Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2017

Notes:
The 4th edition of India-CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, which was organised by the Department of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The purpose of the conference was to identify specific project opportunities and seeks business partnerships in the region. The conclave focused on sectors such as Pharma, Healthcare, manufacturing, Agri Business, Food processing, Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, Leather, Renewable Energy and education.

Notes:
Amjad Hussain B Sial, a senior Pakistani diplomat, has become the new Secretary-General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). He succeeded Arjun Bahadur Thapa of Nepal. Sial has 33 years of experience in Pakistan’s Foreign Service. He has also served at SAARC Secretariat as director in Kathmandu. The Secretary-General tenure is of three years and is the head of the SAARC Secretariat, which is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal. The SAARC Secretariat coordinates and monitors the implementation of activities, hosts meetings, and serves as a channel of communication between the Association and its member states as well as other regional organizations.

Notes:
Ajay Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has become the 9th Chairman of markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for a period of 3-years on March 1, 2017. He succeeded U K Sinha. Prior to this appointment, he has handled capital markets division in the Finance Ministry. Tyagi also has diverse experience at the Centre. He was Joint Secretary in Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change before joining Finance Ministry in November 2014 as Additional Secretary. He has also worked in ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Steel and Rural Development. The chairman of SEBI receives a consolidated pay package of Rs 4.5 lakh per month.

Notes:
Telecom Secretary J S Deepak, a 1982 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, has been appointed as India’s permanent representative to World Trade Organization (WTO) from June 1, 2017. According to the official order, he has been shifted from the telecom ministry and has made Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Department of Commerce in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries with immediate effect till May 31, 2017. The WTO is a global international organisation dealing with the rules of trade between nations.

Notes:
The Zero Discrimination Day (ZDD) is observed every year on March 1 to promote and celebrate everyone’s right to live a full life with dignity—no matter what they look like, where they come from or whom they love. The symbol for Zero Discrimination is the butterfly, widely recognized as a sign of transformation. The 2017 theme is “Make Some Noise for Zero Discrimination”.

Notes:
Rabi Ray (91), the noted socialist leader and former Lok Sabha speaker, has recently passed away in Cuttack, Odisha. Ray was the Union Minister of health and family welfare in the Morarji Desai ministry from January 1979 to January 1980 and the speaker of 9th Lok Sabha from 1989-1991. In 1991, he was re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha from Kendrapada in Odisha. He was also a former chairman of Common Wealth Speakers Forum.

Notes:
Narendra Kumar, an officer of Central Water Engineering Service (1979 batch), has recently taken charge as Chairman of Central Water Commission (CWC). The CWC is an apex organization in India in the field of Water Resources that came into existence in 1945. The CWC is charged with the general responsibility of initiating, coordinating and furthering in consultation with the State Governments concerned, schemes for the control, conservation and utilization of water resources in the respective state for the purpose of flood management, irrigation, drinking water supply and water power generation.

Notes:
Jiratchaya Sirimongkolnawin from Thailand has been crowned the new Miss International Queen 2016 at a contest billed as the world’s largest and most popular transgender pageant. This 12th edition of beauty pageant was held in Pattaya City, Thailand on March 10, 2017. The mission of the pageant aims towards LGBT and Transgender awareness and equality in both society and workforce.

Notes:
The World Consumer Rights Day (WCRD) is observed every year on March 15 to promote the basic rights of all consumers, demanding that those rights are respected and protected. It also gives people a chance to protest against the market abuses and social injustices. The 2017 theme is ‘Building a Digital World Consumers can Trust’. In India, besides the WCRD, we observe the National Consumer Day (NCD) on 24th of December every year.

Notes:
The committee constituted under the Chairmanship of Madhukar Gupta, has submitted its report to the Government of India (GoI) to strengthen border protection and address vulnerabilities in fencing along the Indo-Pakistan border. The Committee has given its recommendations broadly on the issues of threats and border protection, assessment of force level, deployment on the border, infrastructure and technology issues for protection of border and administrative issues. It has been decided to initiate action in light of the recommendations of the Committee in consultation with the stakeholders. This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to question by J.J.T. Natterjee and E.T. Mohammed Basheer in the Lok Sabha on March 14, 2017.