Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is observed every year on June 14 to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank blood donors for their voluntary, life-saving gifts of blood. Every pint of blood donated can save more than 3 lives. Thus, if you began donating blood at age 18 and donated every 90 days until you reached 60, you would have donated 30 gallons of blood, potentially helping save more than 500 lives. The 2017 theme “Give Blood. Give Now. Give Often” focus on blood donation in emergency situations.

Notes:
Delhi Metro Railway Corporation (DMRC) Principal Adviser E. Sreedharan has been bestowed with the 2017 Nanniyode Rajan Memorial Award for his contributions to the development of the country. The award consists of a purse of Rs. 25,000 and a trophy. It is instituted by the Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (TRCMPU) in memory of its former chairman.

Notes:
Cirrus Aircraft, the US-based aviation company, has launched the world’s smallest and cheapest private jet ‘Vision Jet’ at Rs.12.6 Crore. The Jet can haul five adults up to 1,150 miles at 28,000 feet. It is the first Private Jet with a single engine and can be conveniently operated by a single pilot, thus keeping production and maintenance costs low for the users. The jet can fly at a speed of 345mph and has an operating altitude of 28,000 feet.

Notes:
Dr. Neeru Chadha has become the first Indian woman to be elected as the judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for a nine-year term from 2017 to 2026. She got most of the votes in Asia Pacific Group. With this election, Dr. Chadha has also become the first Indian woman to occupy a top UN position, after Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, who served as the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Hamburg-based ITLOS, established in 1996, is one of dispute settlement mechanisms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that entered into force in 1994.

Notes:
The 2017 G7 Environment Ministers Meetings was held in Bologna, Italy on June 11-12. The meeting was attended by the Environment Ministers of US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan and the Commissioners of the European Union for Environment and Climate. The meeting discussed various issues ranging from climate change to sustainable development and litter at sea. In it, the ‘5 year Bologna Roadmap’ was adopted, which focuses on important issues such as resource efficiency indicators, citizen involvement, awareness on food waste and economic analysis of the efficient use of resources.

Notes:
Prafullachandra Natwarlal Bhagwati (95), the former Chief Justice of India (CJI), has passed away in New Delhi on June 15,2017. Justice Bhagwati is known for introducing and pioneering Public Interest Litigation (PIL) which transformed the legal landscape in India.

Notes:
Gaitri Issar Kumar, the joint secretary in the President’s Secretariat and a 1986 batch IFS officer, has been appointed as the India’s new Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union (EU) which has its headquarters in the Belgian capital of Brussels. Beside this, Reenat Sandhu and Ajit Vinayak Gupte have been named as the India’s new Ambassador to Italy and Denmark.

Notes:
The third annual meeting of the board of governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be held in Mumbai, India in June 2018. India is AIIB’s second-largest shareholder. The AIIB is a new multilateral development bank founded to bring countries together to address the daunting infrastructure needs across Asia. The headquarters of AIIB is located in Beijing, China. Its mission is to improve economic and social development in Asia by investing in high quality, financially viable and environmentally friendly infrastructure projects. The 2nd annual meeting of the board of governors was held in Jeju, Republic of Korea in 2017.

Notes:
Sachin Tendulkar’s mother-in-law and social activist, Annabel Mehta has been conferred with the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in recognition of her 40 years of service to underprivileged communities in Mumbai and the NGO “Apnalaya”. The award will be presented to her at Buckingham Palace in London later this year. The Order of the British Empire (which has several ranks) was created in 1917 by King George V to recognise individuals, who have contributed valued service to their communities. MBE is a rank of the order and stands for Member of the Order of the British Empire.

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.