Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2017

Notes:
The 8th edition of Theatre Olympics ‘The Biggest Theatre Celebration of the World’ will be hosted by India from February 17 –April 08, 2018, which is being organised by National School of Drama, under the aegis of Ministry of Culture. The Theatre Olympics 2018 will feature maximum number of Indian & International theatre groups, invitee eminent theatre personalities along with their performances. In addition, there will be ambience performances with allied activities like exhibitions, seminars, symposia, interactive discussions and workshops with well-known academicians, authors, actors, designers and directors. It’s first time that the Theatre Olympics will be held in India. In 2016, the 7th Theatre Olympics were held in Wroclaw, Poland.

Notes:
India’s first high-speed rail training centre will set up in Gandhinagar, Gujarat at a cost of Rs 600 crore, and is expected to start operating by 2020. The center will provide advanced training modules on cutting edge technologies. The construction will begin shortly after the foundation-laying ceremony is held in September 2017. It also has a sample bullet train track for testing. Over 4,000 rail engineers are expected to be trained by 2020.

Notes:
Justice Vikramajit Sen, the former Supreme Court Judge, has been appointed as the new Chairperson of Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) for three years. Justice Sen succeeded Justice Mukul Mudgal. The BCCC is an independent self-regulatory body set up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) in June 2011 to look into complaints pertaining to all non-news general entertainment channels in India.

Notes:
Maharashtra has become the first Indian state to make social boycott a crime after President Pranab Mukherjee cleared the legislation. The Maharashtra Prohibition of People from Social Boycott (Prevention Prohibition and Redressal) Act prescribes a maximum punishment of 3 year in jail and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. It aims to prevent atrocities carried out by extra-judicial courts and caste panchayats. The Act also provides for compensation to victims. The fines imposed on violators will be used to compensate them. The Act also has a provision to withdraw cases with the consent of victims and permission from a court. In case of a withdrawal, the accused will have to perform community service.

Notes:
The Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS) is located in the East Sikkim district of the state of Sikkim. The total notified area of the park is around 124 square kilometres while inside the wildlife sanctuary there are a few hamlets: Aritar, Lingtam, Phadamchen, Zuluk, Gnathang valley and Kupup. This wildlife sanctuary is linked to the forests of Bhutan and Neora Valley National Park of West Bengal. It is home many birds such as kalij pheasant, Oriental honey buzzard, blood pheasant, white-crested laughingthrush, striated laughingthrush, etc. It is also home for some rarities like the speckled wood pigeon and bay woodpecker.

Notes:
Lewis Hamilton, a British Formula One racing driver, has won the 2017 Formula One British Grand Prix tournament at Silverstone, United Kingdom. The result also marked Hamilton’s fifth career Grand Slam. Additionally, he equalled the record for most British Grand Prix wins jointly held by Alain Prost and Jim Clark.

Notes:
Harinder Pal Sandhu from India has won the 2017 Victorian Open Squash tournament by defeating top-seed Rex Hedrick of Australia in the final by 12-14, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7 in Melbourne on July 16, 2017.

Notes:
Textile minister Smriti Zubin Irani has been given the additional charge of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, while Rural Development Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has been given additional charge of Urban Development Ministry. Both the posts fell vacant after Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu resigned to contest Vice presidential election as NDA candidate. Naidu was holding the portfolio since July 2016 in addition to urban development, housing and poverty alleviation ministry.

Notes:
The World Day for International Justice (WDIJ) is observed every year on July 17 to promote international criminal justice and focus on human rights. This is a day to reflect upon the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes and to celebrate the international community’s continued efforts to create a more just and peaceful world. The day is also referred as the International Criminal Justice Day (ICJD) or International Justice Day (IJD). This year, in 2017, also marked the 15th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent international court for the prosecution of individuals accused of mass atrocity crimes.

Notes:
The Matunga railway station has become the India’s first station to be run by all women staff. It is a railway station on the Central line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. A total of 30 women staffers, including 11 booking clerks, 5 Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel and seven ticket checkers are working under station manager Mamta Kulkarni, who was the first female station master in Central Railway’s Mumbai division. With this, Matunga station has become the first such ladies special station.