Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
Debendranath Sarangi, who is the President of the Squash Rackets Federation of India, has recently elected as the vice-president of the Asia Squash Federation (ASF) with two-third majority at the 37th ASF Annual General Meeting. With this, he became the 2nd Indian to become the vice-president of the ASF after N Ramachandran. Sarangi replaced Syed Razi Nawab of Pakistan.

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:
A solenoid is defined as a cylinder-shaped coil consisting of many circular turns of insulated copper wire placed closely together. The magnetic field inside the solenoid is represented by parallel straight field lines, signifying a uniform magnetic field throughout its interior. Both statements correctly describe the structure and field properties of a solenoid.

Notes:
The second edition of “Hunar Haat” has been organized with the theme “Craft Aur Cuisine Ka Sangam” from February 11, 2017 to promote minority communities craftsmen in domestic and international markets. It will remain open till 26th of this month at State Emporia Complex in Connaught Place, New Delhi. ‘Hunar Haat’ is to encourage, promote and provide national and international market to master artisans and craftsmen belonging to minority communities. Approx 100 artisans and 30 culinary experts from about 24 states and UTs are participating at about 130 stalls in it. The Hunar Haat is organized through National Minorities Development & Finance Corporation (NMDFC) under Upgrading the Skills & Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts for Development (USTTAD) scheme of Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Notes:
The Kerala government has recently launched the public health program “Aardram” to restructure and revamp the public health system so that government hospitals become more patient-friendly and efficient and deliver optimum level of care. The purpose of the health program is to reduce the high out-of-pocket expenditure on health in the State by upgrading the facilities and infrastructure in public health facilities and thus reduce the dependence on private health facilities.

Notes:
V. K. Srinivasan (76), the noted bureaucrat, columnist and director of the Institute of Economic Studies (IES), has recently passed away in Hyderabad. He was known for his candid views and uprightness in the Services, Srinivasan ruffled many feathers in the corridors of power during his career. It resulted in several transfers as well. He served as Collector in Karimnagar and Anantapur districts, and was known for his simple habits.

Notes:
China will build its first national underwater observatory in the disputed South China Sea. Such a platform will reportedly allow the country to keep a check on underwater physical, chemical, and geological dynamics in real time and will also be used for other purposes. The construction work on the platform will be done with the help of Shanghai’s Tongji University and the Institute of Acoustics. By building this underwater observation platform, China will become an active part of the international competition. China has maritime disputes in the South China Sea and East China Sea. It claims almost all the waters, which carry a third of the world’s maritime traffic and has huge amounts of oil and natural gas. The waters are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. China also contests Japan’s hold over the islands in the East China Sea.

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.

Notes:
Thiruvananthapuram has topped the list of Indian cities in the urban governance ranking of the 4th edition of Annual Survey of India’s City-Systems (ASICS)-2016. The survey conducted by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship and Democracy, which evaluated 21 cities across 18 states. Pune stood at 2nd position followed by Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The ASICS highlighted inadequacies in urban governance that could affect public service delivery and quality of life. Janaagraha recommends changes in planning laws to address the issues challenging the efficient planning of the cities.

Notes:
HDFC Bank has recently launched India’s first Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based banking chatbot “Electronic Virtual Assistant (EVA)” for customer service. EVA can answer millions of customer queries across multiple channels instantly. Eva can assimilate knowledge from thousands of sources and provide answers in simple language in less than 0.4 seconds.