Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Bollywood film “Newton” has won the best film honour at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Amit Masurkar-directed “Newton”, which also stars Anjali Patil and RajKumar Rao, is a political satire. It had its world premiere at the 67th Berlin Film Festival where it won the International Federation of Art Cinemas (CICAE) award in its Forum segment.

Notes:
The International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day (ICDRD) is observed every year on April 26 to raise global awareness of the consequences of the explosion of the Nuclear Power Plant. The day commemorates an explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 which spread a radioactive cloud over large parts of the Soviet Union, now the territories of Belarus, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Due to explosion, nearly 8.4 million people in the three countries were exposed to the radiation.

Notes:
Dr. Sanjay Pratihar, a scientist at Tezpur University, has been chosen for the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal for the Young Scientist Award for the year 2017 for his excellent contribution to multi-metal complexes, theoretical understanding, selective sensing of Hq2+ions and important applications in agriculture. The award, which consists of a bronze medal, a certificate and cash award of Rs. 25,000, will be given to him during INSA’s anniversary meeting scheduled in December 2017. The award of an Academy medal to a Young Scientist shall be made in recognition of notable contributions to any branch of science or technology, recognised by the Academy, on the basis of work carried out in India.

Notes:
The Government of Indonesia is hosting the World Press Freedom Day (WPFD)’s main event and the UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize Ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia from May 1-4, 2017. Dawit Isaak, an imprisoned Eritrean-Swedish journalist, has been bestowed with the 2017 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on May 3, 2017. The $25,000 Prize award was given to Dawit Isaak’s daughter “Bethelem Isaak”. He was arrested in a crackdown on the media in September 2001 by the Eritrean government and till date his present location is unknown. The 2017 theme of WPFD is “Critical Minds for Critical Times: Media’s Role in Advancing Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies”. The day is observed every year on May 3 to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Notes:
The 2017 hunting festival ‘Bishu Parv (or Sendra)” of the tribal community has recently observed in a ‘bloodless and symbolic’ manner without harming the wildlife in the Dalma Wildlife Sanctuary in Jharkhand. To observe fest peacefully, the awareness campaign was launched by the forest department to convince the tribals to observe the hunting festival in a symbolic manner. Apart from this, the forest department has set up check posts at all entry points to prevent hunters from entering the sanctuary with arms to kill the animals. The wildlife sanctuary has elephants, barking deer, sloth bear and porcupines as the main inhabitants.

Notes:
Three Indian women wrestlers Sakshi Malik (60kg), Vinesh Phogat (55kg) and Divya Kakran (69kg) bagged silver medals in their respective categories in the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championship in New Delhi after losing out their final bouts. Rio Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik lost her final bout against Japan’s Risako Kawai in 60kg category. Sakshi wrestled for the first time in women’s 60kg category after jumping up the weight division from 58kg. Vinesh Phogat lost the final in women’s 55kg category and Divya Kakran in 69 Kg to settle with silver medals.

Notes:
The philosophical novel for God titled “Confessions of a dying mind: the blind faith of atheism” has been authored by IAS officer Haulianlal Guite, which is recently unveiled by Union Minister Kiren Rijiju in august gathering at Civil Services Officers’ Institute in New Delhi. The book billed as “the world’s first philosophical novel for God”, whose author is arguably the first Indian civil servant to write on philosophy since John Stuart Mill published On Liberty way back in 1858. The book explores the nature of science, religion, evidence and even love in light of leading developments. It makes use of the latest findings of modern science and the most solid theories in philosophy. It also presents some interesting arguments against atheism by using the theories and findings of atheists themselves.

Notes:
Laura Biagiotti (73), an Italian fashion designer who conquered global markets with her soft, has passed away in Rome, Italy on May 26, 2017. Biagiotti began designing women’s clothes in the 1960s and by the 1980s was making her mark. In 1988, she became the first Italian designer to put on a fashion show in China, presenting dresses and blouses in silk and cashmere, and in 1995 was the first to have a show inside the Kremlin walls in Moscow.

Notes:
The Telangana Government has officially launched a digital wallet “T-Wallet”, which doesn’t charge transaction fee from consumers. This is the first official e-wallet from any state government in India. The wallet can be used over the web version. One can top up the wallet using credit or debit cards, Internet banking or through cash at Mee Seva centres. It allows a maximum transaction of Rs. 1 lakh for e-KYC (know your customer) users. For non-KYC users, the limit is set to Rs. 20,000. The wallet is developed by Transaction Analysts (TA) & Vijaya Bank is a banking partner for the initiative. Presently, the wallet is available in Android version and supports English, Telugu and Urdu.

Notes:
Nepali-Hindi film Ralang Road will represent India at the 52nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival at Karlovy Vary in Czech Republic, which is scheduled to be held from June 30 to July 8, 2017. It will be after 13 years that an Indian film will compete with other international films at this film festival. Ralang Road tells the stories of four people living in the Himalayan countryside. The film explores cultural immigration and lifestyles in a complex social setup. The film is directed by Karma Takapa and produced by HumanTrail Pictures.