Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

Notes:
The 2018 International Conference on TRIPS- CBD Linkage will be held in Geneva, Switzerland on 7-8 June 2018. The conference will bring together indigenous people/local communities in developing and developed countries, internationally acclaimed academicians working on the subject, Geneva-based negotiators and capital based experts. Resource persons, stakeholders and experts from a large number of countries, including Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, and the US, would participate in the international conference. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a multilateral agreement on sustainable development and fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resource. It has membership of 196 countries.

Notes:
Indian star cricketer Yuvraj Singh has been honoured with the ‘Most inspiring icon of the year for Social Welfare’ award by the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF) for his exemplary contribution in the field of social welfare. Yuvraj, who was a member of India’s 2011 World Cup winning squad, was diagnosed with cancer (mediastinal seminoma) shortly after the World Cup. After successfully completing his chemotherapy cycle in the United States, Yuvraj returned to India in 2012 and made his international comeback in a Twenty20 match against New Zealand. Post his diagnosis, Yuvraj launched the YouWeCan foundation to fight Cancer by spreading awareness about the aggressive disease.

Notes:
Assamese Singer Zubeen Garg will be honoured with the ‘Hero to Animals Award’ from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India for his recent appeal to end animal sacrifice at the Kamakhya Temple in Assam. Zubeen had expressed his anguish over the ritual of animal sacrifice and appealed for putting an end to the practice while performing at a Bihu function near the temple recently. The priests of the Kamakhya Temple had subsequently criticised Zubeen for his statement and demanded an apology from him at the earliest.

Notes:
Amit Khare, a 1985-batch IAS officer of the Jharkhand cadre, has taken assumed charge as new Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B). He succeeded Narendra Kumar Sinha. Prior to the appointment as Secretary, Khare was Additional Chief Secretary in Jharkhand government. During a career span of more than 33 years, Khare has held various field postings and has worked from grassroots to the higher levels of governance in both State and Central Governments. He has also worked as Member Secretary in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Union Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers and Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD).

Notes:
The Union Government has set up an executive committee, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to spread Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy among the people at the national and international level. The committee comprises, senior cabinet ministers, the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha, renowned Gandhians, social activists and noted public figures. The panel was formed after the first meeting of the National Committee (NC) under the chairmanship of President Ram Nath Kovind to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. During the meeting, it was decided to form a sub-committee to consider policies and lay down guidelines for the celebrations. The NC has 125 members, of which 116 are from India. Other members are acclaimed foreign members.

Notes:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched a new Ensemble Prediction Systems (EPS) to provide probabilistic weather forecasts up to the next 10 days. According to IMD, these new systems shall improve upon deterministic forecasts that are prone to high margins of error. These systems also use a higher resolution 12 km grid scale, instead of the 23 km resolution that has been in use till now. The forecast related to the intensity of the weather will also be more accurate and colour coded. The new model has been developed jointly by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology and National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting. With this new model, India joins the US with a model that predicts with a 12 km resolution. Only the ‘European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecast’ has a better 9-kilometer resolution. Better forecasts lead to better management agriculture and water resources. It also helps promote tourism, solar and wind energy.

Notes:
India has been ranked 113th among 175 countries in the “End of Childhood Index 2018”, issued by global child rights group “Save the Children”. The Index which is part of the report titled “The Many Faces of Exclusion” indicated that the child marriages in India have come down to 15.2% from 21.1% in 2017. It is significant to point that the child marriage data assessed does not include data on consensual unions. However, the Index shows that under five mortality rate (deaths per 1000 live births) was 43 which is a cause of concern. Also child stunting (children aged 0-59 months) was 38.4% and rated as high. The Index ranked countries with regards to where childhood is threatened as a result of poor health, malnutrition, exclusion from education, child labour, child marriage, early pregnancy and extreme violence. Singapore and Slovenia are placed at the top sharing the first place in the index and Niger figures at the end of the list at 175.

Notes:
The Ministry of Agriculture and farmers welfare in line with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of doubling farmers’ income by 2022 has launched the Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan from 1st June to 31st July, 2018. The purpose of the scheme is to aid, assist and advice farmers on how to improve their farming techniques and raise their incomes. The Krishi kalyan Abhiyaan will be undertaken in 25 Villages with more than 1000 population each in Aspirational Districts identified in consultation with Ministry of Rural Development as per directions of NITI Ayog. In districts where number of villages (with more than 1000 population) is less than 25, all villages will be covered. Farm science centres called Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) will coordinate and implement the programme.

Notes:
The Chandrabhaga beach on the Konark coast of Odisha has become the Asia’s first beach to get the Blue Flag certification — the tag given to environment-friendly and clean beaches, equipped with amenities of international standards for tourists. The beach awarded the honour on World Environment Day (WED) on June 5, 2018. Apart from this, 12 more Indian beaches are being developed by the Society for Integrated Coastal Management (SICOM), an Environment Ministry’s body working for the management of coastal areas, in accordance with the Blue Flag certification standards. Among them are the Chiwla and Bhogave beaches in Maharashtra and one beach each from Puducherry, Goa, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Blue Flag beach standards were established by Copenhagen-based Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) in 1985. In order to get the Blue Flag tag, a beach has to be plastic-free and be equipped with a waste management system.

Notes:
On June 6, the screening of the biopic ‘Making of the Mahatma’ in Pietermaritzburg marked the opening of a three-day series of events to commemorate the historic incident 125 years ago when Mahatma Gandhi was evicted from a train because the compartment he was in was reserved for whites only. On the night of June 7, 1893, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a young lawyer then, was thrown off the train’s first class compartment at Pietermaritzburg station in South Africa for refusing to give up his seat. The incident led him to develop his Satyagraha principles of peaceful resistance and mobilise people in South Africa and in India against the discriminatory rules of the British. The film, a co-production between India and South Africa, was made in 1996, soon after Nelson Mandela ascended to the position of South Africa’s first democratically-elected President. The film was directed by Shyam Benegal based on the book ‘Apprenticeship of a Mahatma’ by late freedom activist Prof Fatima Meer.