Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

Notes:
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways & Coal, has launched two new mobile apps – ‘Rail Madad’ and ‘Menu on Rails’ – to ease the travelling experience of the commuters. The Rail Madad app is aimed at expediting & streamlining passenger grievance redressal while the ‘Menu on Rails’ app will allow passengers to check the list of meals and beverages served on all type of trains and their prices. The Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel) app allows passengers to lodge complaints through mobile app/web platform and enables them to check real-time feedback on the status of redressal of their complaints. The app for the first time completely digitized the Complaint management system. It integrates RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger Grievance Redressal and Management System) developed by Northern Railway (Delhi Division). Rail MADAD also displays various helpline numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc) and provides direct calling facility for immediate assistance in one easy step

Notes:
India hosted the 10th meeting of Global Alliance to Eliminate Lymphatic Filariasis (GAELF) in New Delhi with theme ‘Celebrating progress towards elimination: Voices from the field on overcoming programme challenges’ on June 13, 2018. On this occasion, the Union Health Minister J P Nadda released the Accelerated Plan for Elimination of Lymphatic Filariasis (APELF) 2018 for India. GAELF is an alliance of partners from 72 LF endemic national country programmes that assists WHO’s Global Programme to Eliminate LF. Lymphatic Filariasis (LF) or commonly known as Elephantiasis is one of the oldest and most debilitating neglected disease, which is currently endemic in 73 countries of the world, including India. LF disease is caused mainly by Wuchereria Bancrofti and spread by Culex mosquito. This mosquito grows in dirty accumulated water. The disease affects the poorest population in society, particularly those living in areas with poor water, sanitation and hygiene. LF does not kill the affected people, but may cause permanent disfigurement, reduced productivity and social stigma.

Notes:
Mulubha Jadeja (88), a right-handed batsman, has passed away in Rajkot, Gujarat on June 12, 2018. He represented Saurashtra and Railways between 1945 and 1964. He played 31 first-class matches, scoring 1,373 runs with an average of 26.92.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the nomination of the Union Home Minister as the ex-officio chairman of the North Eastern Council (NEC). The NEC is a statutory body with Governors and Chief Ministers of all the eight North Eastern States as its Member. The Cabinet also approved that Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of DoNER would serve as Vice Chairman of the Council. As per new arrangement, NEC will provide a forum for discussing inter-state matters more comprehensively and also consider common approaches to be taken in future. NEC can now also perform the tasks undertaken by the various Zonal Councils to discuss such inter-State issues as drug trafficking, smuggling of arms and ammunition, boundary disputes etc. This re-positioning of NEC will help it to become a more effective body for the North Eastern Region.

Notes:
Dr. Bindeshwar Pathak, the noted social reformer and founder of Sulabh International, has been honoured with Japan’s prestigious Nikkei Asia Prize for his significant work in tackling poor hygiene and discrimination. The award was given under ‘Culture and Community’ category at the 23rd Nikkei Asia Prize in Tokyo on June 13, 2018. He received the award for the invention of two-pit pour-flush ecological compost toilets that help provide low-cost environment friendly toilets to millions in the developing world. The other two winners of the award are Ma Jun (Economic and Business Innovation), a Chinese environmentalist — for using the power of the internet to promote cleaner industry, and Professor Nguyen Thanh Liem (Science and Technology), a Vietnamese doctor — for bringing cutting-edge medicine for children. Launched in 1996, the award honours people in Asia who have made significant contributions in one of the three areas: regional growth; science, technology and innovation; and culture and community.

Notes:
On June 12, the United States government has approved a deal to sell the Indian military six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for $930 million. The agreement has been passed to the US Congress for approval and if no US lawmaker raises an objection, the contract will go ahead. Boeing and Indian partner Tata have begun to produce Apache fuselages at a plant in India, but the latest approval concerns a direct sale of finished products from the US manufacturers. In addition to aircraft, the contract includes night vision sensors, GPS guidance and hundreds of Hellfire anti-armour and Stinger air-to-air missiles. The lead contractors are US arms, aviations and engineering giants Lockheed Martin, General Electric and Raytheon.

Notes:
The World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) is observed every year on June 14 across the globe to thank voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood. The day also strongly encourages more people to donate blood so that the donor population does not decline and patients requiring transfusion have timely access to safe blood. The 2018 theme is ‘Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life’.

Notes:
The Kodiveri Dam is located on the Bhavani river near Gobichettipalayam in Tamil Nadu. The dam irrigates an area of 24,504 acres. The Bhavani river is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu and a major tributary of the Kaveri River.

Notes:
As per latest report “Global Economic Outlook”, Fitch Ratings has raised India’s growth forecast for 2018-19 to 7.4% from 7.3%, but cited higher financing costs and rising oil prices as risks to growth. It also said that the rupee has been among the worst performers vis-a-vis Asian currencies this year. For FY20, it estimated the country to grow at 7.5%. However, higher financing costs (stemming from monetary tightening and higher market premiums) and rising oil prices should limit the upside to growth.

Notes:
The Jawai dam is built across the Jawai river, a tributary of Luni river, and is situated near Sumerpur town in Pali District of Rajasthan. The dam was built by Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur. This is the biggest dam in the western Rajasthan. The dam has capacity of 7887.5 million cubic feet and covers an area of 102,315 acres of cultivable command area. Its height is about 61.25 feet. Sei dam and Kalibor dam are the feeder dams of the Jawai dam.