Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Dr. Aravind Kumar Rengan, the Assistant Professor in Department of Biomedical Engineering at Indian Institute of Technology – Hyderabad (IIT-H), has been awarded the prestigious Indian National Science Academy (INSA) medal in the Young Scientist category for 2017 for his research in cancer treatment. 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 general meeting in December 2017.

Notes:
The World Turtle Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 23 to raise awareness on conservation of tortoise and turtles and on illegal trafficking. One of the greatest threats facing turtles and tortoises in India is smuggling to East Asian and Southeast Asian markets. Many freshwater turtles and tortoises are considered delicacies just across the Bay of Bengal in Southeast Asia.

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The Madhya Pradesh Government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Kharagpur’s Rekhi Centre of Excellence for the Science of Happiness to collaborate on the development of a Happiness Index for measuring the well-being of the people of the state. The Happiness index would be developed by IIT-KGP and the data collected by the state government would be analyzed to assess the happiness levels of people of the state and to suggest recommendations to enhance happiness levels in the state. A door-to-door survey will be conducted for the purpose and people will be made to fill up questionnaire. The process will start from January 2018 and by the time of assembly elections in the state 2018, people will get to know how happy they are.

Notes:
Iconic attraction of India Taj Mahal has emerged as the 5th most popular landmark in the world and 2nd in Asia, according to the online travel portal TripAdvisor’s ‘Travellers’ Choice Awards for Landmarks. Globally, Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Center in Abu Dhabi, Mezquita Cathedral de Cordoba in Spain, and St Peter’s Basilica in Italy, bagged the first four ranks respectively. Whereas, the top 10 landmarks in Asia has been topped by Angkor Wat, followed by Taj Mahal on the second place. Apart from this, Taj Mahal has also ranked first in the list of popular landmarks in India, followed by AmberFort, Jaipur; Swaminarayan Akshardham, New Delhi, etc.

Notes:
The Punjab National Bank (PNB) has got $100 million Asian Development Bank (ADB) loan to finance solar rooftop projects in India. The loan is guaranteed by the Government of India (GoI). This is the first tranche loan of the $500 million multi tranche finance facility Solar Rooftop Investment Program (SRIP) approved by ADB in 2016. The financing includes $330 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources and $170 million from the multi donor Clean Technology Fund (CTF) administered by ADB. The first tranche loan of $100 million would be financed entirely from the CTF. The entire cost of SRIP is estimated at $1 billion and it aims to install solar rooftop system of around 1 gigawatt capacity in India.

Notes:
The Punjab government has decided to collaborate with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) as part of its efforts to root out the drug menace in the State. The MoU will be signed between the health department, the Special Task Force (STF) on drugs and the UNODC in the second week of June 2017. It was also decided to develop a roadmap for the project implementation for which a project committee will be set up. The committee will be headed by principal secretary (Health) with STF chief ADGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu as co-convenor, besides two representatives of UNODC.

Notes:
Leo Varadkar, the leader of the Fine Gael Party, will become the new Prime Minister of Ireland after defeating his rival Simon Coveney with 60% of votes. Varadkar will become the first gay Prime Minister and will also be the country’s youngest ever leader. He will succeed Taoiseach Enda Kenny as leader of the centre-right party in June 2017.

Notes:
India’s first smartcard-based Public Bicycle Sharing (PBS) initiative has launched in Mysuru, Karnataka on June 4, 2017. The cost of the project, partly funded by World Bank’s Global Environmental Facility, for the next six years is Rs 20.5 crore, covering the maintenance of the docking stations and bicycles. About 450 bicycles will be available for public use in the city. To rent a bicycle, the citizens of Mysuru or tourists need to register themselves either online or by visiting one of the six registration centres situated close to tourism centres and obtain a smart card after paying Rs. 350, including a refundable deposit of Rs. 250. Though the use of the bicycle is free for the first one hour, the users will have to pay a nominal fee of Rs. 5 for two hours, Rs. 10 for three hours and so on.

Notes:
India has acquired the top position among 30 developing countries on ease of doing business at the 2017 A.T. Kearney Global Retail Development Index (GRDI). The 2017 GRDI titled “The Age of Focus” ranked China at second place, followed by Malaysia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Vietnam. The 16th edition of GRDI ranked top 30 developing countries for retail investment worldwide and analyzed 25 macroeconomic and retail-specific variables to help retailers devise successful global strategies to identify emerging market investment opportunities.

Notes:
J P Nadda, the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, has launched “Skill for Life, Save a Life” initiative in New Delhi to promote skill development in the health sector. The purpose of the initiative is to upscale the quality and quantity of trained professionals in the healthcare system. Under this initiative various courses are planned in specific competencies for healthcare professionals as well as for general public.