Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - July, 2018

Notes:
Indian Kabaddi team clinched the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018 title by defeating Iran 44-26 in the summit clash in Dubai on June 30. In a battle between the top two sides of the world, the three-time world champions did not give Iran any ground to recover with Captain Ajay Thakur and youngster Monu Goyat led the raid charts. India’s defence was also excellent with Surjeet Singh returning with seven tackle points. India inflicted two all-outs on Iran, en route the massive victory. The six-nation invitational tournament was organised by International Kabaddi Federation (IKF). The Indian team will now focus on the Asian games. India is the reigning world champions and they now hold the title of the Kabaddi Masters too.

Notes:
NITI Aayog and Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilizers & Chemicals Limited (GNFC) have signed a Statement of Intent (SOI) to implement fertiliser subsidy disbursement through Blockchain Technology. Both will work on implementing a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) application for using the technology in subsidy disbursements. They will jointly develop the use case, under take research, interact with multiple stakeholders, develop Blockchain solutions, exchange learnings, organise forums, and disseminate learnings across their networks. It must be noted that approximately Rs 70,000 crore of subsidy is disbursed to manufacturing units every year for selling around 31 million MT of fertilisers below cost and the fertilizer subsidy disbursal takes two to three months’ time. With the implementation of Blockchain Technology, it is expected that the distribution will become effective and efficient, and subsidy transfer could be automated and made real time.

Notes:
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.

Notes:
For the first time, the US Food and Drug Administration has approved the world’s first-ever cannabis-based medicine “Epidiolex” made from marijuana. It is a milestone approval that could spur more research into a drug that remains illegal under federal law. The drug, manufactured by UK-based GW Pharmaceuticals, will be used to cure children aged 2-years old, who suffer from Dravet Syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, rare childhood-onset forms of epilepsy. Epidiolex is a purified form of cannabidiol (CBD), one of the hundreds of molecules found in the marijuana plant. It contains less than 0.1% of Tetra-Hydro-Cannabinol (THC), which makes people high. In simple words, the new drug is an oral solution of cannabidiol (CBD) and does not cause intoxication or a high.

Notes:
On July 2, the first meeting of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) will be held at Central Water Commission (CWC) office in New Delhi to resolve disputes over sharing of river water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry. The meeting of the 9-member Authority will be chaired by the CWC Chairman S Masood Hussain, who is also heading the Cauvery Authority. The meeting will discuss the issues including water storage in Cauvery basin reservoirs, the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka as per the schedule and duly complying with all aspects of the judgement of the Supreme Court in this regard. As per Supreme Court’s direction, the Central Government constituted CWMA on 1st June 2018. The CWMA is an umbrella body, which will monitor water management on a day-to-day basis, including the water level and inflow and outflow of reservoirs in all the basin states.

Notes:
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei has won the Malaysian Open Badminton men’s singles title for a historic 12th time. In the men’s final in Kuala Lumpur on July 1, he defeated young Japanese shuttler Kento Momota in straight games 21-17 23-21 in 71 minutes. In the women’s singles final, top seed Tai Tzu Ying from Taiwan defeated China’s He Bingjiao by 22-20, 21-11.

Notes:
P.K. Shrivastava has taken over charge as the new Director General of Ordnance Factories (DGOF) and chairman of the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) with effect from July 1, 2018. Previously, he was Additional DGOF and member at OFB, and was in charge of Armoured Vehicles, headquartered in Avadi, Chennai. The OFB is an industrial organisation, functioning under the Department of Defence Production of Ministry of Defence. The headquarters of OFB is located in Kolkata, West Bengal.

Notes:
India will host the 19th edition of IUFoST World Food Science and Technology Congress 2018 in Navi Mumbai from October 23-27, 2018. The IUFoST stands for ‘International Union of Food Science and Technology’. The 5-day event will bring together researchers, academicians, professionals, policy makers and industry leaders from across the globe to showcase innovation, exchange breakthrough ideas and drive policy issues. The focal theme for the 19th edition of the prestigious World Congress of Food Science and Technology is ’25 Billion Meals a Day by 2025 with Healthy, Nutritious, Safe and Diverse Foods’. IUFoST 2018 will provide insight on key concepts on recent advances in food sciences, food processing and agriculture technologies.

Notes:
The World Sports Journalists Day (WSJD) is observed every year on July 2 to mark the services of sports journalists for the promotion of sports. This day has been earmarked as the official day of celebration because of its significance as the date when the International Sports Press Association (ISPA) was established at the 1924 Paris Olympics. The purpose of the day is to encouraged sports journalists to strive for excellence in their work and to set an example to the world – not only to the world of sport, but to the world at large.

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.