Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore has topped the 2017 National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) rankings for higher educational institutions in overall ranking. IIT Madras stood at 2nd position, followed by IIT Bombay, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The institutes are ranked by the National Bureau of Accreditation (NBA) based on their teaching and learning resources, graduation outcome, perception, outreach and inclusivity and research productivity. This year, the project has more than 800 new participants and some new categories has also been introduced in medicine and law. Apart from this, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has topped the list in India Rankings 2017 in engineering category, followed by IIT Bombay and Kharagpur. Whereas, Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad bagged the first rank in management category while Miranda House, Delhi was ranked the top college. The 2017 India Rankings for higher educational institutions has been released by Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar in New Delhi on April 3, 2017.

Notes:
Kishori Amonkar (84), the renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, has recently passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra. She was considered one of the foremost singers in the Hindustani tradition and is an innovator of the Jaipur gharana. Amonkar received a plethora of awards, including the Padma Bhushan in 1987 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2002.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $175 million loan to Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd. (PGCIL) to expand its solar energy transmission network in the country. The project funding will improve the capacity and efficiency of interstate transmission networks, particularly in transmitting the electricity generated from new solar parks to the national grid.

Notes:
The National Tuberculosis (TB) summit has started in Kangra district of Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh on April 7, 2017. The slogan of the summit on TB frees India is “India versus TB, TB harega, Desh Jeetega”. The two-day event will provide a platform for tuberculosis (TB) experts, scientists, patients, doctors and government representatives to discuss strategies for implementing a TB control strategy that engages all stakeholders. It will raise awareness and increase momentum to the fight against TB.

Notes:
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched India’s first NBA Basketball School launched in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The school is a part of a multi-year agreement with India On Track (IOT), which is open to male and female players between ages 6-18. The NBA Basketball School builds an additional track between the Jr. NBA and NBA Academies with the goal of increasing the pool of players who have the talent to attend our academies around the world.

Notes:
Trupti Jain, an Indian environmental engineer, has won prestigious 2017 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall in Singapore for providing women working on farms with water management solutions and protecting small farmers against droughts and flash floods. She is among the six winners chosen for the Asia-Pacific laureate from a pool of nearly 1,900 applicants from over 120 countries and was selected by an independent international jury. Each recipient receives a $ 100,000 prize money as well as a year of mentoring. Jain is the founder of the Gujarat-based Naireeta Services company and providing handmade water management solutions that enable small farmers to filter and store rainwater underground to protect them against droughts and flash floods.

Notes:
Robert William Taylor (85), the internet and computer pioneer, has recently passed away in California, United States. He was instrumental in creating the internet and the modern personal computer. Taylor’s was also responsible for developing ethernet local networking and a word processing program that became Microsoft Word.

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Emma Martina Luigia Morano (117), the world’s oldest woman, has recently passed away at Verbania in Italy on April 15, 2017. She was born on 29th November 1899 in the Piedmont region of Italy and was officially the last person born in the 1800s still living. She was the Guinness World Record holder for the oldest living person and oldest living woman. Upon Morano’s death, Violet Brown from Jamaica became the world’s oldest known person in the world.

Notes:
According to the latest report of World Bank titled “Globalization Backlash”, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to grow at 7.2% for FY 18, from 6.8% in FY 16. The international agency expects the fiscal, inflation and external conditions in India to remain stable and a gradual GDP growth rise to 7.7% in 2019-20. The report focuses on the economic climate in South Asia and, predicts growth in the region.

Notes:
Prof. Sankha Ghosh, an eminent Bengali poet and literary critic, has been conferred the 52nd edition of the Jnanpith Award (2016) by President Pranab Mukherjee at a function in New Delhi on April 27, 2017. He was awarded for his outstanding contribution in the field of literature. Excerpt of Ghosh’s classic creations are Adim lata -gulmomay, Murkho Baro, Samajik Noy and Baborer Prarthana. With this, Prof. Ghosh has become the 6th Bengali author to win India’s highest literary award after Mahasweta Devi, Tarashankar Bandopadhyay, Ashapurna Devi, Subhash Mukhopadhyay and Bishnu Dey.