monitoring of patients’ condition ferried in ambulances. The technology will allow doctors to monitor ECG, heart-rate, temperature and blood-pressure of patients moving in ambulances and fitted with wireless sensors. This will help doctors to advise technicians travelling with the patient to deal with the situation. The web interface of the AmbuSens system provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for doctors and paramedics alike with data visualisation tools such as real-time ECG graph. It can be accessed from internet-enabled laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Notes:
Hoshiar Singh, a 1994 batch officer of the Indian Telecom Service, has been appointed as new Registrar of Copyrights for a period of five years. The Office of Copyrights, under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DoPT) is mandated to protect the music and film industry besides addressing its concerns, among others. According to norms, the Copyright Office is under the immediate control of a Registrar of Copyrights, who acts under the superintendence and directions of the Central Government. The headquarters is located in New Delhi.

Notes:
The Kerala government has implemented Green Protocol for making weddings more naturally in the state. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce the use of plastic in daily life. With the implementation of the protocol, use of plastic and other non-degradable articles including disposable glasses and plates and thermocol decorations will be discouraged at marriage functions. Inspections will be held at marriage halls, convention centres and hotels and other venues of the wedding ceremony in this regard and action would be taken if the protocol is violated. The state nodal agency for sanitation ‘Suchitwa Mission’ has already launched the initiative in Kannur, Ernakulam, Kollam and Alappuzha on a pilot basis. As per officials, the protocol would be implemented in the rest of the districts soon.