Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The Guindy National Park (GNP) is the 8th smallest National Park of India, located at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It is one of the very few national parks situated inside a city. The park has a role in both ex-situ and in-situ conservation and is home to 400 blackbucks, 2,000 spotted deers, 24 jackals, a wide variety of snakes, geckos, tortoises and over 130 species of birds, 14 species of mammals, over 60 species of butterflies and spiders each, a wealth of different invertebrates—grasshoppers, ants, termites, crabs, snails, slugs, scorpions, mites, earthworms, millipedes, and the like. These are free-ranging fauna and live with the minimal of interference from human beings.

Notes:
The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) has been ranked 2nd among best climate think tank in the world. The rankings were released by the International Centre for Climate Governance (ICCG), which focuses on the design of climate policy and related governance issues. The New Delhi-based think tank “TERI” was ranked under the category ‘2016 Top Climate Think Tanks in the Rest of the World – Absolute Global Rankings’ during ICCG’s 23rd annual conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (EAERE) in Athens in Greece. TERI conducts research for the sustainable development of India. The ICCG ranking helps highlight the scale and magnitude of work done by the think tanks working in the field of climate change.

Notes:
According to the latest report of BMI Research, India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to grow at 6.9% for FY 18 (2017-18). As per report, India’s growth is expected to pick up following the negative ramifications from the demonetisation drive in November 2016, but weak public banks will likely cap the recovery. The Fitch Group company noted that the negative effects from the demonetisation measure is already wearing off, and the Indian economy will likely benefit from positive demographic trends, greater external stability (due to improved terms of trade from lower oil prices), and continued reforms that should help to improve the country’s admittedly poor business environment. However, the report noted that the public banking sector is still weak and plagued with mounting non-performing assets and it is likely to weigh on India’s growth potential.

Notes:
The Ahmedabad city has been declared as a World Heritage City (WHC) at the 41st session of UNESCO’s world heritage committee at Krakow in Poland. With this, the 606-year-old walled city of Ahmedabad, which was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah, has become India’s first World Heritage City. The city was also the center for India’s non-violent freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. The walled city has 26 ASI-protected structures, hundreds of ‘pols’ that capture the essence of community living and numerous sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi who lived here from 1915 to 1930. The Ahmedabad city has also stood for unity with its elegant carvings in its Hindu and Jain temples as well as standing as one of the finest examples of Indo-Islamic architecture and Hindu Muslim art. Now, Ahmedabad will join the world heritage cities like Paris, Cairo and Edinburgh. Out of total 287 world heritage cities across the globe, there were only two cities in the Indian subcontinent- Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka. The UNESCO tag will add immense value to Ahmedabad city which will also boost tourism.

Notes:
The First edition of WINGS 2017 – “Sab Uden, Sab Juden”- Expanding Regional Connectivity was hosted in New Delhi on July 7, 2017 by the Ministry of Civil Aviation. The event saw participation from 28 States and Union Territories and out of this 19 states and Union Territory made presentation emphasizing the incentives or special packages to the airlines other than the support offered by Government of India under RCS- UDAN. This event brought together the key stakeholders of the Aviation Sector such as States, Tourism Departments and Tour Operators as a Group representing airline consumers to facilitate interaction with various airlines, airport operators, cargo operators and other ecosystem players at a common forum.

Notes:
The global food fair “World Food India 2017” will be organised by the Union Food Processing ministry in New Delhi on November 3-5, 2017 to boost food sector. For the global food fair, the Union ministry of Food Processing has organised a roadshow in Chandigarh to provide a platform to Indian farmers and manufacturers to showcase their products and explore partnerships with foreign companies. More than 10 states and all leading giants from India and abroad in food processing, food technology, technology and equipment players, cold chains, food retailers will be present at World Food India.

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:
Khaltmaagiin Battulga, the leader of Democratic Party (DP), has won the 2017 Mongolian presidential election by 50.6% votes & has taken office on July 10, 2017. Mongolia is a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, where the President is directly elected. The government is run by a prime minister, but the president has powers to veto legislation and make judicial appointments. The President of Mongolia is elected using the two-round system. Here, the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Notes:
Sudha Singh has won gold in the women’s 3000 metres steeplechase with a time of 9 minutes and 59.47 seconds at the 22nd Asian Athletics Championships in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Apart from her, Purnima Hembram from Odisha won gold in the women’s Heptathlon shot put, while world junior record holder javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra clinched the gold with a final throw of 85.23 metres. On the final day of competitions, India clinched five gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze. With that, India ended the championships on top with a haul of 29 medals which included 12 gold, 5 silver and 12 bronze. Therefore, India topped medal tally for first time in Asian Athletics Championships history. Earlier, India’s best came way back in the 1985 Jakarta edition where they had won 22 medals which included 10 gold, 5 silver, seven bronze.

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).