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:
Tata Motors Ltd.  has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State Government of Maharashtra for deployment of 1000 Electric Vehicles (EV) across its range of passenger and commercial vehicles in the State. The company also partnered Tata group company, Tata Power Ltd to set up of EV Charging Stations in the State. The MoU will boost the Maharashtra Electric Vehicle Policy 2018 in accelerating the adoption of Evs in Maharashtra.

Notes:
Dr. Dinesh Gupta, an officer of the 1983 UPSC batch, has been appointed as the new Director General (DG) of the Geological Survey of India (GSI). He took over from N Kutumba Rao to become the 47th DG of the GSI. Gupta is an expert in mineral exploration and responsibility has been given to him to steer GSI in this field.

Notes:
Leela Menon (86), the senior journalist and chief editor of Malayalam daily Janmabhumi, has passed away in Kochi, Kerala on June 3, 2018. Menon, who began her journalistic career with The Indian Express in New Delhi in 1978, shot into the limelight for her wide-range of ‘exclusive’ stories and courageous reporting. She used to write for The Hindu, Outlook, and regional dailies. In an era with very few opportunities for woman in media, she broke the glass ceiling by breaking several stories of national relevance like the rampant poverty and prostitution at Aruvacode in Malappuram district, Vypeen hooch tragedy, Suryanelli case and Thopumpaddy prostitution racket. She exposed the first high-profile case of ‘Love Jihad. Ms. Menon penned an autobiography titled ‘Nilaykatha Symphony’.

Notes:
Mahesh Kumar Jain, who is currently MD & CEO of IDBI Bank, has been appointed as the fourth deputy governor Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India for a period of three years. The post was lying vacant since the retirement of S.S. Mundra in August 2017. With more than 30 years of experience in banking, Jain has been at the helm of IDBI Bank since March 2017. As per the RBI Act, the central bank should have four deputy governors – two from within the ranks and one commercial banker and another an economist to head the monetary policy department. The other deputy governors at RBI are Viral Acharya, B.P. Kanungo and N.S. Vishwanathan.

Notes:
Omar Razzaz, a Harvard-educated former senior World Bank official, has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Jordan by King Abdullah II. He succeeded Hani Mulki, who recently resigned as a result of widespread protests against his government’s austerity program. Prior to this post, Razzaz served as education minister in the outgoing Mulki government.

Notes:
India hosted the 11th edition of Geo-Intelligence Asia 2018 at Manekshaw Centre in New Delhi on 04-05 June 2018. It was organised by GeoSpatial Media and Communication with Directorate General of Information System as Knowledge Partners and Military Survey as Co-organisers. The theme of Seminar was ‘GeoSpatial : A Force Multiplier for Defense and Internal Security’. The aim of the event is to provide a platform to showcase the innovative applications of the Geospatial technologies. The seminar brought together the military, security officials including BSF and Police Forces, Government and industry together to examine the latest technology solutions and on the critical role of geospatial technology in military and security applications.

Notes:
The Punjab government has launched a “Business First Portal” to give a big push towards the ease of doing business in the state. It was unveiled by Industry Minister Sunder Sham Arora in Jalandhar on June 7, 2018. The online portal will facilitate the industrialists for Regulatory Clearances and Fiscal Approvals, real-time tracking of applications at common platform.

Notes:
Mithali Raj has become the first Indian cricketer to score 2,000 runs in T20 International Cricket. She achieved the landmark during India’s 7-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the Women’s Asia Cup T20 at Kaula Lumpur on June 7, 2018. Mithali now has 2,015 runs from 75 matches. She is the seventh woman to reach 2,000 runs in T20 format. The list is headed by England cricketer Charlotte Edwards with 2,605, followed by Stafanie Taylor (2,582) and Suzie Bates (2,515). Interestingly, India men’s team captain Virat Kohli with 1,983 runs is the next on the list, followed by Rohit Sharma (1,852) and Suresh Raina (1,499).

Notes:
India has been ranked 136th among 163 countries in Global Peace Index 2018 due to a reduction in the level of violent crime driven by increased law enforcement. The Index is prepared by Sydney-based international think-tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP). The report provides a comprehensive analysis on the state of world peace. It covers 99.7% of the world’s population and uses 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators grouped into three key domains — ongoing conflict, safety and security, and militarization. The index is topped by Iceland, followed by New Zealand, Portugal, Austria and Denmark. As per the report that ranks 163 independent states and territories, Syria is the least peaceful country followed by Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq and Somalia.