GK & Current Affairs Quiz: August 02, 2018

Notes:
The first ‘Nepal-India Think Tank’ Summit was held in Kathmandu on July 31 to foster greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the think tanks of the two countries. It was inaugurated by Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, the former Prime Minister of Nepal and Co-Chairman of ruling Nepal Communist Party. The summit was jointly organized by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDA) and Nehru Memorial Museum Library (NMML). The purpose of the summit was to support the networks and promote mutual understanding through institutional collaboration on resource sharing for joint events / publications among think tanks of the two countries. The participants including think tanks, policy makers, diplomats, academicians, businesspersons and journalists deliberated on the Indo-Nepal ties and its dimensions in different sessions.

Notes:
The Myanmar Government has appointed an independent 4- member commission to investigate alleged human rights abuses against the ethnic Rohingya minority. The Independent Commission will investigate the allegations of human rights violations and related issues, following the terrorist attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The commission will be comprised of two local members & two international members. It will be headed by Filipino diplomat Rosario Manalo. The other members includes Japan’s former ambassador to the UN Kenzo Oshima, lawyer Mya Thein and economist and former UN official Aung Tun Thet. In August 2017, more than 700,000 Rohingya have fled Myanmar’s western Rakhine state to Bangladesh after a military crackdown started in response to attacks by ARSA on security posts.

Notes:
The Chhattisgarh government has launched a smartphone distribution scheme ‘Mobile Tihar’ under the Sanchar Kranti Yojna (SKY). The scheme is for distribution of smartphones to women and students, covering over 50 Lakh beneficiaries. As part of the scheme, 556 new mobile towers will be installed across the state. ‘Mobile Tihar’ was launched by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh, along with National Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut on July 31.

Notes:
The first cow sanctuary in Rajasthan will be situated in Napasar, Bikaner to dedicate the entire area for cows, much on the lines of a wildlife sanctuary. It will provide shelter for 10,000 bovines spread over an area of more than 220 hectares in Bikaner district. The facilities in the sanctuary will include hospitals and Sewan grass as fodder for the animals. The state government has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private trust in this regard. The cow sanctuary will be the latest in a string of initiatives announced by the BJP government in the state for the protection of bovines since it came to power in 2013. The state already has a ministry dedicated to the welfare of cows and last year it had announced a 10% surcharge on stamp duty towards cow protection.

Notes:
The 2018 BRICS Film Festival took place in Durban, South Africa, along with the International Durban Film Festival (DIFF) from 22-27th July. The last day of the festival was celebrated as India Country Day, followed by Awards and Closing Ceremony. The basic aim of film festival is to celebrate world-class film productions from the BRICS nations with the objective of inspiring more collaboration from these nations. The festival screened four Indian Films, ‘Newton’ and ‘Village Rockstars’ in the competition section, and Sandeep Pampally’s ‘Sinjar’ and Jayara’s ‘Bhanayakam’ in the non-competition section. “Newton”, directed by Amit Masurkar, bagged the best film award, while “Village Rockstars” (directed by Rima Das) won the Best Actress (Bhanita Das) and Special Jury Award in the BRICS Film Festival 2018.

Notes:
The Madhya Pradesh government will observe the 2018 Independence Day eve as Shahid Samman Divas to honour martyrs. The decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting in Bhopal on July 30, 2018. According to official information, it will be a comprehensive program and spread across all the villages, blocks and districts of Madhya Pradesh, where rallies will be organized to mark the day. The martyrs will be paid homage and the relatives of the martyrs will also be honoured on the day. Ministers, members of Parliament and state legislative assembly and chief Minister himself will meet family members of martyrs on the occasion to express gratitude for supreme sacrifice done by their near and dear for the nation.

Notes:
Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the former West Bengal governor, has been selected for 2018 Rajiv Gandhi Sadbhavana Award for his outstanding contribution towards the promotion of communal harmony, peace and goodwill. The award will be presented to him at a special ceremony on August 20 at Jawahar Bhawan. The award, which carries a citation and cash amount of Rs 10 lakh, is given on the occasion of the birthday of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. It was instituted to commemorate the lasting contribution made by him to promote peace, communal harmony and fight against violence.

Notes:
The World Rangers Day (WRD) is celebrated every year on July 31 to remember and appreciate the crucial services rendered by rangers who protect, conserve and preserve the biodiversity of our forests at the cost of their lives. The day also commemorates all the selfless men and women who lost their lives protecting defenseless animals against human greed in the line of duty.

Notes:
The Meenakshi Amman temple is a historic Hindu temple located on the southern bank of the Vaigai River in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. Recently, it is in news because the famous Goddess Meenakshi temple has got its first non-Brahmin as ‘archaka’ (priest), 12 years after the Tamil Nadu government passed an order for appointment of people from any caste as priests. The new priest, belonging to a backward caste, was among the 206 people who had undergone training conducted by the ancient temple administration. The temple has appointed the priest with conditions which included that he could be suspended if he violated the ‘Agama’ rules, a manual for worship of the deity, rituals and construction of temples.

Notes:
The United States has recently granted Strategic Trade Authorization-1 (STA-1) status to India that will ease export of high-tech items. The designation authorises the export, re-export and transfer (in-country) of specified items on the Commerce Control List (CCL) to destinations posing a low risk of unauthorised or impermissible uses. Currently, there are 36 countries on STA-1 list, almost all from the Nato and ANZUS alliance. India is the only South Asian country to be on the list. Other Asian countries designated as STA-1 are Japan and South Korea. Till recently India was designated as STA-2 countries along with seven others. According to the Department of Commerce, items that are eligible for export to STA1 destinations or nationals include items that are subject to control for: national security (NS), chemical or biological weapons (CB), nuclear nonproliferation (NP), regional stability (RS), crime control (CC) and significant items (SI).