Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
Abburi Chaya Devi (86), the popular Telugu fiction writer, has passed away in Hyderabad on June 28, 2019. Born on 13th October 1933 in Andhra Pradesh, she was active in literary circles since the fifties and even in her 70s, was still known as a creative feminist writer. She highlighted the cause of women in her writings & received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 2005 for her book ‘Thana Margam’. Chaya Devi is the wife of the late Abburi Varada Rajeswara Rao, who himself was a writer, critic and former Chairman of Official Languages Commission (OFC). Her works are Anaga Anaga (folk stories for children), Abburi Chayadevi Kathalu (short stories), 1991, Mrityunjaya (long story),1993 Tana Margam (short stories about the exploitation of women in the guise of family bonds).

Notes:
In Jammu and Kashmir, the district administration of Rajouri has been launched a campaign called “Operation Khumaar” to make 312 panchayats tobacco-free. The programme is run by the district administration to make panchayats free from tobacco and tobacco-based products. Under this programme, even the headmaster of the schools have been authorised to impose a fine on the sale of tobacco within 100 yards of school limits. Block Medical Officers (BMO) have been directed to set up counselling centres at all Community Health Centres (CHCs) to help tobacco consumers to quit this habit. The district officers have been urged upon to work in a mission mode so as to make the society free from the injurious tobacco and tobacco-based products.

Notes:
Santosh Rana (76), the veteran Naxalite leader, has passed away in Kolkata on June 29, 2019. He is one of the foremost leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and a major thinker on caste, class and tribal politics in West Bengal and winner of a top literary award in the State. The CPI-ML (PCC) was one of the very first Naxalite groups to participate in elections. Under his leadership, CPI-ML (PCC) was active in parts of Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Assam. It played a significant role in opposing the CPI-M led government during the Nandigram land agitation, which contributed to the electoral debacle of the Left Front in West Bengal. He argued in his award-winning autobiography, Rajnitir Ek Jibon [A Life in Politics], that the Left in India made a huge mistake as they never analysed and responded to the caste question.

Notes:
The Odisha government has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with state’s table tennis body and Table Tennis Federation of India (TTFI) to host the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship. The tournament is scheduled to be held at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack from July 17-22, 2019. The tournament has received a good entry with 14 associations, consisting India, Singapore, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, England, Scotland, Wales, Jersey, Australia, Cyprus, South Africa, Nigeria, Pakistan.

Notes:
On 1st July 2019, Japan officially resumed commercial whaling after more than 30 years of limiting whale hunts to scientific purposes — a policy that still resulted in the deaths of hundreds of whales every year. The hunts come after Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC). The move is slammed by anti-whaling activists but welcomed by Japanese whaling communities. Now, Japan has joined Iceland and Norway as the only nations to allow commercial whaling despite the IWC moratorium. Hunting will reportedly be limited to Japan’s territorial sea and exclusive economic zone, which stretches about 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the nation’s coasts. The IWC, established in 1946, to conserve and manage the world’s whale and cetacean population, introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986.

Notes:
The 6th edition of Exercise Garuda-VI has started between Indian and French Air Force from 1st of July 2019 at French Air Force Base – Mont-de-Marsan. The exercise will see the most potent fighter aircraft of the two countries going head-to-head to validate the latest defence strategies and fine-tune their waging capabilities and is expected to showcase fighter jets like Rafale, Mirage 2000, Sukhoi 30 from the two sides. Participation of Indian Air Force (IAF) in the exercise will also promote professional interaction, exchange experiences and operational knowledge besides strengthening bilateral relations with the French Air Force. It will also provide a good opportunity to the air warriors to operate in an international environment.

Notes:
The State Bank of India (SBI) and National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to boost the availability of capital for infrastructure projects. The scope of the MoU includes equity investments, project funding, bond financing, renewable energy support and take-out finance for operating assets. The objective of this initiative is to aid in filling the gap at a time when the availability of equity and debt financing for infrastructure has moderated. The initiative will address concerns relating to the availability of equity and long-term debt funding options to large scale projects, thereby stimulating the infrastructure development.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of International Day of Parliamentarism (IDP-2019) is celebrated across the world on 30th June to recognize the importance of parliaments and their responsibility of representing the people. The day is not only an occasion to stress the critical importance of parliaments in any democratic society but also to reinforce the call for a global parliament. It is also an opportunity for parliaments to take stock, identify challenges, and ways to address them effectively. It is also the date, in 1889, on which the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) — the global organization of parliaments — was established. The parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral and unicameral. Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament. The oldest parliament is the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, founded in 930.

Notes:
Manoj Kumar Nambiar, MD of Arohan Financial Services (AFS), has been elected as new chairman of Microfinance Institutions Network (MFIN). The MFIN is an industry association consists of 56 NBFC-MFIs (Non Banking Financial Company-Micro Finance Institutions) and 40 associates including Banks, SFBs (Small Finance Banks ) and NBFCs. It is also the Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) for the regulated NBFC-MFI.

Notes:
Indian middle-order batsman Ambati Rayudu from Andhra Pradesh retired from all forms of cricket on July 3, 2019. He did not specify reasons for calling it quits. He was in India’s official standbys list for the on-going World Cup but was omitted twice. Rayudu played 55 ODIs for India, scoring 1694 runs at an average of 47.05. However, he did not play any Test.