Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Anish Kapoor, the well-known Indian-origin British sculptor, has won the prestigious $1 million Genesis Prize 2017 by Israel for his commitment to Jewish values. Kapoor’s work include ‘Turning the World Upside Down’ at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, ‘Cloud Gate’ in Chicago’s Millennium Park and the ‘Orbit’ in London. The Genesis Prize is also regarded as Jewish Nobel Prize and is given annually to those who have attained excellence and international renown in their chosen professional fields, and who inspire others through their engagement and dedication to the Jewish community and/or the State of Israel.

Notes:
The Haryana government has recently constituted a 5-member to resolve the problems of those agitating for reservation and other issues in the state. The committee will be headed by Chief Secretary D S Dhesi. As stated by the government, any organization, section of the society or an individual could submit their viewpoint and suggestions to the committee in writing or orally. The committee will try its best to resolve their issues under the ambit of the Constitution and different decisions and directions given by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.

Notes:
The two-day South Asian Speaker’s summit has been inaugurated by the Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan at Indore in Madhya Pradesh on February 18, 2017. The summit is organized by the Indian Parlianment and Inter-Parliamentary Union which is focused on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals in member countries. The delegates from legislatures of Afganistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka are attending the summit. Representatives from Pakistan and Myanmar are not attending the summit due to their personal reasons.

Notes:
Justice Abhay Manohar Sapre has been appointed the new chairman of Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT). The post fell vacant following the resignation of Justice Balbir Singh Chauhan, who is currently the chairman of Law Commission. The CWDT was constituted by the Government of India (GoI) in 1990 to adjudicate the water dispute regarding the inter-state Cauvery river which has Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry as basin states.

Notes:
Suman Saxena, the former Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), has taken charge as the Whole Time Member (WTM) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI). She would look after research and regulation wing apart from national insolvency programme, continuing professional programme as well as knowledge management and partnership. Currently, the board of IBBI — set up under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code — has five members including Chairman Dr. M S Sahoo. Others are Ajay Tyagi, Amardeep Singh Bhatia, G S Yadav and A Unnikrishnan.

Notes:
The 4th edition of India-CLMV (Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam) Business Conclave was held in Jaipur, Rajasthan. It was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman, which was organised by the Department of Commerce and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The purpose of the conference was to identify specific project opportunities and seeks business partnerships in the region. The conclave focused on sectors such as Pharma, Healthcare, manufacturing, Agri Business, Food processing, Gems and Jewellery, Textiles, Leather, Renewable Energy and education.

Notes:
The book “When Crime Pays – Money and Muscle in Indian Politics” has been authored by Milan Vaishnav. It is the most systematic analysis of corruption and criminalization in Indian politics. The author shows that it is growing because of societal, political, and economic factors. This remarkable book will change readers’ view of democracy in India.

Notes:
The Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has become the world’s number 2 airport in the over 40 million passengers per annum category, as per the Montreal (Canada)-based Airports Council International 2016 rankings. The ranking is based on the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey report 2016. Beside this, GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd has secured the first position in Airport Service Quality (ASQ) passengers survey in the 5-15 million passengers per annum category for 2016. The survey statistics shows that Hyderabad Airport has steadily improved its score from 4.4 in 2009 to 4.9 in 2016, measured on scale of 1 to 5. The ASQ awards are presented to those airports whose customers have rated them the highest over the course of the year. The awards will be presented in Port Luis, Mauritius, October 2017.

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 Textiles Minister, Smriti Zubin Irani has recently instituted ‘Kamaladevi Chattopadhya National Awards’, a new category of awards especially for women handloom weavers and women handicraft artisans. Beside this, under theme of ‘Mahila Vikas Mahila Ke Saath’, the Textile Minister launched a special campaign to provide MUDRA Loans to women handloom weavers all across the country. The Minister also launched a national campaign to eliminate the exploitative and unhygienic practice of thigh reeling in India (thigh reeling of tasar silk is usually practiced by marginal women entrepreneurs, working every day in their homes during spare time).