Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
India has been ranked 45th out of 63 countries in the IMD’s world competitiveness rankings 2017. The list is compiled by the Switzerland-based International Institute for Management and Development (IMD)’s World Competitiveness Center (WCC). Hong Kong has topped the list, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, United States, Netherlands, Ireland and Denmark. The IMD measures how well countries manage all their resources and competencies to facilitate long-term value creation.

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:
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.

Notes:
Veteran journalist Vinod Dua will be honoured with the RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement (LTA) in Journalism for 2017 by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on June 7 in Mumbai in recognition of his extensive and versatile contribution in different formats and subjects. The awards are part of the National RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism and instituted by the Mumbai Press Club. Star India is the Presenting Partner for the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards. The Hindu Group and Facebook are the media partners.

Notes:
The 17th summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit has started in Astana, Kazakhstan from June 8, 2017. In this summit, India and Pakistan has become full members of the organization. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organisation which was founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It is mainly aimed at military cooperation between the members and involves intelligence- sharing, counter-terrorism operations in Central Asia. Afghanistan, Belarus, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan have observer status.

Notes:
India and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have launched a partnership fund that will support sustainable development projects across the developing world. The fund was launched on the occasion of the World Oceans Day (WOD) at a special ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on June 8, 2017. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund will implement country-level projects that are catalytic towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce poverty and hunger, improving health, education and equality, and expanding access to clean water, energy and livelihoods.

Notes:
China’s state-run news agency Xinhua will set up a $1 million fund to institutionalize media cooperation among the BRICS countries including awards for journalists from the five member states. The purpose of BRICS media forum is to promote six objectives, including “balanced reporting”. The proposal would also focus on joint development of BRICS digital media, financial information services and promoting people- to-people contacts. The BRICS media forum is the result of a joint initiative by Xinhua News Agency, Brazil’s CMA Group, Russia’s Sputnik News Agency and Radio, The Hindu group of publications from India, and South Africa’s Independent Media.

Notes:
Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli is the sole sportsperson from India to feature among the world’s 100 highest paid athletes in the 2017 Forbes list. Kohli has been ranked 89th on the 2017 Forbes list with a total pay of $22 million that includes $3 million from salary and winnings and another $19 million from endorsements. The list is topped by soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, followed by American basketball star LeBron James, Argentine football player Lionel Messi and Swiss Tennis star Roger Federer.

Notes:
NITI Aayog has launched a program ‘Sustainable Action for Transforming Human capital (SATH)’ with the State Governments for cooperative federalism. The vision of the program is to initiate transformation in the education and health sectors. The aim of SATH is to identify and build three future ‘role model’ states for health systems. NITI will work in close collaboration with their state machinery to design a robust roadmap of intervention, develop a program governance structure, set up monitoring and tracking mechanisms, hand-hold state institutions through the execution stage and provide support on a range of institutional measures to achieve the end objectives. The program will be implemented by NITI along with McKinsey & Company and IPE Global consortium, who were selected through a competitive bidding process. Of the five shortlisted states three will be selected on the basis of further evaluations. The program will be launched in the three selected states after the signing of MoUs.

Notes:
Muttiah Muralidaran, the most successful bowler in Tests and One Day Internationals, has been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in London on Thursday. He was honoured during the innings break of the India versus Sri Lanka ICC Champions Trophy match at The Oval in London on June 8, 2017. With this, he became the first player from Sri Lanka and the 83rd overall to be inducted into the Hall of Fame when ICC CEO Dave Richardson presented him with a commemorative framed cap.