Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Former India captain Rahul Dravid and former Australian captain Ricky Ponting have been inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame for their stupendous achievements in international cricket. Along with Dravid and Ponting, retired England woman wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor was also named in the ‘Hall of Fame’ during a ceremony in Dublin, Ireland on July 1, 2018. With this, Dravid became only the 5th player from India to be named in the elite list. The other four Indians are former skippers Bishan Singh Bedi, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble.

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Anjolie Ela Menon, the well known muralist, has recently been conferred with the prestigious National Kalidas Samman by the Madhya Pradesh government in Delhi for her contribution in visual arts. The award was conferred in recognition of her insightful and sensitive portrayal of the identity and spirit of women through her meaningful paintings in a variety of media. Beside her, Artist A. Ramachandran was also conferred with the Kalidas Award. Menon is counted among India’s most accomplished artists and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the Padma Shri. She recently received a doctorate from Rabindra Bharati University.

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The Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS) under the Government of NCT of Delhi has been ranked the “Best Dental College” in India for the 7th year in a row. The evaluation was done on the basis of reports of independent rating agencies of Hansa Research, Drshti Strategic Research Services and Nielsen India. MAIDS outshone 310 dental colleges to become No 1 in dental education in India. The MAIDS is the first and only dental hospital in India to be accredited by the National Accreditation of Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). The institute offers a five-year undergraduate programme, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), with an annual intake of 40 students and is the only government institute to offer a postgraduate program, Master of Dental Surgery (MDS), in all nine dental specialties.

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Admiral Jayant Ganpat Nadkarni (86), the former Chief of the Naval Staff, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on July 2, 2018. He was the 14th chief of the Indian Navy from December 1987 to November 1990. He participated in the Liberation of Goa and played a stellar role in the India-Pakistan War 1965 and in 1971. Nadkarni is a recipient of the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, Nausena Medaland the Vishisht Seva Medal for his distinguished service.

Notes:
India’s first-ever state-of-the-art e-waste recycling unit will come up in Bengaluru, which produces an estimated one lakh tonne of electronic waste a year. The Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), a research institute that comes under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, will set up the unit in the next four months. The purpose to set-up an e-Waste recycling unit is to provide a complete solution for recycling of plastics wastes generated from Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipments (WEEE). Bengaluru, which accounts for about a third of India’s software exports and is home to about 7,000 startups, occupies 3rd place in the country in producing e-waste after Mumbai and Delhi. Currently, e-waste generation in India is estimated to reach 52 lakh tonnes in 2020, with India being ranked as one of the top five generators of e-waste.

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The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has launched its in-house developed & single integrated e-marketing platform named Khadi Institution Management and Information System (KIMIS) in New Delhi on July 3, 2018. The system can be accessed from anywhere in the country for the sale and purchase of Khadi and Village Industries products. This software will give real-time data of sales and will also give the updated status of stocks of khadi bhawans and godowns, allowing better planning and control of inventory of the KVIC. Approx 480 Khadi institutions and showrooms are linked with this billing software and it will be useful in raising demand and supply of goods in high demand.

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India’s first ‘MOVE: Global Mobility Summit’ will be organised by NITI Aayog in New Delhi on September 7-8, 2018. The six themes for the summit are: Asset Utilization and Service, Comprehensive Electrification, Alternative Energy, Reinventing Public Transit, Logistics and Goods Transport, and Data Analytics and Mobility. The purpose of the MOVE Summit is to bring together and engage with key stakeholders within the rapidly transforming global mobility landscape and to evolve a public interest framework for a shared, connected, zero emission and inclusive mobility agenda for the future. This Summit will help drive Government’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth and also speed up India’s transition to a clean energy economy. Approx 1,200 experts from across the world including Government leadership, Industry leaders, Research Organizations, Academia, Think Tanks and Civil Society Organisation will participate.

Notes:
Angela Ponce from Seville has created by becoming the first-ever transgender woman to be crowned Miss Universe Spain, after beating 22 contestants. She will representing her country at the 67th Miss Universe 2018 pageant in Philippines in December 2018. This comes six years after the Miss Universe organisation put an end to the ban on transgender contestants in the competition in 2012.

Notes:
“Pandharichi Wari” is the most important pilgrimage of Maharashtra. It is more than 700 years old tradition in which devotees of Lord Vitthala called Varkari trace the route to Pandharpur. This year, in 2018, Wari will resume from July 6. For this holy function, thousands of devotees will trace WARI route from Dehu and Alandi, the native places of Sant Tukaram Maharaj and Sant Dnyaneshvar Maharaj in Pune district, on foot. Both the sants were the renowned devotee of Lord Vitthala. Dnyaneshwar’s palakhi leaves from Alandi, while Tukaram’s begins at Dehu. The chants of Vitthal Vitthal Jay Hari Vitthal will resonate in the air next 20 days when Wari will resume from Dehu. It will reach its final destination at the Vithoba temple in Pandharpur on July 22 for Ashadhi Ekadashi celebration. Upon reaching Pandharpur on Ashadi Ekadashi, these devotees take a holy dip in the sacred Chandrabhaga River/Bhima River before proceeding to visit the Vitthal temple.

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The Andhra Pradesh government and the delegates of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) have recently signed a pact for the establishment of a Gaming Digital Learning Hub in the state. As per agreement, UNESCO will soon set up the Design University for Gaming in Visakhapatnam. For the installation of the university, UNESCO has asked the state government to allocate 100 acres of land in Visakhapatnam for developing the city as International Gaming and Digital Learning Hub. The hub is being seen as potential medium for creating around 50,000 jobs in 10 years. The UNESCO delegates stated that Gaming Technology will be the best source of income in future and IT giants like UBSoft, Samsung, Microsoft etc are ready to establish their centres in Visakhapatnam.