GK & Current Affairs Quiz: July 18, 2017

Notes:
Textile minister Smriti Zubin Irani has been given the additional charge of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, while Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given additional charge of Urban Development Ministry. Both the posts fell vacant after Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu resigned to contest Vice presidential election as NDA candidate. Naidu was holding the portfolio since July 2016 in addition to urban development, housing and poverty alleviation ministry.

Notes:
Ananya Dabke from India has won the under-15 girl title at the Dutch Open Junior Squash Championship by defeating Serena Daniel of the US in the final by 11-7, 11-4, 12-10 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Apart from this, the top seeded Neel Joshi bagged the under-15 boys title in the tournament by defeating 5/8 seed Khalil Alhassan of England in the final by 9-11, 11-4, 11-5, 11-6.

Notes:
The World Day for International Justice (WDIJ) is observed every year on July 17 to promote international criminal justice and focus on human rights. This is a day to reflect upon the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to celebrate the international community’s continued efforts to create a more just and peaceful world. The day is also referred as the International Criminal Justice Day (ICJD) or International Justice Day (IJD). This year, in 2017, also marked the 15th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent international court for the prosecution of individuals accused of mass atrocity crimes.

Notes:
The Matunga railway station has become the India’s first station to be run by all women staff. It is a railway station on the Central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. A total of 30 women staffers, including 11 booking clerks, 5 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and seven ticket checkers are working under station manager Mamta Kulkarni, who was the first female station master in Central Railway’s Mumbai division. With this, Matunga station has become the first such ladies special station.

Notes:
Tapsee Pannu has won the 2017 IIFA Woman Of The Year for her role in Pink at the 18th edition of the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards in New York City, United States. Beside this, Shahid Kapoor and Alia Bhatt won the Best Actors award for their remarkable work in Udta Punjab. The best director award goes to Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury for his movie ‘Pink’. The best film award went to Neerja movie that is based on the real life incident in which the air hostess Neerja Bhanot lost her life while saving others on a hijacked flight at Karachi. While Anupam Kher has got the best performance in a Supporting Role-Male category award for the movie M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story and the actress Disha Patani got the best debutant – Female award for the same movie.

Notes:
The Nelson Mandela International Day (NMID) is observed every year on July 18 to mark birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela, the former South African President & Nobel Peace Prize winner, for his tireless struggle against apartheid. The day is an opportunity to reflect on the life and work of a legend who embodied the highest values of the United Nations. Mandela was South Africa’s first black president, who spent 27 years in three different prisons and was an anti-Apartheid icon who led a memorable life. His negotiations in the early 1990s with South African President F.W. de Klerk led to the end of the country’s apartheid system of racial segregation. For their efforts, both of them jointly received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) has launched a dedicated portal ‘SBI Realty’ that will help home buyers to choose flats from its 3,000 approved projects across the country. The portal will help customers to choose their dream home from 3,000 SBI approved projects, which are spread across 13 states and Union Territories covering 30 cities. At present, there are 9.5 lakh home units available on the website. Customers can compare current and past trends of prices for the properties in various localities in the city. The portal will assist customers in calculating appropriate loan amount a customer should borrow based on income and credit profile. The SBI Realty website “www.sbirealty.in” has been developed by SBICAP Securities in association with PropEquity in terms of data support, project information, etc.

Notes:
Tata Motors Ltd. has manufactured India’s first bio—CNG (bio—methane) bus, which was unveiled recently at a bio-energy programme ‘Urja Utsav’ in Pune, Maharashtra. The event was organized by the Union Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The auto-firm has designed and developed bio-methane engines (5.7 SGI & 3.8 SGI) for Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV), Intermediate Commercial Vehicles (ICV) and Medium Commercial Vehicles (MCV) buses. The company displayed three models, including the lead model Tata LPO 1613 with 5.7 SGI NA BS—IV IOBD—II compliant bus. Bio-methane is produced out of biodegradable materials like kitchen waste. The gas, which gets produced by way of natural degradation process, escapes into the atmosphere unused.

Notes:
India has bagged three medals at the recently concluded 2017 Asian Cadet Judo Championship (ACJC) in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. In it, Thangjam Tababi Devi of Manipur won gold for India in the girl’s below 44kg weight category, while Haryana’s Simran clinched a bronze in the girl’s below 40kg division and Paramjeet of Haryana bagged bronze medal in the boy’s below 90kg category.

Notes:
The Dachigam National Park (DNP) is located at Umaria district in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and covers an area of 141 km2. The main animal species that Dachigam is known for is the hangul (or the Kashmir stag). Other species include Musk deer, Leopard, Himalayan serow, Himalayan grey langur, Leopard cat, Himalayan black bear, etc.