Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Gujarat has become the first Indian State to establish cashless system for distribution of food grains. The beneficiaries under National Food Security Act (NFSA) will need to carry only Aadhaar cards for getting their food grain in Gujarat. This will help in establishing the identity of beneficiaries, help in stopping the leakages of grain at shop level and above all eradicate corruption in the Public distribution System (PDS). Beside this, the Gujarat government completed the target of installing Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) in 17,250 Fair Price Shops (FPS) much before March 31. With this, a consumer will also be able to get his Rail, air and bus ticket reserved at the Fair Price Shops (FPS) itself. A beneficiary can pay his mobile bill, a farmer can deposit crop insurance premium, LIC premium etc. at these centres.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has observed its 3rd National Deworming Day (NDD) on February 10 to tackle worm infections among pre-school (anganwadi) and school-age children across India. The aim of the NDD is to reach every child, regardless of their socio-economic circumstance. It is the world’s largest deworming programme that covers 340 million children under-19 years of age across 36 states/ UTs. The deworming programme is India’s commitment to a comprehensive national response to the public health threat posed by worms.

Notes:
Indian Navy’s survey vessel INS Sarvekshak has become the India’s first warship to install solar power system on board. The solar power system works on sunlight and hence is 100% per cent reliable for power source that can be used for communication equipment, battery charging and general lightings onboard round the clock with battery outputs during night. The system is maintenance free.

Notes:
India’s first sports literature festival ‘SporTale’ will be held in Pune on February 2, 2017. The 2-day event will feature approx 38 luminaries from the field of sports, media, cinema, books and photography.

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The Maharashtra government has approved Rs. 250-crore cloud seeding programme to produce adequate rain because of droughts over the Vidarbha region. The programme would be coordinated by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. It will be the first controlled experiment to quantify the extent to which clouds form water drops large enough to make rain. For their experiment, weather scientists will fly will fly two aircraft and spray dry ice and silver iodide on 100 clouds and compare them with 100 unseeded clouds. Ground radar will track the clouds and verify which ones contributed rain and by how much. The programme will account for the natural variability of the monsoon.

Notes:
Ved Prakash Sharma (62), the popular Hindi novelist, has recently passed away in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh. He was famous for novels with unique titles such as Dahej Mein Revolver (Revolver as Dowry), Widhva Ka Pati (Husband of a Widow) and Dulhan Maange Dahej (Bride Asks For Dowry). Sharma had also written scripts for about half-a-dozen Hindi movies.

Notes:
The Andhra Pradesh government has signed MoU with Visa to transform Vishakhapatnam into India’s first ‘less cash’ city. As per MoU, this initiative is designed to provide the foundation for the city to emerge as India’s ‘Fintech Valley’. For this, Visa will focus on driving payments digitisation, and work with the city to help build the talent pool required in city organisations and in academia on emerging technologies like blockchain. Visa will also provide support to FinTech start-ups by providing access to Visa’s APIs, providing subject matter expertise, and participating in boot camps and hackathons. The state government has also signed a MoU with Thomson Reuters for cooperation in Fintech initiatives in the state.

Notes:
The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee has inaugurated an International conference on ‘Bharat Bodh’ (Idea of Bharat) on February 23, 2017 in New Delhi. The 3-day conference is organized by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and Bhartiya Shikshan Mandal (BSM).

Notes:
Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli will be conferred with the 2017 Polly Umrigar Award at the BCCI award ceremony in Bangalore on March 8, 2017. Kohli, who received the award in 2011-12 and 2014-15, becomes the first Indian cricketer to get it on the third occasion. The award is given to the international cricketer of the year by the Indian cricket board. Beside this, all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin will also become the first Indian to receive the Dilip Sardesai award twice for his best performance in bilateral series.

Notes:
Yumnam Yaima Singh (95), the Veteran politician and former Member of Parliament, has recently passed away in Imphal, Manipur. Y Yaima Singh was first elected to the Territorial Council in 1957. He was elected seven times continuously to the Manipur Assembly from Oinam Constituency from 1962 to 1985. He had held various Ministerial posts such as Education, IFCD, and Law & Legislative Affairs. He was the Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly form 1980 – 85. He was elected to the 10th Lok Sabha in 1991 on the Manipur People’s Party (MPP) ticket, representing the Inner Manipur Parliamentary Constituency. He was also a brilliant writer, who wrote a book titled “A Piece of Tenth Lok Sabha” in English, amongst many others.