Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Top seeded Indian team has won gold medal in the boys’ team event at the 18th Asian Junior Team Squash Championship-2017 by defeating Malaysia by 2-0 in the final in Hong Kong. It’s 2nd time that Indian boys team has won the championship. Earlier in 2011, they defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in Colombo.

Notes:
The world’s first Braille Atlas for visually impaired persons has been launched by Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences. The special edition of the “Atlas for Visually Impaired (India)” in English Braille has been prepared by National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO) under the Department of S&T. The Atlas priced at Rs.600 and has 20 maps that cover themes such as physical, socio-economic and cultural aspects such as river system, natural vegetation, Metropolitan cities, roads, food and cash crops. The Atlas will be distributed free of cost to various schools across India for educating the students with visual challenges.

Notes:
The 2017 UNESCO Natural Heritage Festival was held at Great Himalayan National Park (GHNP) in Sairopa, Himachal Pradesh from February 11th to 12th. The fest was held in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) and would be attended by prominent conservationists, including Dr George Schaller and Dr A J T Johnsingh, The festival feature a media workshop on environmental journalism, discussions on natural and cultural heritage of the Himalayan region and a heritage walk. Notably, GHNP was given UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 2014 in recognition of its outstanding significance for bio-diversity conservation.

Notes:
The 7th edition of Indian Seed Congress (ISC) has been organized by the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) in Kolkata, West Bengal on February 12-14, 2017. The theme of Seed Congress is “Seed of Joy” which is very much in line with vision of this government to bring happiness and prosperity in the lives of farmers by doubling their farm income by 2022. The ISC is an annual forum that provides a platform for the Seed Industry to interact closely with technology developers, sector development officials and policy makers. It also provides a chance to showcase new product ranges and services and network for better business development.

Notes:
Shand Panesar, an Indian-origin constable with Scotland Yard, has been awarded 2017 United Kingdom’s (UK) Outstanding Bravery of the Year Award for risking his life with a colleague to rescue a couple from a burning building in London in September 2016. Panesar and Craig Nicholson were jointly awarded after the public voted for them in the Total Excellence in Policing Awards, which were presented by Metropolitan Police police commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe.

Notes:
Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar has been honoured with the ‘Legendary Award ‘ 2017 by Brand Laureate. The Brand Laureate Awards recognise world-class achievement in branding amongst individuals and companies. She is known for songs like “Lag jaa gale”, “Aayega aanewala”, “Aye mere watan ke logon”, “Luka chuppi”, and many more.

Notes:
Bhau Jambhuwantrao Dhote (83), the former Member of Parliament (MP) from Nagpur Lok Sabha constituency, has recently passed away in Yavatmal, Maharashtra. He was known for his demands of a separate state for Vidarbha. Dhote won his first election to Lok Sabha in 1971 from Nagpur as a Forward Bloc nominee. Later in 1980, he joined Congress and won the Nagpur seat on the Congress ticket. After leaving Congress he founded Vidarbha Janta Congress party in 2002. He was elected to Maharashtra Assembly five times. Due to his active participation in various movements for separate Vidarbha and farmers and his aggressive speeches, he was also known as the Lion of Vidarbha.

Notes:
Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan will host the Hindi version of popular international show “TED Talks”, which is the super-inspiring and super-influential talk series. Star India will air the Indian version “TED Talks India: Nayi Soch” in summer 2017 but a definite telecast date is yet to be announced. This is the first time TED is collaborating with a network and mega-star to produce a TV series featuring original TED Talks in a language other than English.

Notes:
The Barren Island is located in the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands and is the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia. It is in news because the Barren Island volcano has erupted once again after lying dormant for over 150 years. According to the researchers at Goa-based National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the volcano is active and spewing smoke and lava once again. They have sampled the sediments and water in the vicinity of the volcano and recovered coal-like black pyroclastic material representing proximal volcanic eject. These samples will help in deciphering the nature of the present and past volcanic activity in the region.

Notes:
The Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty has become the new Brand Ambassador for “Swachh Bharat Mission”. She will feature in TV and radio campaigns aimed at discouraging people from littering on roads. Shetty is the latest entrant in the list of the mission’s ambassadors like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Shankar Mahadevan and Sachin Tendulkar.