GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 16-17, 2018

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:
Smriti Mandhana, an Indian Women’s Cricket team opener, will become the first Indian player to appear in the Kia Super League, the women’s cricket super league in England. The League will begin from July 22, 2018. Smriti was signed by Western Storm and will represent the side in the upcoming edition of the tournament that features six teams. She has appeared in 40 T20Is so far and has a highest score of 76. In May 2018, she captained IPL Trailblazers in the Women’s T20 Challenge, which took place ahead of IPL Qualifier one. Smriti has also featured in the Big Bash League for Brisbane Heat.

Notes:
Russia has successfully launched a Glonass- M positioning satellite by using a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from the Plesetsk space center on June 17, 2018. The Glonass network provides real-time positioning data for surface, sea and airborne objects around the globe, at an accuracy reportedly at par with the U.S. Global Positioning System.

Notes:
The conference on implementation of National Pension System (NPS) by the Central Autonomous Bodies (CABs) was held in New Delhi. It was organized by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). The prime objective of the conference was to provide a forum to all the CABs, where the progress in the implementation of NPS with respect to compliance of timelines in various NPS related activities could be brought to the fore and a way forward could be provided.

Notes:
Omar al-Razzaz, the former World Bank Economist, has been sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Jordan after King Abdullah issued a decree approving the new government. He succeeded Hani al-Mulki, who resigned following mass protests over price hikes and other government economic policies. Omar, who studied at Harvard University, was tasked with reviewing the country’s disputed tax system.

Notes:
Flying Officer Meghana Shanbough MR, an engineering graduate, has become the sixth female fighter pilot to join the ranks of Indian Air Force (IAF). She is the first from Karnataka and South India. She graduates from the Air Force Academy (AFA) in Dundigal. The other fighter pilots: Avani Chaturvedi from Madhya Pradesh, Bhawana Kanth from Bihar and Mohana Singh from Rajasthan have already scripted history by becoming the first-ever women to undergo fighter pilot training in IAF at Hakimpet Air Force station in Hyderabad.

Notes:
The International Domestic Workers Day (IDWD) is celebrated every year across the world on June 16 to assert the rights of this vast but hidden workforce. On this day in 2011, IDWD was declared to commemorate the adoption of International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention C189. C189 set labour standards for domestic workers such as rest hours, wages, min age, and living arrangements. So far, 25 countries ratified the convention, recognizing millions of domestic workers and giving them a voice to advocate for their rights. According to the ILO, there are around 53 million domestic workers worldwide, 83% of whom are women. In India, 3 out of 5 domestic workers are women.

Notes:
Adiraju Venkateswara Rao (80), the veteran journalist and author, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on June 15, 2018. Popularly known as Adiraju, Venkateswara Rao was born in 1938 at Panditapuram village in Khammam district. In a career spanning over five-and-a-half decades, he worked for several Telugu and English dailies and news agencies including Andhra Jyothi, Udayam, Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, Himachal Times and Hindustan Samachar at Hyderabad and Delhi.

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.

Notes:
Manu S. Pillai has authored the book ” The Ivory Throne : Chronicles of the House of Travancore” , a critically acclaimed 700-page history of Kerala focused on the last woman Maharajah of Travancore. It won him the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar in 2017. Pillai’s retelling of this sprawling saga focuses on the remarkable life and work of Sethu Lakshmi Bayi, the last – and forgotten – queen of the House of Travancore. The Ivory Throne conjures up a dramatic world of political intrigues and factions, black magic and conspiracies, crafty ceremonies and splendorous temple treasures, all harnessed in a tragic contest for power and authority in the age of empire.