Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2019

Notes:
The Tata Steel Kalinganagar (TSK) is the first and the only Indian manufacturing plant to be included in the Global Lighthouse Network (GLN) of World Economic Forum (WEF). The lighthouses are chosen for their leadership in applying Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies to drive financial and operational impact. The factories were selected based on their success in integrating these technologies to increase efficiency and drive innovation. Tata Steel’s IJmuiden plant at Netherlands is already a member of this network. The TSK steel plant is the largest single-location greenfield steel project in India and is located at Jajpur district in Odisha.

Notes:
India’s first cow sanctuary – Kamdhenu Gau Abhyaranya – is located in the Agar Malwa district of Madhya Pradesh. It is in news recently because the Congress-led government has decided to privatized the cow sanctuary due to financial crises. Around 4,000 cows are living in the sanctuary which is spread across 472 hectares. The sanctuary was developed by the MP Gau Samvardhan Board at a cost of Rs 32 crore.

Notes:
Indian sprinter Dutee Chand has clinched a Gold medal in the 100-metre dash event at the 30th World University Games (WUG-2019) at Napoli in Italy. Del Ponte of Switzerland won the Silver, while German Lisa Kwayie took home the Bronze. With the Gold, Dutee has become the first Indian woman track and field athlete to win the coveted yellow metal at the event. No Indian had qualified for the 100-metre final in the history of the University Games before this. She is also now only the second Indian sprinter to win a Gold in a global event after 19-year old Hima Das.

Notes:
On 10th July 2019, the 2nd India-Russia Strategic Economic Dialogue (IRSED) was held in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog. The meeting was focused on six core areas of cooperation viz. Development of Transport Infrastructure and Technologies; Development of Agriculture and Agro-Processing sector; Small and Medium Business support; Digital Transformation and Frontier Technologies; Cooperation in Trade, Banking, Finance, and Industry; and Tourism & Connectivity. The strategic dialogue was established following a bilateral MoU signed between the NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation during the 19th edition of the Annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit, which was held on 5th October 2018 in New Delhi.

Notes:
The French government has decided to impose a tax of up to 18 euros ($20) on plane tickets for all flights from airports in France to fund less-polluting transportation projects. The move, which will take effect from 2020, will see a tax of 1.5 euros imposed on economy-class tickets on internal flights and those within Europe. The new measure is expected to bring in some €182 million a year which will be invested in greener transport infrastructures, notably rail. It will only be applied on outgoing flights and not those flying into the country. Earlier, in April 2018, a similar tax was introduced in Sweden that imposed an added charge of up to €40 on every ticket in a bid to lessen the impact of air travel on the climate.

Notes:
TCS iON, a unit of IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has partnered with All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) to provide students with a digital learning course to equip them with career skills. TCS iON has curated a free, 20 hour-career skills course that will cover topics like corporate etiquette, effective e-mail writing, impactful presentations and IT awareness that will be available to students throughout the duration of their degree course. The course will be available for students of more than 10,000 AICTE approved institutions. It can be accessed on TCS iON Digital Learning Hub through any device. The unique course provided by TCS iON will help improve placement opportunities for AICTE institutions & will initiate a strong start to the professional careers of the students. AICTE is the national-level apex advisory and regulatory body for technical education.

Notes:
According to a study conducted by property consultant Commercial Real Estate Services (CBRE), New Delhi’s Connaught Place (CP) is the 9th most expensive office location in the world with an annual rent of nearly USD 144 per sq ft. In its annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, CBRE tracks the cost of leasing prime office space globally. At the top of the list was Hong Kong (Central) for the second consecutive year with an average price of $322 per square feet. , followed by London (West End) with an average occupancy rate of $222.7 per square feet. London’s (West End) is ranked 2nd, followed by Hong Kong (Kowloon) and New York (Midtown Manhattan). Beijing’s (Finance Street) is at the fifth position on the list. As per the report, Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Nariman Point-Central Business District (CBD) ranked at 27th and 40th positions, respectively.

Notes:
In Mumbai, a documentary film club “KSHITIJ” has been launched by Film Division of India (FDI) in association with Indian Documentary Producer Association (IDPA). The public screenings will be organized on the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month during 5:00 pm – 6:30pm at Films Division Complex, followed by a short interaction of audience with the director / curator of the film. The acclaimed documentary film “Secret Life of Frogs” by Ajay & Vijay Bedi will be screened as the inaugural film. Films Division, established in 1948, has been relentlessly striving to maintain a record of the social, political and cultural imaginations and realities of the country on film. It works under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) to produce documentaries and news magazines for publicity of Government programmes and cinematic record of Indian history.

Notes:
An Agri-Business Incubation Centre has been set up by the Union Agriculture Ministry in the Indira Gandhi Agriculture University of Raipur in Chhattisgarh. The Centre is set up under the National Agriculture Development Scheme- RAFTAAR. The objective of the scheme is to make farming a remunerative economic activity by strengthening farmer’s efforts, risk mitigation and promoting agri-business entrepreneurship. Under the scheme, guidance, technology and infrastructure will be provided to youth and entrepreneurs for start-ups in different areas of agriculture. The Agri-Business Incubation Centre in Raipur, with focus on innovations, skill building and entrepreneurs development in agriculture and allied sectors, will act as catalyst for developing an ecosystem conducive for the growth of agri-preneurship in the state and foster a start-up culture.

Notes:
In Tennis, Serbian Novak Djokovic won his fifth Wimbledon title after defeating Swiss tennis ace Roger Federer 7-6, 1-6, 7-6, 4-6, 13-12 in a match that lasted for more than 4 hours. The match had to be decided in the fifth set, as both Federer and Djokovic won two sets each in the longest ever final to be played so far. This is Djokovic’s 16th Grand Slam and 5th Wimbledon title. He is now level with Bjorn Borg as a five-time Wimbledon winner.