GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 15, 2018

Notes:
The 106th Indian Science Congress (ISC-2019) will be held at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Jalandhar, Punjab from 3rd to 7th January 2019. The theme of the 5-day science congress is ‘Future India: Science & Technology’. Approx 15,000 delegates, including 300 top scientists and Nobel Laureates from across world are expected to attend the congress. The science congress will have 18 plenary sessions, including those of medical, chemical, environmental and other science domains. There will also be four parallel mega events, including the children’s science conference; women’s science conference; science communicators’ meet; and, science exhibition. The exhibition will see participation from the national and international science companies, especially from the US, Australia, Germany and Switzerland.

Notes:
India will host the 23rd European Union Film Festival (EUFF-2018) at the Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi from 18 – 24 June. The festival will improve cultural ties between India and European countries. Approx 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries will be screened. The festival is organized by Directorate of Film Festivals (DFF) under Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, partnering with the delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has signed pact with Quebec province of Canada to increase economic cooperation and welfare of the tribal community. The key areas of focus are information technology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and welfare of the tribal community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is on a week-long tour to the US and Canada, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on June 13, 2018.

Notes:
Shujaat Bukhari (50), the veteran journalist and editor of Srinagar based Rising Kashmir newspaper, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his office in the Press Enclave area of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on June 14, 2018. Apart from Bukhari, his two personal security officers (PSOs) Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan were also killed outside the newspaper’s office. Bukhari was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir Valley. He was also part of the Track II process with Pakistan.

Notes:
Dhivya Suryadevara, an Indian-American woman, has been named the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) of the US’ largest automaker, General Motors (GM). With this, she will become the first woman CFO in the auto industry. Currently, she is the vice president of corporate finance and will succeed Chuck Stevens on 1st September 2018. She will report to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mary Barra who has been head of the automaker since 2014.

Notes:
S Sundari Nanda, a 1988 AGMU cadre Indian Police Service officer in the rank of ADGP, has been posted as the first woman Director General of Police (DGP) of Union Territory of Puducherry. DGP Sunil Kumar Gautam has been transferred from Puducherry to the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCTD) in place of Ms. Nanda. Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer of the country, is the Lt Governor of the Union Territory.

Notes:
Anil Kumar from Madhya Pradesh has clinched the gold in the 10m Air Rifle event at the 18th KSS Memorial Shooting Championship 2018 in the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on June 14, 2018. Anil scored 246.7 to finish on top while Air Force’s Manoj Dalal scored 245.2 to take silver and his teammate Deepak Kumar finished with bronze with a score of 224.6. In the 10M Air Rifle Youth Men category, Sahu Mane of Maharashtra clinched gold with a 251.1 score, while Aishwarya Tomar of Madhya Pradesh scored 249.9 to clinch silver. Rajasthan’s Yashwardan settled for bronze with a 229.9.

Notes:
On June 14, the Minister for Water Resources Nitin Gadkari released Niti Aayog’s composite water management index report in New Delhi. Gujarat topped the list while Jharkhand was adjudged as the worst performer. Gujarat is followed by Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. In the northeastern and Himalayan states, Tripura has been adjudged as the top state in 2016-17 followed by Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Assam. Niti Aayog has ranked the states through first of its kind index on the composite water management, comprising 9 broad sectors with 28 different indicators covering various aspects. The report predicted that by 2030, the country’s water demand is projected to be twice the available supply, implying severe water scarcity for hundreds of millions of people.

Notes:
The Kodiveri Dam is located on the Bhavani river near Gobichettipalayam in Tamil Nadu. The dam irrigates an area of 24,504 acres. The Bhavani river is the second longest river in Tamil Nadu and a major tributary of the Kaveri River.

Notes:
The National Institute of Yoga is an autonomous and non profit making institute, which is established by the Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The institute is also known as the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). It acts as the nodal agency for the development and promotion of yoga culture across the country. Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.