GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 21, 2018

Notes:
In the 4th edition of International Yoga Day (IYD-2018), the Guinness World Record (GWR) for largest number of people performing yoga at one place at the same time has been set up in Kota, Rajasthan. At the State level yoga function in Kota, around one lakh 60 thousand people performed yoga at one place at a same time on 21st June. Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev led the people at RAC Ground, where 30 lakh squre feet area was prepared for performing yoga. The representatives of Guinness World Record (GWR) handed over the certificate of world record to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Swami RamDev. In 2017, 55 thousand people of Mysore had set a world record performing yoga at one place at the same time.

Notes:
On June 19, the United States has withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and condemned alleged hypocrisy of its members and bias against Israel. The announcement came after the top UN human rights official criticised Washington for separating migrant children from their parents who are seeking asylum after crossing into the country from Mexico. It must be noted that Washington’s withdrawal is the latest US rejection of multilateral engagement after it pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. It’s not first time that the US has opted to stay out of the UNHRC. When the Council was established in 2006, the administration of George W. Bush withheld its membership over similar concerns. The U.S. joined the body only in 2009 under President Barack Obama. The UNHRC is composed of 47 members — and this is the first time a sitting member country has voluntarily decided to leave. Though, Libya was suspended in 2011 after a government crackdown on unarmed protesters.

Notes:
Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya, has been selected as 100th Smart City of India by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs after evaluating the proposal the proposal submitted by it. With the selection of Shillong, the total proposed investment in the finally selected 100 cities under the Smart Cities Mission would be Rs.2,05,018 crores. Till now, 99 smart cities have been selected in four rounds of competition and with this announcement; selection of 100 cities has been completed under the Smart Cities Mission. Previously, 20 cities were selected in January 2016, 13 cities in May 2016, 27 cities in September 2016, 30 cities in June 2017 and nine cities in January this year. The Smart Cities Mission was launched on June 25, 2015 with the objective of strengthening urban infrastructure through application of smart solutions and give a decent quality of life to citizens.

Notes:
Under ‘India Smart Cities Award’ 2018, Surat Smart City has been selected for ‘City Award’ for showing great momentum in implementation of projects especially in the categories of urban environment, transport and mobility and sustainable integrated development. Beside this, Bhopal and Ahmedabad were selected in the ‘Innovative Idea’ category for their transformative approach towards sustainable integrated development. While 9 smart cities, including NDMC (New Delhi Municipal Council), bagged ‘Project’ awards for innovative and successful projects in 7 categories. Under ‘Social Aspects’ category, NDMC and Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) bagged the award for implementation of ‘Smart Classrooms’ project, while Visakhapatnam was selected for its smart campus project and Pune for ‘lighthouse project’ under which underprivileged youths of the city get a chance to explore possibilities for enhancing their skills and pursuing a meaningful career.

Notes:
Peter Thomson (88), one of Australia’s greatest golfers and a five-time Open Championship winner, has passed away in Melbourne on June 20, 2018. In 1954, he became the first Australian to claim the Open Championship in Britain. Among numerous accolades, Thomson was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1979 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001. The World Golf Hall of Fame called him “the thinking man’s golfer”. Only American Tom Watson in the modern era has matched the feat.

Notes:
Vishwas Mandalik (from Nasik) and The Yoga Institute (in Mumbai) have been selected as recipients of the Prime Minister’s award for outstanding contribution for promotion and development of yoga for the year 2018. The selection was done from among 186 nominations received under different categories. The winners would be felicitated with a trophy, certificate and a cash award of Rs 25 lakh each. The Yoga Institute, established in 1918 by Shri Yogendraji, completed its 100 years serving the society. It has produced more than 50 thousand yoga teachers and has over 500 publications to its credit. While Vishwas Mandalik acquired in-depth knowledge of authentic Patanjali & Hatha Yoga, Bhagwad Gita and Upnishad by study and research of ancient scriptures for over last 55 years. In 1978, he set up first branch of Yoga Vidya Dham, and as of today there are 160 centres in India. He has written 42 books and developed 300 CDs to cover various training courses.

Notes:
The Punjab Government has launched a smartphone application ‘i-Hariyali’, which aims to inspire people to plant more saplings to save the environment from pollution. It will ensure clean, green, healthy and robust Punjab with the active participation of people. The app would enable the users to order free plant saplings. The users can book a sapling of their choice, a maximum of 25 per person, from a nearby government nursery. Once the booking is done, the contact number of the concerned employee of the nursery or the forest guard will be displayed on the mobile phone of the person. The ‘i-Hariyali’ app, under ‘Mission Tandarust Punjab’ can be downloaded from the app store for free.

Notes:
The 7th edition of India Minerals and Metals forum was inaugurated in New Delhi on June 21, 2018. The forum seeks to come up with solutions to leverage in the sector with the changing global scenario. The deliberations took cognizance on the need to consolidate small players for strengthening of overall health of the industry. The government officials emphasized on utilizing low grade minerals to reduce burden on high end minerals. It was expressed that India has been conservative in exploration of deep seated minerals due to environmental concerns but it needs quick progress and there is a lot of scope for private sector for carrying out such researches.

Notes:
The 19th all India Conference of Directors of Finger Prints Bureaux 2018 has been inaugurated by Hansraj Gangaram Ahir , the Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, in Hyderabad on June 21. It was hosted by Telangana Police. The purpose of 2-day conference is to discuss and deliberate the challenging issues faced by fingerprint fraternity. It is a forum to evolve better solutions for the problems faced by FP experts in the course of their duty. During the conference, participants will deliberate on latest Automatic Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS), usage experience of AFIS in Maharashtra and Telangana, integration of Finger Prints with CCTNS/ICJS. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), in cooperation with CMC Ltd., Secunderabad, developed the first indigenous AFIS called FACTS. Now this technology has improved a lot and within seconds it is possible to match the finger prints of more than a million individuals. Incidentally, the world’s first finger print bureau was established in 1897 at Calcutta during British period.

Notes:
The International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict is observed every year on June 19 to raise awareness of the need to put an end to conflict-related sexual violence, to honour the victims and survivors of sexual violence around the world and to pay tribute to all those who have courageously devoted their lives to and lost their lives in standing up for the eradication of these crimes. The date was chosen to commemorate the adoption on June 19, 2008 of UN Security Council resolution 1820 (2008), in which the 15-nation council condemned sexual violence as a tactic of war and an impediment to peace-building. The 2018 Theme is “The Plight and Rights of Children Born of War”.