Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Pathani Patnaik (89), the renowned litterateur, poet, writer and academician, has recently passed away in Cuttack, Odisha. He was the former principal of Christ College and also served as President of Odisha Sahitya Akademi. He had written over 50 books on different aspects of literature, including short stories and poems and also received the Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010 for his autobiography “Jeebanara Chalapatha”.

Notes:
The Government of India (GoI) has recently appointed three part-time non-official directors on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for a 4-year term. These are – Dr. Rajiv Kumar, Dr. Ashok Gulati and Manish Sabharwal. This central Board of directors is responsible for governing the affairs of RBI. The board is appointed by the Union Government. There are five official directors — Governor and not more than four deputy governors. Besides, the government nominates 16 non-official directors on the board. Ten are nominated from different fields, two are government officials and one director each from the four local boards.

Notes:
The United States and Thailand has officially launched the 2017 Cobra Gold joint military exercise at Chonburi Province in Thailand on February 14. The 2017 Cobra Gold is the 36th edition of the military exercise in which more than 8,300 personnel from 29 countries, including Japan, South Korea, China and Southeast Asian nations are taking part. The Cobra Gold is the Asia’s largest multinational drill held in Thailand every year and is among the largest multinational military exercise in which the United States participates.

Notes:
The Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to operationalise the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). HEFA has been formed as a special purpose vehicle. It would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding projects for infrastructure and development of world class Labs in IITs/IIMs/NITs and such other institutions. HEFA would also mobilise CSR funds from PSUs/corporates, which would in turn be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on a grant basis. The purpose of the HEFA is to create high quality infrastructure/capital assets in premier educational institutions. All the centrally funded higher educational institutions would be eligible for joining as members of HEFA.

Notes:
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has launched Cyber Swachhta Kendra – Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre (BCMAC) to provide free anti-virus to computers and mobile phones for removing malicious softwares. This is a part of Digital India initiative and is operated by the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under provisions of Section 70B of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Centre aims to enhance coordination between the Government and industry in order to encourage cyber hygiene among all end-users and to create a secure and safe internet ecosystem in India.

Notes:
The book “Kohinoor: The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond” has been authored by William Dalrymple, an acclaimed historian and a bestselling and award-winning author. This riveting story of the Kohinoor unearths fascinating new information as it moves from the Mughal court to Persia to Afghanistan, from Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s durbar in Punjab to the Crown of the Queen of England.

Notes:
The 2017 Mobile World Congress (MWC) has started in Barcelona, Spain from February 27 and will continue till March 2. The MWC is the world’s biggest and best mobile industry event comprising of a massive exhibition, an award-winning conference, outstanding networking opportunities, partner programmes, the Glomo Awards and much more. It is organised by the Global System Mobile Association (GSMA). In it, the Indian researchers from IIT Hyderabad will showcase its C-RAN prototype for 5G technology, which is one of the first prototypes in the world.

Notes:
The International Rare Disease Day (IRDD) is held every year on the last day of February to raise awareness for rare diseases and improve access to treatment and medical representation for individuals with rare diseases and their families. The 2017 IRDD is held on February 28 with theme “Research” and slogan ‘With research, possibilities are limitless’ to recognize the crucial role that patients play in research.

Notes:
The Zero Discrimination Day (ZDD) is observed every year on March 1 to promote and celebrate everyone’s right to live a full life with dignity—no matter what they look like, where they come from or whom they love. The symbol for Zero Discrimination is the butterfly, widely recognized as a sign of transformation. The 2017 theme is “Make Some Noise for Zero Discrimination”.

Notes:
Sam Querrey, an American professional tennis player, has won the 2017 ATP Mexico Open hard court tennis tournament by defeating Rafael Nadal in the final by 6-3, 7-6 at Acapulco in Mexico.