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:
Recently, the Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel has laid the foundation stone of the India’s first centre of excellence for differently-abled sportsmen at Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The Center of Excellence is proposed with an estimate of over Rs 50 crore. It will have world class facilities where para athletes can train for various international competitions including Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Olympic Games. It will also act as a classification center for para athletes. The Center will also hold seminars, educational programmes and workshops throughout the year with the help of International Paralympic Committee. Approx 50 differently-abled sportspersons (boys & girls) between age group 8-12 will be imparted training in Athletics, Swimming and power lifting at the training centre. The entire project will be constructed by CPWD in coordination with various experts and consultants having full accessibility as per the norms of IPC.

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 17th International Seminar on Counter Terrorism has been held at Manesar in Haryana on February 8, 2017. The seminar is organised by National Security Guard (NSA) and inaugurated by the Broadcasting Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, the Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting. Apart from this, the Minister also unveiled the NSG annual magazine ‘The Bombshell’, which contains details of various IED explosions that occurred in various parts of the world in 2016.

Notes:
The 11th biennial edition of International Aerospace and Defence Exhibition – Aero India 2017 – will be held at the Air Force Station, Yelahanka in Bengaluru, Karnataka from February 14. In the 5-day event, 72 aircrafts, beside 270 Indian and 279 foreign companies will participate. Exhibitors from US, Russia, Israel, Germany, Singapore, UAE, South Korea and Australia will participate. The aerobatic teams participating in the show are Indian Air Force Sarang Team, the Indian Air Force Surya Kiran Team, the Scandinavian Air Show Team from Sweden and the Evolvkos Aerobatic Team from UK.

Notes:
The world’s longest elevated bike path “the winding viaduct”has been opened in the city of Xiamen, China which can handle about 2,023 cyclists with a speed limit of 15 miles per hour. The five-mile long and 16-feet wide bicycle-only pathway can carry 2,023 cyclists per hour, while 300 hire bikes are available for people who do not have bicycles. The architecture firm responsible is Copenhagen-based firm Dissing + Weitling, known for the creation of the Danish Bicycle Snake cycle route.

Notes:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has opened South Asia Training and Technical Assistance Center (SARTTAC) in New Delhi for economic capacity building in South Asia. The center is a collaborative venture between the IMF, the member countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and development partners. It was officially inaugurated by Shaktikanta Das, Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs, on February 13, 2017. The SARTTAC is IMF’s first fully-integrated capacity development center, which has strategic goal to help its member countries strengthen their institutional and human capacity to design and implement macroeconomic and financial policies that promote growth and reduce poverty.

Notes:
Sandeep Singh, an Indian professional field hockey player and an ex-captain of the Indian national team, has become only the second Indian player to have an honorary degree for sporting excellence. Singh has been bestowed with the honour by Desh Bhagat University, a private educational institution in Amloh, Fatehgarh Sahib district of Punjab. Sandeep is only the second Indian player after former captain and sitting Member of Parliament, Dileep Tirkey, to have an honorary degree for sporting excellence. Tirkey received an honorary degree from Sambalpur University in 2010.

Notes:
India has become the world’s largest arms importer during 2012-16, according to the latest report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). As per the report, India accounted for 13% of the total global arms import between 2012–16 which is highest among all the countries. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China
and Algeria are the next four biggest global importers. As per the SIPRI report, the five biggest exporters—the United States, Russia, China, France and Germany—together accounted for 74% of the total volume of arms exports.

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.