Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
Kottayan Katankot Venugopal (86), a noted constitutional expert and senior advocate, has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India with effect from June 30, 2017 and shall have a tenure of 3 years. He succeeded Mukul Rohatgi. Venugopal has become a law officer for the 2nd time after being an Additional Solicitor General during the Morarji Desai government during the seventies. He is the recipient of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan. The Attorney General for India is the Indian government’s chief legal advisor and its primary lawyer in the Supreme Court of India. He is appointed by the President of India under Article 76(1) of the Constitution and holds office during the pleasure of the President.

Notes:
The United Nations (UN)’ International Co-operative Day (IDC) is observed every year on the first Saturday of to recognize and reaffirms the role of cooperatives in economic, social and cultural development and in the achievement of social policy objectives. This year, in 2017, the day is observed on July 1 under the theme ‘Co-operatives ensure no one is left behind’. The 2017 IDC theme complements the priority theme of the 2017 High-level Political Forum for Sustainable Development: ‘Eradicating poverty and promoting prosperity in a changing world’.

Notes:
Mahesh Muralidhar Bhagwat, an IPS officer from Telangana, has been bestowed with the 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report Heroes Award by the Unites States Department of State for his vital role in elevating human trafficking as a government priority and his innovative approach to investigating cases and dismantling trafficking operations. Currently, he is serving as the first Commissioner of Police of Rachakonda.

Notes:
Shivraj Singh Chouhan (the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh) and Rajeev Pratap Rudy (the Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship) has laid the foundation stone of the India’s biggest Global Skill Park in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on July 3, 2017. As per reports, 37 acre land has been allotted in Narela Shankari area of Bhopal for the Global Skill Park. The park will be constructed at a cost of Rs 645 crore. Training will be imparted to 1000 students every year by trainers of international standard. Trained students will be given placement in India and outside India at international level. The park will function on the spirit of ‘With Industry -For Industry’.

Notes:
Carrie Lam has become the first woman chief executive of Hong Kong on July 1, 2017 after winning the 2017 Chief Executive election. She is known as a tough and effective enforcer. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong (CE) is the highest office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Hong Kong is a special administration region of China, which rules it under the “one country, two systems” principle. Under the system, Hong Kong enjoys a degree of autonomy and rights not seen in the mainland.

Notes:
Ana Brnabic, an independent politician, has become the first openly gay person and the first female Prime Minister of Serbia. She succeeded Ivica Dacic on June 29, 2017. The role of the Prime Minister in Serbia is to direct the work of the Government, and to submit to the National Assembly the Government’s Program, including a list of proposed ministers. The resignation of the Prime Minister will cause the fall of the Government.

Notes:
Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP), a Pune-based NGO, has won the 2017 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)’s Equator Prize for its women led climate resilient agro-ecological farming model and innovative solutions in climate resilient farming in the Marathwada region of India. The SSP is one of the 15 winners of Equator Prize 2017 by UNDP. The SSP has empowered 72,000 women in the drought-prone state of Maharashtra to act as agricultural decision-makers, improving their health, food security, and economic well-being.

Notes:
The host nation India bagged 7 medals including two gold to sit atop the medal tally on the day one of the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships at Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, Odisha on July 6, 2017. Long distance runner Govindan Laxman has won gold in men’s 5000m race, while Manpreet Kaur won gold medal with a career second best throw of 18.28m in the women’s shotput event. V Neena and Nayan James bagged a silver and bronze in women’s long jump while Vikas Gowda, Sanjivini Yadav, Annu Rani added a bronze each in the men’s discus throw, women’s 5000m race and javelin throw respectively. The Asian Championships winner gets automatic berth for the World Championships to be held in London in August 2017.

Notes:
The Karian Shola National Park (KSNP) is is located at the southern end of the Western Ghats, in the Anaimalai Hills in Tamil Nadu. The park consists of areas of stunted, mossy rainforests known as shola forests interspersed with rolling montane grassland with towering rocky cliffs, making it a biologically unique ecosystem. It is home to about 560 to 680 species of animal such as Nilgiri tahr, Asian elephant, deer, wild boar, tiger, leopard , etc.

Notes:
A.R.Rahman, the Oscar winning Indian music composer, has been shortlisted for the 2017 World Soundtrack Awards – a public choice award for his music in the film “Viceroy’s House”. Gurinder Chadha, a British filmmaker of Sikh origin has directed Viceroy’s House. The film features Huma Qureshi, Downton Abbey star Hugh Bonneville, Gillian Anderson and late actor Om Puri. It will release in India on August 18, 2018. For this award, all soundtrack and film music fans globally can cast their vote for what they find the finest soundtrack in the past one year. The soundtrack that gets the highest number of votes will be given the World Soundtrack Public Choice Award 2017.