GK & Current Affairs Quiz: June 29, 2017

Notes:
Rajesh V Shah has been appointed as the new chairman of the board of governors of National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and will be in charge till March 31, 2019. He succeeded former cricketer Chetan Chauhan, who resigned from the post after being made the Sports Minister of Uttar Pradesh.

Notes:
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has collaborated with Facebook to launch first Nationwide “Voter Registration Reminder” on July 1, 2017 to encourage Indian citizens to register themselves on the electoral rolls. As part of this campaign, Facebook will run a voter registration reminder in multiple Indian languages to all the Facebook users in India from July 1 to 4, 2017. For this, Facebook will activate a unique ‘Register Now’ button reminding all the eligible Indian users to enroll themselves as voters. When the users click the button, they will be redirected to National Voters’ Services Portal, where they can register themselves as voters. The reminder will be sent out in 13 Indian languages – English, Hindi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Bengali, Urdu, Assamese, Marathi and Oriya.

Notes:
The 22nd edition of the Asian Athletics Championships (AAC-2017) will be held at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha from July 6 to 9, 2017. Around 800 athletes from 45 countries are set to attend the event. The official mascot of AAC-2017 is Olly that represents Olive Ridley sea turtle, one of the endangered species of Odisha. The winners of the Asian meet will get a direct berth for the World championship in London from August 4-13, 2017. As host, India is eligible to field three athletes in each discipline, instead of the usual two.

Notes:
China has officially started building the world’s first forest city in the north of Liuzhou, Guangxi Province to fight against pollution and climate change, which is set to be completed in 2020. It is designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, a team that develops green projects all around the world. The Liuzhou Forest City is expected to absorb nearly 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly and produce 900 tonnes of oxygen. The energy self-sufficient city will house 30,000 people, 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants. As a result, the forest city will help to decrease the average air temperature, improve local air quality, create noise barriers, generate habitats, and improve local biodiversity in the region.

Notes:
The 12th edition of G20 summit will be held on July 7–8, 2017 in Hamburg, Germany. The G20 is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies with the aim of studying, reviewing and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.

Notes:
Krishna R Urs, a veteran Indian- origin career diplomat, has been appointed as the new US Ambassador to Peru by the Donald Trump administration. Currently, Urs is Charge d’ Affaires of the US Embassy in Madrid, Spain. He has specialization in economic issues and is considered an expert on the Andean region of South America.

Notes:
Dr. Manoj Soni, the former Vice Chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University, has recently taken the Oath of Office and Secrecy as Member of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). He will hold office for a term of six years or until he turns 65. The Oath was administered by the UPSC Chairman Prof. David R. Syiemlieh. Dr. Soni is the youngest Vice Chancellor since independence and has been a recipient of numerous awards. He has also been awarded the rare honour of “Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge” by World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership and Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, USA. The UPSC can have a limit of 10 members including its chairman and conducts national-level recruitment exams like IAS, IFS and IPS.

Notes:
The Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra has been appointed as the brand ambassador by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) for the government’s flagship Skill India campaign. Priyanka will use her celebrity status to motivate youngsters to hone their abilities through a media campaign. The Skill India campaign was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2015. The aim of the Government of India (GoI) is to train 40 crore people by 2022 through its skilling initiatives. Earlier, Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, Bollywood actors Sidharth Malhotra and Shabana Azmi and singer Mohit Chauhan had also become goodwill envoys for Skill India.

Notes:
Vidya Balan, the famous Bollywood film actress, has become the ambassador of the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which is supported by the Victorian Government. The 2017 theme of the fest is “Diversity” with a special focus on films by female directors and is scheduled to be held from August 10-22, 2017. It will showcase over 60 films, Indie and short included, in 20 different languages.

Notes:
Odisha will become the India’s first state to set up blood bank for cattle. The first of its kind blood bank would be established on the premises of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) at an estimated cost of Rs. 3.25 crore. The project will have a 60:40 sharing between the Centre and the state government. The cattle farmers will provide blood voluntarily. The blood bank will also go and collect blood from centres. Blood transfusion facility for cattle blood will also be done at the proposed blood bank. This will prevent death of cattle during deliveries and other ailments.