Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Union Health Ministry has recently launched Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination campaign at a function in Bengaluru, Karnataka that targets around 41 crore children across India. The campaign against these two diseases will start from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Goa and Lakshadweep and will cover nearly 3.6 crore children. All children aged between 9 months and less than 15 years will be given a single shot of MR- vaccination. The MR vaccine will be provided free- of- cost across the states. Currently, Measles vaccine is provided under Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Though, rubella vaccine will be a new addition. Measles is a deadly disease and one of the important causes of death in children. Rubella is generally a mild infection, but has serious consequences if infection occurs in pregnant women, causing congenital rubella syndrome.

Notes:
The 4th BIMSTEC Summit-2017 will be held in Nepal, which is likely to be announced in the 17th session of BIMSTEC Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) that has started at Kathmandu, Nepal on February 2, 2017. In the meeting, delegates of member countries will review the progress made by BIMSTEC and recommend future course of action to strengthen regional cooperation among the group. The BIMSTEC was founded in 1997 and is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Notes:
Anish Kapoor, the well-known Indian-origin British sculptor, has won the prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize 2017 by Israel for his commitment to Jewish values. Kapoor’s work include ‘Turning the World Upside Down’ at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, ‘Cloud Gate’ in Chicago’s Millennium Park and the ‘Orbit’ in London. The Genesis Prize is also regarded as Jewish Nobel Prize and is given annually to those who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the State of Israel.

Notes:
The Haryana government has recently constituted a 5-member to resolve the problems of those agitating for reservation and other issues in the state. The committee will be headed by Chief Secretary D S Dhesi. As stated by the government, any organization, section of the society or an individual could submit their viewpoint and suggestions to the committee in writing or orally. The committee will try its best to resolve their issues under the ambit of the Constitution and different decisions and directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.

Notes:
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is co-hosting the Second Gateway of India Geo economic Dialogue with Gateway House in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 13-14, 2017 . This is India’s premier geo-economics conference on the theme ‘Where Geopolitics meets Business’ focused on building synergies between business and foreign policy. There will be panel discussions covering topics like Sovereign Funds, Global Taxation and Digital Economy.

Notes:
The 2nd edition of International Conference on India Pharma & India Medical Device-2017 has been inaugurated by Ananth kumar, the Union Minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs, in Bengaluru, Karnataka on February 11, 2017. The three day event, with the Vision – ‘For Responsible Healthcare’, is based on themes: Medical Devices- ‘Shaping the Future-Making the Right Choices’ and Pharma -‘Shaping the future of India Pharma’. This initiative will be a platform to give a push to the Indian Pharma & Medical Devices sector in becoming globally competitive.

Notes:
Edappadi K Palaniswamy has become the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on February 16, 2017. He is a senior leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). He has to seek the vote confidence of the Tamil Nadu assembly within 15 days. Palaniswamy belong to Gounder community, which is one of the main communities along with the Thevars (or Mukkulathors) that have influenced the AIADMK.

Notes:
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a French professional tennis player, has won the 2017 Rotterdam Tennis Tournament by defeating David Goffin of Belgium in the final by 4-6, 6-4, 6-1.

Notes:
The Haryana government has made it mandatory for all private schools to install solar systems in order to make them self-sufficient in managing their energy needs. A special grant at the rate of Rs 20,000 per kilowatt will be given to the schools for installing solar power plants. The electricity generated from the solar power plants at schools during the summer vacations in June and July would be added to the grid, the record of which would be maintained through net metering. The schools would be required to pay only for the electricity consumed in excess of that generated by the solar power plants.

Notes:
Sumit Mullick, the 1982 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as new Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. He succeeded Swadheen Kshatriya, who was due for retirement on 31st of January, but was given a month’s extension. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the Chief Protocol Officer in the General Administration department. He had earlier served as the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati and worked as Secretary of School Education. He was also Secretary to the Governor.