Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Union government has recently formed a 6-member committee to study the ways to improve India’s Haj policy and look into the issue of subsidy to the pilgrimage. The committee has been constituted in the light of 2012 Supreme Court order on gradually reducing the subsidy and abolishing it by 2022. The convenor of committee is Afzal Amanullah, former Consul-Consul General of India in Jeddah. The committee will examine implications of various directions of the Supreme Court with regard to the existing Haj policy, and suitable amendments in it. It will also review the effectiveness of Haj Committee of India’s management of pilgrims’ accommodation and air travel. It will also figure out whether the pilgrims can travel to Saudi Arabia paying less in the absence of the subsidy. It will also assess the aspects of transparency, consumer satisfaction and disclosure requirements for private tour operators to protect interest of the pilgrims to make the policy of greater assistance to the pilgrims. The committee will submit its report in a month or two.

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:
India has been ranked 43rd out of 45 global economies in the 5th edition of Intellectual Property Index (IPI)-2017, as per the latest report titled “The Roots of Innovation” by the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC)’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). This is the 5th year in a row that India has been ranked at the bottom of the pack in the index. The list is topped by United States, followed by United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Sweden respectively. The GIPC highlighted the need for the government to build upon the positive rhetoric of its IPR policy with the substantial legislative reforms that innovators need.

Notes:
The ‘Parents’ Worship Day’ (or ‘Matru-Pitru Diwas’ ) is celebrated every year by the Chhattisgarh government on February 14 at all schools in the state to teach ‘Bharatiya sanskriti’ to students.

Notes:
The book “Army and Nation : The Military and Indian Democracy since Independence” has been authored by Steven Wilkinson, a professor of political science and International relations at Yale University. It is about Indian Army’s relationship with the civilian government after Independence. It is in news because Pakistan Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has advised his officers to read the book “Army and Nation” to understand how India succeeded in keeping the military out of politics.

Notes:
Veteran journalist T V Parasuram (93), a former correspondent of the Press Trust of India (PTI), has recently passed away in United States. He began his stint in the US as the PTI correspondent at United Nations in the 50s. The veteran journalist, who won a Harvard Niemen Fellowship in journalism, served as the correspondent for The Indian Express for two decades till his retirement at age 58. Parasuram then became the PTI’s Washington correspondent till he quit journalism at age 82. He was a regular at the press conferences of US presidents during his over five-decade stay in America. He authored two books, ‘A Medal for Kashmir – a first hand account of the Indian Army’s operations in 1947-48 in Jammu and Kashmir – and ‘India’s Jewish Heritage’.

Notes:
Shurhozelie Liezietsu (81), the president of Naga People’s Front (NPF), has been chosen as the new Chief Minister (CM) of Nagaland in place of T R Zeliang who resigned on February 19, 2017 under intense pressure from agitating tribal organizations. Shurhozelie, who is not an MLA and belongs to Angami tribe, will now have to seek an election within 6 months. According to an official source, Liezietsu will be sworn-in as the new CM on February 22.

Notes:
The book “Mr and Mrs Jinnah: The Marriage that Shook India” has been authored by well-known journalist Sheela Redddy. The author sketches an illuminating portrait of Ruttie Petit, whose marriage to Mohammad Ali Jinnah shocked Bombay society of that time. The book provides a comprehensive history of the Jinnahs, as well as the era of their marriage, its lengthy descriptive passages are spliced with amusing excerpts from Ruttie’s letters.

Notes:
The book “The Sleepwalker’s Dream: A Novel” has been authored by Dr. Dhrubajyoti Borah, the President of Assam Sahitya Sabha. Through the book, the author traces the journey of a group of militants towards an elusive freedom and an uncertain future. It is about June, Ron and several other rebels fleeing their hideout in Bhutan after an army attack along with their injured unconscious leader, who is unlikely to survive the ordeal of their journey towards the Assam border.

Notes:
The SRCC Global Millennium Summit 2017 has started in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) from March 18 and will continue till March 19. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative, which is organized by the students of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC), University of Delhi in association with the students of IIM Ahmedabad and IIT Kharagpur. The purpose of the summit is to provide the youth across the world with a platform to discuss, act and interact. The summit will bring together students from the world’s leading universities and notable leaders from the fields of governance, business, technology and academia. The theme of the summit is ‘Future of this Millennium’ and it will consist of panel discussions, workshops, competitions and keynote speaker sessions centered on the theme. From India, Vijay Goel (who is the Minister of State (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports) is the chief guest in the summit.