Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2019

Notes:
Suman Rao from Rajasthan has won the Femina Miss India World 2019 beauty pageant during a star-studded ceremony at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Indoor Stadium in Mumbai. While Shivani Jadhav from Chhattisgarh clinched Femina Miss Grand India 2019 title and Shreya Shanker from Bihar won Miss India United Continents 2019 title during the grand finale of the beauty pageant. Now, Suman will represent India at Miss World 2019 in Thailand. The show was hosted by Bollywood filmmaker Karan Johar and actor-anchor Maniesh Paul along with Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar.

Notes:
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has recently announced that India’s second mission to the moon – Chandrayaan-2 – will be launched on July 15 at 2.15 AM from Sriharikota. This particular mission is an advancement of Chandrayaan-1, which was launched a decade ago. Chandrayaan-2 will scale the lunar surface and gather intel on minerals, rock formations and water. For the first time in the history of ISRO, the Project Director and the Mission Director will be women. Muthayya Vanitha will be the Project Director for the orbiter, the lander and the rover, and Ritu Karidhal will be the Mission Director in charge of the GSLV-Mk III launch vehicle. In fact, 30% of the team in charge of the mission is composed of women. The cost of the entire Chandrayaan-2 mission is about Rs.1,000 crore.

Notes:
Danish economist and environmentalist, Inger Andersen has recently taken charge as the new Executive Director (ED) of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) for a four-year term. She succeeded Erik Solheim of Norway. Prior to her appointment at UNEP, Andersen was Director General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Vice President for Sustainable Development at the World Bank and Head of the CGIAR Fund Council. She has also served as the World Bank vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa and worked at the UN for 15 years on water and environment issues.

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Dr. Virendra Kumar, the 7-time Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgarh in Madhya Pradesh, has been sworn-in as the pro-tem speaker of Lok Sabha. President Ram Nath Kovind administered oath to Dr Kumar at Rashtrapati Bhavan. As pro-tem speaker, Kumar will preside over the first sitting of the Lok Sabha and administer the oath to the newly elected MPs. He will also oversee the election of the 17th Lok Sabha speaker. The first session of the newly constituted Lok Sabha will be held from June 17 to July 26.

Notes:
The Autistic Pride Day (APD) is observed every year on 18th of June to recognise the importance of pride for autistics and understands it not as a disease but as a difference. Autism or Autism Spectrum Disability is a range of complex neurodevelopment disorders characterized by social impairments, communication difficulties, restrictive and repetitive pattern of behaviour. It is a lifelong condition which usually occurs in the first three years of life. The exact cause of autism is not known but it is known to be associated with genetic and environmental factors. Autistic Pride Day was initiated by Aspies For Freedom, a group that raises public awareness about autism rights.

Notes:
The ‘Snana Yatra’ is a bathing festival celebrated on the full moon day (Purnima) of the Hindu month of ‘Jyestha’ & considered to be the birthday of Lord Jagannath. It is a significant ritual in the run-up to the annual ‘Rath Jatra’ festival. In Puri, the annual ceremonial bathing ritual of the deities at Shree Jagannath temple has recently celebrated on 17th June 2019 in the presence of thousands of devotees. The ceremony is known as ‘Snana Jatra’ of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra. It was performed on a bathing altar known as the ‘Snana Mandap’ in which priests poured 108 pitchers of aromatic sacred water on the deities.The Skanda Purana mentions that King Indradyumna arranged this ceremony for the first time when the idols of the deities were first installed.

Notes:
Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed has been appointed as the new Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), the powerful spy agency of Pakistan. He succeeded Lt Gen Asim Munir. Hameed has previously served as the head of the Counter Intelligence wing of the ISI. The ISI was formed in 1948 as an independent unit to strengthen the country’s intelligence network. The ISI was formerly a part of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), which handled intelligence-sharing between different branches of the military, as well as external intelligence gathering. Its headquarters were initially located in Rawalpindi, but were later moved to Islamabad. In 1950, the ISI was officially given the task of safeguarding Pakistani interests and national security, inside and outside the country.

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Gary Woodland of the United States has clinched the 2019 US Open Golf Championship by three strokes at Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. It is his first major championship and sixth professional victory. He is known as one of the longest hitters on tour.

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The World Sickle Cell Day (WSCD) is observed every year on 19th of June to raise public awareness about the sickle cell disease and its treatment methods. Sickle cell disease is an inherited form of anaemia in which red blood cells are not able to carry adequate oxygen throughout the body. Government has organised several campaigns for the proper treatment and cure of those suffering from the disease.

Notes:
The book titled “Yoga and Diet for Weight Loss” has been authored by noted integrated yoga therapist Bijoylaxmi Hota. The book seeks to break slimming and weight loss myths and prescribes certain postures of yoga, along with the diet one should take in order to achieve better and faster results. According to author, slimming is not just about what one eats, how much one eats, how much one exercises or what form of exercise one does but more importantly, how fast one’s body utilises food. The key question is how efficient is one’s metabolism. The target should be to hasten the process and make it so fast that without being a clinical problem, it can burn all your calories quickly. The book also has recipes like steamed mustard fish, fish with tomato and celery, baked salmon, chicken teriyaki and beans with fennel.