Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

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.

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Maneka Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development (WCD), has laid the foundation stone of India’s first advanced DNA forensic laboratory “Sakhi Suraksha” in the campus of Central Forensic Science Lab of Chandigarh as part efforts to reduce the backlog of cases needing advanced forensic analysis. It will be built at a cost of Rs 99.76 crore from the Nirbhaya Fund. The state-of-the-art lab will assist in investigation and prosecution of crimes including those committed against women and children. It will contribute to address the gap in forensic DNA analysis of pending sexual assault cases in the country. Forensic science plays a vital role in the criminal justice delivery system by providing investigators with scientifically based information through the analysis of physical evidence.

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Timothy Pereira (75), the former international footballer who represented Tata FC, has passed away in Mumbai on June 1, 2018. He played for the country in 1967-68. Pereira also played hockey and represented Catholic Gymkhana in the local league.

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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:
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:
Sanjana Ramesh has won the ‘Most Valuable Player’ (MVP) award at the Basketball Without Borders Asia 2018, which featured 66 campers from 16 countries from the Asia-Pacific region. Her compatriot Vaishnavi Yadav won the ‘Girls Grit Award’ in the camp. The camp got underway with the girls championship game between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. Coached on the sidelines by Ruth Riley and Sakshi Sheoran, the Lynx defeated the Liberty 20-13.

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:
The Kune Falls is a scenic waterfall situated near Kune village in Pune district of Maharashtra. It is a three tiered waterfalls with a total height of 200m; the highest drop being 100m. The falls attracts tourists in large numbers during the rainy season when the waterfall is in its peak form and flows down with a huge gush. It is the 14th highest waterfall in India.

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The Fuego volcano is an active stratovolcano in Guatemala that has recently erupted violently and buried several villages on its southern flank. The death toll has risen to 99 in the Fuego volcano eruption. The National Forensic Sciences Agency stated that, of the 99 people, only 28 have been identified, so far. Some 200 people are still missing, amid fears of a new blowup of the 3,763-metre volcano. The volcano is only 27 miles southwest of the capital Guatemala City, and ash has reached as far as the city’s airport, forcing it to close. At its peak, the Fuego reaches 12,346 feet above sea level and it is one of the most active volcanoes in Latin America. It sits on the Ring of Fire, a 25,000-mile horseshoe-shaped area where several tectonic plates rub against each other, creating intense volcanic activity and earthquakes. Three quarters of the world’s active volcanoes can be found on the Ring of Fire.

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The National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of Tobacco Control Measures for achievement of Goals under National Health Policy (2017) has inaugurated by Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Choubey in New Delhi on June 6, 2018. The Ministers of State also released the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2 India Report, 2016-17 and guidelines for establishing tobacco cessation centres in dental colleges at the consultation and felicitated tobacco workers who have transitioned to other livelihood options. The two-day consultation will focus on capacity-building of the National Tobacco Control Progamme Nodal Officers. Among the key areas of deliberation will be multi-sectoral engagement for implementation of WHO FCTC in India and synergizing tobacco control with new health initiatives. Tobacco is responsible for 4.5 lakh Cardio Vascular Diseases (CVD) deaths in the country. In 2011, the total economic cost attributable to tobacco use from all diseases in India for persons aged 35-69 years amounted to a staggering Rs. 1,04,500 crores.