Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
India has recently contributed $500,000 to the UN Peace building Fund (PBF) to boost efforts of United Nations for building and sustaining peace across the world. India has been a Member of the UN Peace Building Commission (PBC) since its inception in December 2005 and has so far contributed $5 million to the Peacebuilding Fund. The fresh contribution of $5 Lakh to the fund will be effected over the coming days. The UN Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) is an intergovernmental advisory body that supports peace efforts in conflict affected countries and is a key addition to the capacity of the International Community in the broad peace agenda.

Notes:
India has ranked 88th with 676 million Swiss francs (about Rs 4,500 crore) in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks, according to an analysis by the Swiss National Bank (SNB) for 2016-end. As per latest figures, the money officially held by Indians with banks in Switzerland now accounts for a meagre 0.04% of the total funds kept by all foreign clients in the Swiss banking system. The SNB’s official figures haven’t include the money that Indians, NRIs or others might have in Swiss banks in the names of entities from different countries. The United Kingdom (UK) has topped the list, followef by United States (US), West Indies, France, Bahamas, Germany, Guernsey, ect.

Notes:
The 9th edition of Delhi Dialogue has started with theme “ASEAN-India Relations: Charting the Course for the Next 25 Years” in New Delhi on July 4, 2017. It has inaugurated and addressed by the Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. In the two day dialogue, political leaders, policy makers, senior officials, diplomats, business leaders, think tanks and academicians from India and ASEAN countries will participate in the discussions. It is a premier event to discuss politico-security, economic and socio-cultural engagement between ASEAN and India. This Dialogue has been held annually since 2009.

Notes:
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has recently approved $329 million loan to build access roads to 4,000 villages in all 33 districts of Gujarat. This project will construct and upgrade district and farm-to-market roads for the villagers and provide approaches to educational institutions, schools and hospitals. The upgraded road access is expected to have a positive impact on women and girls by improving school attendance rates as the latter drop out due to lack of access to all weather roads. The project will also better integrate rural population, tribal villages, business and industries with the national and state economy through better transport connectivity. This is a standalone project by AIIB and part of phase one of the multi-phase Gujarat’s ‘Chief Minister’s Rural Roads Programme’ that complements the Centre’s ‘Prime Minister’s Rural Roads Programme’. To monitor the project’s progress, the AIIB will pilot a software tool specifically developed for this. The AIIB is a multilateral development bank, headquartered in Beijing, which commenced its operation in January 2016 and has now grown to 80 approved members from around the world.

Notes:
The 3rd edition of International conference on sports “CII ScoreCard 2017” has started at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi on July 6-7, 2017, which is organized by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Sports. The CII SCORECARD 2017 offers a unique platform for corporates and entrepreneurs to come together to network and form collaborations with management organizations, educational institutes, infrastructure companies, marketing, advertising, brand managers and manufacturers in sports domain. The focus areas of the conference are sports education, channeling CSR funds, building robust sports ecosystem, enhancing business opportunities and career & livelihood opportunities in sports.

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 22nd World Petroleum Congress (WPC) International Conference will takes place in Istanbul, Turkey from July 10 – 12, 2017. Dharmendra Pradhan Minister of State (I/C) for Petroleum and Natural Gas, will represent India in the conference. The tri-annual WPC Conference is widely recognized as the `Olympics` of the oil and gas industry. It attracts Ministers, CEOs of Oil and Gas MNCs, experts and academics from the hydrocarbon sectors and provides an ideal forum to showcase potential of India’s hydrocarbon sector, highlight the recent policy reforms to international investors and interact with policy makers, technologists, scientists, planners and management experts, entrepreneurs, service providers and vendors in order to attract foreign investments into India’s growing oil and gas sector.

Notes:
The day-long National Conference of Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories organised by NITI Aayog has started in New Delhi on July 10, 2017 to further the spirit of cooperative and competitive federalism. The focus of the conference is on best practices in social and economic sectors across states. Various developmental indicators developed by NITI Aayog, in areas like health, education, water management and digital transformation are being discussed. The idea is to measure performance and progress of states and rank them appropriately to instill healthy competition among them. In addition several interactive sessions on issues including agriculture and health are also on the agenda.

Notes:
Raninder Singh, an active trap shooter, has been re-elected as president of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) for a four-year term in Mohali. He is the son of Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. The NRAI is associated with International Shooting Sports Federation, Asian Shooting Confederation, Commonwealth Shooting Federation, South Asian Shooting Confederation and Indian Olympic Association.

Notes:
The 8th edition of the SAARC Ministers of Law and Order (Interior/ Home Affairs) has started in Colombo, Sri Lanka on July 11, 2017. The 3-day meeting will focus on the issue of tackling terrorism apart from discussing liberalization of visa, illegal trafficking in narcotic drugs, psychotropic substances and small arms. Indian side is being led by a senior official in Ministry of Home affairs (MHA).