Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Ananya Vinay (12), the 6th-grader from California, has won the 90th Scripps National Spelling Bee competition by successfully spelling “marocain” in the final round at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland on June 1, 2017. She won $40,000 in cash among other prizes. Ananya is the 13th consecutive Indian-American to win the bee and the 18th of the past 22 winners with Indian heritage, a run that began in 1999 with Nupur Lala’s victory.

Notes:
The Gumti Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Tripura that covers an area of about 389.54 sq km. It is home to animals like elephants, sambar, buffalo, yapping deer, sarow, wild goa, etc. The sanctuary is one of the prominent sanctuaries that speck the bush clad landscapes of Tripura; this sanctuary is a sign of the common legacy of the state and affirms the various Tripura wild life and it is one of the best places of the animal visitors.

Notes:
Dr. Sharad Kumar Jain has assumed the additional charge of Director General (DG) of National Water Development Agency (NWDA) under Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. Presently, he is working as Scientist G with National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee. Jain succeeds S. Masood Husain who has moved over as Member (WP&P), Central Water Commission.

Notes:
Montenegro has officially become the 29th member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) at a ceremony in Washington, United States on June 5, 2017. The purpose of NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. The headquarters of NATO is located at Brussels, Belgium.

Notes:
Veteran journalist Vinod Dua will be honoured with the RedInk Award for Lifetime Achievement (LTA) in Journalism for 2017 by the Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on June 7 in Mumbai in recognition of his extensive and versatile contribution in different formats and subjects. The awards are part of the National RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism and instituted by the Mumbai Press Club. Star India is the Presenting Partner for the Mumbai Press Club RedInk Awards. The Hindu Group and Facebook are the media partners.

Notes:
India and the UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have launched a partnership fund that will support sustainable development projects across the developing world. The fund was launched on the occasion of the World Oceans Day (WOD) at a special ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN on June 8, 2017. The India-UN Development Partnership Fund will implement country-level projects that are catalytic towards achieving the 17 sustainable development goals of the 2030 Agenda. The purpose of the initiative is to reduce poverty and hunger, improving health, education and equality, and expanding access to clean water, energy and livelihoods.

Notes:
Indian-American Raja Chari, a Lieutenant Colonel with the US Air Force, has been chosen for the 2017 NASA Astronaut Candidate Class. He is among 12 new astronauts who will be trained for missions into Earth orbit and to deep space. Chari may become the 3rd person of Indian origin from the US after the late Kalpana Chawla and current NASA astronaut Sunita ‘Suni’ Williams to fly to space. Currently, he is a commander of the 461st Flight Test Squadron and the director of the F-35 Integrated Test Force at Edwards Air Force Base in California.

Notes:
The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, J P Nadda has been conferred with the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award for accelerating India’s tobacco control initiatives and taking bold measures to protect people against hazards of tobacco use. The global recognition was presented to him by Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asia, at the ‘National Consultation on Accelerating Implementation of WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for achievement of Sustainable Development Goals’.

Notes:
The Tamil Nadu government has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) for the implementation of the UDAN scheme in the state. In the first phase of regional air connectivity scheme “UDAN”, the steps will be taken to start flight services to Hosur, Salem and Neyveli.The purpose of the Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) is to make regional connectivity easy at low cost so that common people could opt for air travel. Also, it would enhance infrastructure, employment opportunities and lead to trade and industry growth.

Notes:
The Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (MWS) is located on the foothills of the Himalayas, between the Teesta and Mahananda rivers. It is situated in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal. It got the status of a sanctuary in 1959 to protect the Indian bison and royal Bengal tiger, which were facing the threat of extinction It is also home to very endangered birds like Rufous-necked Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Great Hornbill etc.