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:
The Gateway House and the Ministry of External Affairs has co-hosted the 2017’s edition of ‘The Gateway of India Geo-economic Dialogue’ in Mumbai, Maharashtra on February 13-14, 2017.This is India’s premier geo-economics conference on the theme ‘Where Geopolitics meets Business’ focused on building synergies between business and foreign policy. There were panel discussions that cover topics like Sovereign Funds, Global Taxation and Digital Economy.

Notes:
India has been ranked 143rd in the 2017 Economic Freedom Index (EFI). The annual index was released by a conservative US political think tank “the Heritage Foundation”. It measures the degree of economic freedom in the countries of the world. The 2017 index is topped by Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, respectively. Among South Asian countries, only Afghanistan (163) and Maldives (157) were ranked below India. Nepal (125), Sri Lanka (112), Pakistan (141), Bhutan (107), and Bangladesh (128) surpassed India in economic freedom.

Notes:
Shibaji Banerjee (68), the former Mohun Bagan and India national team goalkeeper, has recently passed away in Kolkata, West Bengal. He played for Mohun Bagan for 11 years and was famous for saving penalty-kicks. He is considered to be one of India’s best shot-stoppers when it came to penalty-kicks. His most memorable performance in a tie-breaker was against Mohammedan Sporting in the 1980 Federation Cup semi-final when he stopped spot-kicks from Akbar and Amalraj. Banerjee is best remembered for his performance against New York Cosmos in 1977, which had the Brazilian legend Pele in their ranks. His diving save from Pele in the first half is one of the most-talked about moments in Indian football and has become a part of the folklore.

Notes:
The Mangalore-based public sector lender, Corporation Bank has won the ‘National MSME Excellence Award 2017’ at a function in New Delhi for playing constructive role in the MSME sector viz. online loan facility for MSME borrowers, online facility for revival and rehabilitation of MSME, campaign for growth with various concessions and collateral
free loans up to Rs 2 crore under Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS), etc. The award is instituted by the Federation of Industry Trade and Services (FITS), which is a national industry body working in the form of a bridge between the industry and the state and central governments.

Notes:
The Central Excise Day (CED) is celebrated every year on February 23 in India to commemorate the enactment of the Central Excise and Salt Act, 1944. The Central Excise officers all over the country celebrate this day by organizing seminars, workshops, trade interactions and cultural events etc. In the “Annual Central Excise Day 2017”, Santosh Kumar Gangwar (the Minister of State for Finance) will be the Chief Guest in the “Auditorium, National Museum , Janpath, New Delhi”. The 32 Officers of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) and its formations from all over India to receive “Commendation Certificate” on the occasion.

Notes:
The first edition of Gramin Khel Mahotsav (GKM) will be held from March 25th to 31st, 2017 in New Delhi. The games will be held in five sports disciplines Athletics, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, Volley Ball and Wrestling. The festival will help participation of rural youth in large numbers in popular sports and encourage them to achieve excellence and adopt healthy life style. The purpose of this fest to promote sports in rural areas across the country and will be replicated in other States and UTs as well.

Notes:
The Rajasthan government has launched the Rajasthan Heart Attack Treatment programme (RAHAT) medical project at the Eternal Hospital in Jaipur to provide people timely treatment during heart attacks in remote and rural areas. Under the programme, the patients facing heart attack would be provided with emergency ambulance service and telemedicine service through Eternal Heart Care Centre Hospital. The programme is a ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), a very serious type of heart attack, management telemedicines platform that captures and transmits patient’s EKG along with clinical history from remote geographical locations to heart command center hub.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has recently constituted an inter-disciplinary standing committee on cyber security to review the threats inherent in the existing and emerging technology. The 11—member committee headed by Meena Hemchandra, Executive Director of RBI, will study adoption of various security standards and protocols, interface with stakeholders and suggest appropriate policy interventions to strengthen cyber security and resilience. The committee has been formed on the recommendations of the expert panel on Cyber Security and Information Technology Examination.

Notes:
Recently, para shooter Avani Lekhara (15) from India shot a junior world record 244.4 in the women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1 event (R2) to won the silver medal at the World Shooting Para Sport World Cup in Al Ain, UAE. Beside this, para shooter Pooja Agarwal shot 228.4 in the final of the women’s 10m air pistol SH1 event (P2) to won a silver medal at the tournament. Notably, both Indian shooters were making their international debuts at the competition.