Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Union Health Ministry has launched an Intensified Diarrhea Control Fortnight (IDCF) across the country to reduce child deaths due to diarrhoea. Through this initiative, the Ministry will mobilize health personnel, State Governments and other stakeholders in controlling the disease, which is one of the most common childhood illnesses. During the IDCF, the awareness campaign on hygiene and promotion of ORS and Zinc therapy will be conducted at state, district and village levels. Nearly 12 crore under five children will be covered during the programme. As per an estimate, 1.1 million children die every year in India out of which about one lakh death occur due to this disease. Diarrhoea can be prevented with safe drinking water, sanitation, breastfeeding and appropriate nutrition.

Notes:
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has inaugurated the 16th North East Region Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (NERCPA) Conference at Imphal in Manipur on June 15, 2017. The theme of the Conference is “North East and Look East Policy”. The Conference will deliberate on three significant themes – North East and Look East Policy, special plan for development of railways, airways, surface road and inland waterways connectivity for speedy economic development of North East Region and setting up of a chapter of Speaker’s Research Initiative in the North Eastern Region for capacity building of the legislators of the region and generating research for the North Eastern legislatures. In the conference, Manipur Governor Dr. Najma Heptulla, Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Speaker and NERCPA Chairman Abu Taher Mondal, Manipur Deputy Chief Minister Yumnam Joykumar Singh, Presiding Officers and members of the legislatures of North East States are participating.

Notes:
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations for coordinating economic, social and environmental issues, as well as for implementing internationally agreed development goals.

Notes:
Baldwin Jacobson Lonsdale (67), the current President of Vanuatu, has passed away in Port Vila, Vanuatu on June 17, 2017. He was a former senior civil servant and served as the secretary general of the Torba provincial government before becoming an Anglican priest. Father Lonsdale was the 2nd Anglican priest to become head of state in Vanuatu. He served the nation from September 22, 2014 until his death.

Notes:
The Union ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has appointed a new nine-member committee to work on a new National Education Policy (NEP). The former ISRO chief Dr. K Kasturirangan will head the committee on NEP. The committee also includes former IAS officer KJ Alphonse and Ram Shanker Kureel, who has a wide experience in the field of agricultural sciences and management. The committee has been appointed keeping in mind that the members bring expertise related to the diverse areas of education. Significantly, the panel also reflects the diversity of the country as the members belong to different sections as well as regions.

Notes:
Dr. Srinivas Gokulnath from Maharashtra has created history by becoming the first Indian to complete the 4,900-km Race Across America (RAAM) in solo 18-59 age category, which is considered to be the toughest cycle race in the world. He completed the race in 11 days, 18 hours and 45 minutes. Not only Gokunath but another Indian from Maharashtra, Dr Amit Samarth of Nagpur, crossed the finish line at Annapolis on American east coast. Gokunath stood seventh and Samarth was a position below him among the total nine cyclists who finished the race. Christoph Strasser was the winner of the race. RAAM is not a stage based cycle race. It is a continuous cycle race that allows less than two hours of rest per day and is supposed to be finished inside 12 days. The cyclists pedal around 400 km per day.

Notes:
The Dudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 490.3 km2, with a buffer zone of 190 km2 (73 sq mi). It is home to swamp deer, sambar deer, barking deer, spotted deer, hog deer, tiger, Indian rhinoceros, sloth bear, ratel, jackal, civets, jungle cat, fishing cat, etc. The park is home to one of the finest forests in India, some of these trees are more than 150 years old and over 70 ft tall.

Notes:
Rajesh V Shah has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of governors of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and will be in charge till March 31, 2019. He succeeded former cricketer Chetan Chauhan, who resigned from the post after being made the Sports Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
Rajiv Kumar, the 1981-batch IAS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh. He succeeded Rahul Prasad Bhatnagar, who has been made chairman of Greater Noida and investment commissioner. Prior to his latest assignment, Rajiv Kumar was Secretary in Shipping ministry, Government of India (GoI).

Notes:
Raghubar Das, the Chief Minister of Jharkhand, has recently inaugurated the India’s largest fresh water aquarium “Ranchi Machchli Ghar” at Bhagwan Birsa Munda Biodiversity Park in Ranchi to encourage tourism in the state. The aquarium is spread over in 36,000 sq feet area and it has 58 fish tank, where 120 species of 1500 fishes have been displayed. Besides Indian breeds, rare and popular species have been brought in from Bangkok, Malaysia and Singapore.