GK & Current Affairs Quiz: July 12, 2019

Notes:
On 12th July 2019, Indian weightlifter Ajay Singh has won Gold in 81 kg category at the Commonwealth Championships in Apia, city of Samoa. He has also created a new Commonwealth record in the clean and jerk category by lifting more than double his body weight (190kg) to score vital points at the Olympic qualifying event. He also smashed the national record in the same category. The other Indian in the 81kg category, Papul Changmai clinched the silver medal by lifting a total of 313kgs.

Notes:
Vikas Swarup, a 1986-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, has been appointed as Secretary, (consular, passport, visa and Overseas Indian affairs) in the External Affairs Ministry. His appointment will come into effect from August 1, 2019. At present, he is India’s High Commissioner to Canada. Swarup is the author of award-winning book Q&A, which was adapted into the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. The book bagged the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006 and the Paris Book Fair’s Reader’s Prize.

Notes:
According to a study conducted by property consultant Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE), New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is the 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly USD 144 per sq ft. In its annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CBRE tracks the cost of leasing prime office space globally. At the top of the list was Hong Kong (Central) for the second consecutive year with an average price of $322 per square feet. , followed by London (West End) with an average occupancy rate of $222.7 per square feet. London’s (West End) is ranked 2nd, followed by Hong Kong (Kowloon) and New York (Midtown Manhattan). Beijing’s (Finance Street) is at the fifth position on the list. As per the report, Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Nariman Point-Central Business District (CBD) ranked at 27th and 40th positions, respectively.

Notes:
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has recently launched ‘Operation Thirst’ to crackdown the selling of unauthorized Packaged Drinking Water (PDW). According to RPF, the operation was launched in all major railway stations across the country to curb the menace of unauthorized PDW in the premises of railway stations. During the operation, which was carried out on 8th & 9th July, 1371 persons were arrested for selling of packaged drinking water of unauthorised brands under different sections i.e. 144 & 153 of Railway Act. A total fine amount of Rs 6,80,855 has been realized from these offenders.

Notes:
The 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) has recently released by UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI). As per the report, India lifted 271 million people out of poverty between 2006 and 2016 & recorded the fastest reductions in the MPI values during the period with strong improvements in areas such as assets, cooking fuel, sanitation and nutrition. The global MPI tracks 101 countries on deprivations across 10 indicators in health, education, and standard of living. The report underscored that the traditional concept of poverty is outdated, demonstrating more clearly than ever that labelling countries – or even households – as rich and poor is an oversimplification. The report also highlighted a positive trend that those furthest behind are moving up the fastest. The multi-dimensionally poor means that poverty is defined not simply by income, but by a number of indicators, including poor health, poor quality of work and the threat of violence.