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:
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 National Women’s Parliament (NWP), a first-of-its-kind conclave has started in Amaravati, the new capital of Andhra Pradesh. The 3-day conference has been organised by the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly with the theme of “Empowering Women-Strengthening Democracy”. The well-known women personalities from diverse walk of life including social and corporate women leaders of India and overseas will share their experiences with the young girls. Dalai Lama has attended the inaugural session along with a host of leaders from India and abroad.

Notes:
Ajay Tyagi, a 1984 batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed the new chief of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Currently, Tyagi is an additional secretary at the finance ministry’s economic affairs department and will succeed U.K. Sinha, who retires from the post on March 1, 2017. The chairman of SEBI receives a consolidated pay package of Rs 4.5 lakh per month.

Notes:
Sodium-ion batteries offer higher energy density, lower risk of thermal runaway compared to lithium-ion batteries, and sodium is abundant in nature. The Earth’s crust contains 2.9% sodium versus 0.01% lithium. Cost of sodium extraction is lower, and sodium is found in seawater and soda ash. They are non-flammable and suitable for diverse applications.

Notes:
The book “Hema Malini: Beyond the Dream Girl” has been penned by author-columnist Ram Kamal Mukherjee. It’s about actress achievement as a politician apart from her sojourn as an actor, danseuse and filmmaker. It will offer a new perspective on Bollywood’s first female superstar.

Notes:
The 11th edition of ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 will be hosted by England from 24 June to 23 July 2017. Recently, India qualified for Women’s Cricket World Cup 2017 by defeating Bangladesh by 9 wickets in a Super Six match in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Eight teams will qualify to participate in the tournament.

Notes:
The book “Jobless Clueless Reckless” has been authored by Revathi Suresh. It’s a novel about teenagers that gives an insight into what happens in the minds and lives of teenagers in an upper middle class, urban society.

Notes:
The Ahmedabad-based Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) has won the prestigious International Mercury Awards for the year 2016-17 for the best overall presentation of its 2015-2016 annual report. The EDII is an autonomous and not-for-profit national resource institute for entrepreneurship education, research, training and institution-building. The Mercury Awards, founded in 1987, promote excellence, quality and performance in the various fields of public relations. The award entertains participation from agencies, associations, corporations, government agencies, nonprofit groups, and organizations from around 80 countries worldwide every year.

Notes:
Kerala is set to become the first Indian state to have a public registry of sex offenders. This has been stated by the Kerala Governor Justice (retd) P Sathasivam in the budget session. The public registry will contain all identification details of sex offenders and would be kept in the public domain. Apart from this, the governor listed a slew of other measures to tackle crime against women in the state. These include setting up a separate department to exclusively look at women’s issues, setting up a relief fund for victims of sex crimes, increasing the representation of women in police force by up to 15% and ensuring each panchayat has a lady police officer.