Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

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:
The Vijaya Bank will set up 100 digital villages in various States of the country as part of its initiative to promote digital banking among the rural population. It is the only public sector financial institution to develop digital villages with focus on rural areas and it has already developed five villages including the one in Guntur district. In those villages, the bank will provide Internet, free Wi-Fi connectivity, mobile payment facilities, ATM cards, online banking and others besides educating the villagers through door-to-door campaign. The bank will also open bank accounts to all the eligible villagers including children and encourage them to make transactions digitally.

Notes:
The Anshi National Park is located at a distance of 60 km from Karwar in Uttara Kannada district, Karnataka. It is located in an eco-sensitive part of the Western Ghats, at a height between 200 m to 925 m above sea level. The park is a habitat of melanistic leopard, tigers and elephants, among other wildlife. The reptiles like King Cobra, Krait, Python, Rat snake and Viper are found here. It is home to more than 200 species of birds viz. Adjutant Stork, Ashy Black-crested Crested Serpent Eagle, Great Hornbill, Golden-backed Woodpecker, Bulbul, Blue-headed Pitta, Woodswallow, Brahminy Kite, etc.

Notes:
Axis Bank has become the first Indian bank to launch a bio-degradable prepaid gift plastic card to offer its customers a simple way of contributing towards environment-friendly payment solutions. The plastic card is made up of Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol (PETG) and can decompose easily and can also be recycled. The cards will be acceptable at all domestic merchant outlets and online portals. According to a circular issued by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on 1 July 2014, the maximum validity of pre-paid gift instruments is 3 years.

Notes:
Basudev Chatterji, the noted historian, has passed away in Guwahati, Assam on June 8, 2017. He was also the former chairman of Indian Council for Historical Research (ICHR). Chatterji was an academician and used to taught at St Stephen’s College in Delhi, University of Hyderabad besides supervising undergraduates at the University of Cambridge. The books ‘Trade, Tariffs and Empire : Lancashire and British Policy in India’, and ‘Dictionary of Martyrs India’s Freedom Struggle’ were among his works.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda has been conferred with the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award for accelerating India’s tobacco control initiatives and taking bold measures to protect people against hazards of tobacco use. The global recognition was presented to him by Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia, at the ‘National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals’.

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:
The 22nd edition of European Union Film Festival (EUFF) has started at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi with an aim to improve cultural ties between India and European countries. The film festival will not only showcase films from Estonia, Austria, Belgium, Hungary, Greece, among several countries, but also explore different styles of cinema with a blend of varying cultures. The EUFF, which is started in New Delhi, in association with Directorate of Film Festivals will also travel to Pune, Mumbai, Goa, Kolkata, Ranchi, Coimbatore and Puducherry till August 3, 2017. The fest will screen 22 films from 22 European countries to serve the purpose of knowing and understanding each other better.

Notes:
The World Day Against Child Labour is observed every year on June 12 to focus attention on the global extent of child labour and the action and efforts needed to eliminate it. The 2017 theme is “In conflicts and disasters, protect children from child labour” that focuses on the impact of conflicts and disasters on child labour. The day brings together governments, employers and workers organizations, civil society, as well as millions of people from around the world to highlight the plight of child labourers and what can be done to help them.