Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Assam, Sarbananda Sonowal has recently launched the Chief Minister Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana (CMSGUY) in Guwahati to develop villages of the state. It’s a mega mission with a financial outlay of Rs. 30,000 crore will be implemented in all the villages in Assam in the next five years culminating in 2021-22. The programme will be implemented through ‘saturation model’ by covering each revenue village through focused interventions in direct economic activities, logistic support including market linkages and community support. The purpose of the mission is to bring revolutionary changes by doubling the farm income in the State.

Notes:
The book “Band, Bajaa, Boys!” has been authored by Rachna Singh, an HR and marketing consultant. This book explores the many hilarious shades of small town life, with an underlying theme of rejection.

Notes:
The Union Sports Minister Vijay Goel and All India Foot ball Federation (AIFF) President Praful Patel has launched the official mascot “Kheleo” for FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi on February 10, 2017. The clouded leopard “Kheleo” is a vulnerable wild cat whose habitat extends from the Himalayan foothills to mainland Southeast Asia. Kheleo will participate in numerous activities in the run-up to the first-ever FIFA tournament to be hosted by India, which will be played from 6 to 28 October 2017. In it, India will showcase its ability to organize and execute global sporting events.

Notes:
Sodium-ion batteries offer higher energy density, lower risk of thermal runaway compared to lithium-ion batteries, and sodium is abundant in nature. The Earth’s crust contains 2.9% sodium versus 0.01% lithium. Cost of sodium extraction is lower, and sodium is found in seawater and soda ash. They are non-flammable and suitable for diverse applications.

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:
Simone Biles, an American artistic gymnast, has won the Laureus World Sports Awards for Sportswoman of the Year 2017 at a ceremony in Monaco. She is the first woman to win four gymnastics gold medals in a single Olympic Games, Beside this, the Sportsman of the Year 2017 goes to Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and Chicago Cubs (Basket Ball) won the 2017 Team of the Year award.

Notes:
Sumit Mullick, the 1982 batch IAS officer, has been appointed as new Chief Secretary of Maharashtra. He succeeded Swadheen Kshatriya, who was due for retirement on 31st of January, but was given a month’s extension. Prior to this appointment, he was serving as the Chief Protocol Officer in the General Administration department. He had earlier served as the Divisional Commissioner of Amravati and worked as Secretary of School Education. He was also Secretary to the Governor.

Notes:
The World Wildlife Day (WWD) is observed every year on March 3 to mark the signing of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and to raise awareness of the world’s wild fauna and flora. The 2017 theme is “Listen to the young voices”. The World Wildlife Day is an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that conservation provides to people. At the same time, the Day reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime, which has wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.

Notes:
The Ministry of Power is hosting the 13th Executive Committee (ExCo) Meeting of the International Smart Grid Action Network (ISGAN) at powergrid corporate center in Gurugram, Haryana from March 6, 2017. This is the first-ever ISGAN ExCo Meeting in India. In the 3-day event, a total of 36 representatives from 18 countries viz. Germany, Korea, Norway, Russia, South Africa, US and UAE, etc., has participated. The purpose of the meeting is to improve the understanding of smart grid technologies, practices and promote adoption of related enabling government policies.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has launched Mission Fingerling programme with a total expenditure of about Rs. 52000 lakh to achieve Blue Revolution. The focus of the programme is to create an enabling environment for an integrated and holistic development and management of fisheries for the socio-economic development of the fishers and fish farmers. The target of the mission is to increase the fisheries production from 10.79 mmt (2014-15) to 15 mmt by 2020-21.