Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Railways has recently signed MoU with Italy’s public sector rail company Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane Group (FS Group) for technical cooperation in rail sector especially in the areas safety in train operations. The cooperation areas identified in this MoU includes safety audit of Indian Railways and measures required for enhancing safety in train operation, assessment and certification of advanced technology based safety products and systems to Safety Integrity Level (SIL4), training and competency development with focus of safety, modern trends in maintenance and diagnostic etc.

Notes:
The apex aviation security agency, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) has suspended the license of budget carrier IndiGo’s aviation security training facility for alleged lapses in the examination system conducted by it. The training academy is run by IndiGo’s parent company “InterGlobe Aviation”. Following the suspension of licence, IndiGo would have to outsource the training programme, which would result in additional cost for the carrier.

Notes:
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former Prime Minister who holds dual Somali-U.S. citizenship, has become the new President of Somali after winning the 2017 Somali presidential election with 184 votes out of a total of 328. Previously, he was the Prime Minister of Somalia from November 2010 until June 2011 and is the founder and Chairman of the Tayo Political Party.

Notes:
India has been ranked 43rd out of 45 global economies in the 5th edition of Intellectual Property Index (IPI)-2017, as per the latest report titled “The Roots of Innovation” by the US Chamber of Commerce (USCC)’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC). This is the 5th year in a row that India has been ranked at the bottom of the pack in the index. The list is topped by United States, followed by United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Sweden respectively. The GIPC highlighted the need for the government to build upon the positive rhetoric of its IPR policy with the substantial legislative reforms that innovators need.

Notes:
The Indian Panorama Film Festival has started in Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar on February 15, 2017. The 5-day festival is organized by the Directorate of Information and Publicity, Andaman & Nicobar, in association with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Directorate of Film Festivals/IFFI, New Delhi. Approx 15 popular as well as award winning films, of different languages and genre will be screened at two different venues viz. PBMC Auditorium and ITF Ground during the fest.

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:
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.

Notes:
The 10th edition of International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV) will be held in New Delhi from March 7th to 9th, 2017. The 3-day ICEGOV conference will be organized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in collaboration with United Nations University and UNESCO. The key purpose of the conference is to explore how digital government can lead to digital empowerment by local knowledge. The conclave will focus on the use of technology to transform relationships between government and citizens, businesses, civil society. It will bring together academia, governments, international organizations, civil society, and the private sector to share the insights and experiences in theory and practice of digital Government. The programme also includes digital exhibition and special events highlighting the Indian experience and achievements in digital governance.

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 Haryana government has recently launched “Tirtha Darshan” scheme for senior citizens. As per the scheme, senior citizens above 60 years of age and of Haryana domicile would be able to go on a pilgrimage within the country at government expense. Under the scheme, the government would bear the entire cost of the tour of senior citizens belonging to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. The senior citizens would be selected for the pilgrimage on the basis of draw of lots. Over 400 destinations can be visited under the scheme.