Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

Notes:
The 26th edition of the world’s largest multilateral naval exercise ‘Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC-2018)’ has started on June 27 off Hawaii in the Western Pacific Ocean. The 2-month long biennial exercise is likely to be attended by navies of 26 countries including India. Indian Naval Ship Sahyadri has already reached the Pearl Harbour in Hawaii to participate in the RIMPAC exercise. The Indian Navy in statement said INS Sahyadri, commanded by Captain Shantanu Jha, is a state-of-the-art indigenously built guided missile stealth frigate which is a part of the Eastern Fleet under the Eastern Naval Command. India’s participation in the exercise provides a platform for increased interoperability and development of common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.

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The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched report titled ‘Women in Prisons’ which aims to build an understanding of the various entitlements of women in prisons, the various issues faced by them and possible methods for resolution of the same. The report contains a comprehensive list of 134 recommendations for improving the lives of women under incarceration, addressing a wide range of issues pertaining to pregnancy and childbirth in prison, mental health, legal aid, reintegration in society and their care giving responsibilities among others. The report proposes that bail should be granted to those under-trial women who have spent one-third of their maximum possible sentence in detention, by making necessary changes in Section 436A of the CrPC which provides for release after half of the maximum sentence has been served.

Notes:
Donald Hall, the award-winning American poet and writer, has passed away in New Hampshire, United States on June 23, 2018. Hall began writing when he was just 12 years old. Over the course of a career that spanned more than seven decades, he wrote more than 40 books, half of which were works of poetry. He was the United States Poet Laureate for 2007-08. He received the Robert Frost Medal in 1991 and the National Medal of Arts, the nation’s highest honour for artists, in 2010.

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For screening cervical cancer, a new Liquid Based Cytology (LBC) technique — Direct to Slide — has launched in Tamil Nadu. The LBC technique would help in detecting cervical cancer during the pre-cancerous stages. In LBC, a soft brush is used to touch the cervix and take cells from the neck of the uterus. This is transferred into a bottle containing a preservative and sent for laboratory analysis. The cell contents are processed on a slide. In the conventional method, the total number of cells collected may not get transferred onto the slide, while in LBC, whatever sample is taken gets transferred onto the slide.

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In a bid to boost environmental protection around the world, India will increase its grant from 12 million to 15 million to the Global Environment Facility (GEF)’s new four-year investment cycle, known as GEF-7. It was announced by India’s representative to GEF Council Aparna Subramani, during a meeting of the GEF Council in Da Nang, Vietnam. The meeting was part of a 4-day-long conference scheduled to conclude on June 28. Apart from her home country, Subramani also represents Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka in the GEF Council. India, which is both a donor and a recipient of GEF, is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change. The GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, which is a multilateral financial mechanism to provide grants for environmental projects.

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The Maharashtra government has constituted a committee to study issues related to the development of a 1,000-MW floating solar power plant at Ujani dam in Solapur district. The committee will be headed by Satish Chavan, the Director (Commercial) of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL). Beside this, the committee will also study the environmental impact of the project and monitor the month-wise water level of the dam. Ujani dam is an earthfill cum Masonry gravity dam located near Ujjani village of Madha Taluk in Solapur district. The dam is on the Bhima River, a tributary of the Krishna River, and has a total capacity of 110 TMC.

Notes:
The United Nations’ (UN) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture is observed every year on June 26 to speak out against the crime of torture and to honor and support victims and survivors throughout the world. The day is an opportunity to call on all stakeholders including UN Member States, civil society and individuals everywhere to unite in support of the hundreds of thousands of people around the world who have been victims of torture and those who are still tortured today.

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‘IPledgefor9′ Achievers Awards were given recently to individuals and teams of doctors from the private sector and States for their exemplary services, outstanding support of institutions and commitment from support partners in achieving PMSMA’s objectives of safe motherhood to every woman in the country. These awards were established to celebrate individual and team achievements and acknowledge voluntary contributions for PMSMA in states and districts across India.

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The theme selected for the Statistics Day this year is ‘‘Quality Assurance in Official Statistics’ for focused discussions and efforts throughout the year, aimed at bringing about improvements in the selected area.

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The first-ever International Day of Parliamentarism is celebrated across the world on 30th June 2018 to recognize the importance of parliaments and their responsibility of representing the people. The day is not only an occasion to stress the critical importance of parliaments in any democratic society but also to reinforce the call for a global parliament. It is also an opportunity for parliaments to take stock, identify challenges, and ways to address them effectively. This date was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in a resolution 72/278 adopted on May 22nd as it coincides with the day in 1889, on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) — the global umbrella organization of parliaments — was founded. The parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament. The oldest parliament is the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, founded in 930.