Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, has been conferred with the first-ever Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Lifetime Achievement Honour in Public Service by President Pranab Mukherjee in Jaipur, Rajasthan on May 15, 2017. Chamling is the longest standing Chief Minister in India, having won the legislative assembly elections for 5 terms in a row and will be completing 25 years of governance by the next legislative elections in 2019 creating a political history in India.

Notes:
The International Day of Families is observed every year on May 15 to promote awareness of issues relating to families and increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic progression that affects families. The 2017 theme “Families, education and well-being” focuses on role of families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of their members. It highlights on the central goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which focus on ending poverty, promoting shared economic prosperity, social development and people’s well-being while protecting the environment.

Notes:
The Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary (BBS) is located in Jhajjar district, Haryana. It is home to many birds such as Blue Peafowl, Gray Francolin, Black Francolin, Shikra, Black Kite, Greater Coucal, White-throated Kingfisher, Coppersmith Barbet and Indian Roller. It is in news because the sanctuary will soon be developed as a beautiful tourist resort and the additional facilities to be provided to the tourists coming to this place would include arrangements for camping for night stay, beautification of the lake, and opening of dispensary for birds and the wild life.

Notes:
The boring of India’s first underwater rail tunnel under the Hooghly River for establishing metro link between Howrah and Kolkata has completed before its scheduled deadline of July 2017. The tunnel is 16.6 km long, out of which 10.8 km runs under the ground. Of this 10.8 km, 502 metres is under the water and the whole thing connects Howrah to the west and Salt lake to the east. It will have 12 stations and six will be underground. Estimated cost of the entire project is $750 million or about Rs 5,000 crores. The final commissioning of the project is expected by December 2019, following which it will be operational. The project is built by Afcons Transtonnelstroy and implemented by Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Ltd (KMRCL).

Notes:
Lenin Moreno has recently taken office as new President of Ecuador, after defeating his conservative rival & ex-banker Guillermo Lasso, by 2.3% in April’s runoff vote. He served as Vice President from 2007 to 2013, serving under President Rafael Correa. Moreno is the first wheelchair-user to become Ecuador’s leader and one of few such leaders in the world ever to serve as president. His legs have been paralyzed since he was shot during a robbery in 1998. He went on to lead a task force on disability rights as vice-president in Correa’s government. That earned him a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2012.

Notes:
India’s largest public broadcasting agency, Prasar Bharati has signed an MoU with Societe Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Television (SNRT) at the 5th India Morocco Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Rabat, Morocco’s to step up cooperation in the broadcasting sector. The SNRT is the public broadcaster of Morocco and is a member of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Notes:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has formed committee to improve standards of corporate governance of listed companies. The committee under the chairmanship of Uday Kotak, chief of Kotak Mahindra Bank, will submit the report within a period of 4 months. The committee would make recommendations to SEBI on ensuring independence in spirit of independent directors and their active participation in functioning of the company and steps for improving safeguards and disclosures pertaining to related party transactions. Besides, the panel would suggest measures for addressing issues faced by investors on voting and participation in general meetings and ways for improving effectiveness of board evaluation practices.

Notes:
Dr. Sharad Kumar Jain has assumed the additional charge of Director General (DG) of National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Presently, he is working as Scientist G with National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee. Jain succeeds S. Masood Husain who has moved over as Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission.

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.

Notes:
Indian-American Raja Chari, a Lieutenant Colonel with the US Air Force, has been chosen for the 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class. He is among 12 new astronauts who will be trained for missions into Earth orbit and to deep space. Chari may become the 3rd person of Indian origin from the US after the late Kalpana Chawla and current NASA astronaut Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams to fly to space. Currently, he is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.