Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Padmalaya Nanda (12) from India has created history by becoming the youngest girl to bag the “Little Miss Universe Internet 2017”, “Little Miss Universe Grand Prix” and “Little Miss Actress” crowns at the Little Miss Universe 2017 beauty contest at port city of Batumi in Georgia, United States. Nanda, who hails from Odisha, has become the first Indian girl to win the crown. Now, she will participate in the “Little Miss World 2017” competition that will be held at Greece from Sept 25 to Oct 1, 2017.

Notes:
The Valmiki National Park (VNP) is located in the West Champaran district of Bihar. It is home to tiger, Rhinoceros, Black bear, Leopard, Wild dog, wild buffalo, wild boar etc. At present 241 bird species have been reported in the forest. Some of the interesting birds are Nepal kaleej pheasant, three-toed quail, flycatcher, grey shrike, green willow warbler and tree pipit.

Notes:
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has inaugurated the 16th North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference at Imphal in Manipur on June 15, 2017. The theme of the Conference is “North East and Look East Policy”. The Conference will deliberate on three significant themes – North East and Look East Policy, special plan for development of railways, airways, surface road and inland waterways connectivity for speedy economic development of North East Region and setting up of a chapter of Speaker’s Research Initiative in the North Eastern Region for capacity building of the legislators of the region and generating research for the North Eastern legislatures. In the conference, Manipur Governor Dr. Najma Heptulla, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker and NERCPA Chairman Abu Taher Mondal, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh, Presiding Officers and members of the legislatures of North East States are participating.

Notes:
The Telangana government has launched Pashu Bazar website for online cattle sale. The online sale or purchase of cattle through pashubazar.telangana.gov.in website will help farmers as the cattle need not be brought to shandies every time and farmers can save on transportation cost on cattle. Farmer can keep maximum five registrations for sale at any time. Thus, the online platform has been developed to help farmers to sell their animals without physically taking them to weekly markets.

Notes:
The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD) is observed every year on June 15 to highlight the often silent suffering of the elder generation. This is the one day of the year when the whole world voices its opposition to the abuse and suffering inflicted to some defenseless older people. The 2017 theme “Understand and End Financial Abuse of Older People: A Human Rights Issue” underscores the importance of preventing financial exploitation in the context of elder abuse to the enjoyment of older persons’ human rights.

Notes:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $150 million equity investment loan to the India Infrastructure Fund (IIF), which is AIIB’s first such loan to fund private projects. The purpose of the Infrastructure Fund is to invest in mid-cap infrastructure companies in India and to expand the bank’s equity and loan deal sourcing pipelines in the private sector through its equity participation in this fund. This initiative will benefit local infrastructure development by enhancing private capital inflows from global long-term investors, such as public pension funds, endowments and insurance companies.

Notes:
H S Shivaprakash, the noted Kannada poet and playwright, has been conferred with the prestigious 2017 Kusumagraja Rashtriya Puraskar for his outstanding contribution in social and educational fields. The award is constituted by Nashik-based Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University’s (YCMOU) Kusumagraja Adhyasan (Chair). It carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, a memento and citation. Beside this, Latur-based Menka Dhumale has been honoured with the YCMOU’s 2016 ‘Baburao Bagul story writing award’ for her book “Korda Paus”.

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:
John Bew has been bestowed with the 2017 Orwell Prize for his extraordinary biography “Citizen Clem” , which is about Clement Attlee, the founder of the NHS. The £3,000 award is the Britain’s most prestigious prize for political writing, which is awarded annually by the Orwell Foundation to a book that comes closest to the George Orwell’s ambition to make political writing into an art in London.

Notes:
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has appointed Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan as new brand ambassador for Goods and Services Tax (GST). A 40-second video “GST – An initiative to create a unified national market” featuring him has already been shot and is being circulated by the Finance Ministry. In the video, Bachchan explains GST as a unifying force just like the three colours in the national flag. The GST will simplify a web of taxes, regulations and border levies by subsuming an array of central and state levies including excise duty, service tax and VAT.