Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2017

Notes:
The book titled ‘Hope in a challenged democracy; An Indian narrative’ has authored by Dr. Ashwini Kumar, the renowned lawyer, author and veteran parliamentarian. The principal themes of the book are firstly on the incestuous relationship between wealth and power’ and its impact on the credibility and moral authority of the government and secondly on an insufferable atmosphere of intolerance. The book was launched by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on April 10, 2017.

Notes:
The Indian-origin Sikh human rights advocate, Palbinder Kaur Shergill has been appointed a judge at the Supreme Court of British Columbia in New Westminster. With this, she has become the first turbaned Sikh woman to be appointed as a Supreme Court judge of Canada. Justice Shergill succeeded Justice EA Arnold-Bailey, who retired on May 31. Justice Shergill has actively represented the interests of the Canadian Sikh community in several cases heard by the Supreme Court of Canada, including the one dealing with the right of Sikh students to wear the kirpan (ceremonial dagger) in schools.

Notes:
The book titled ‘The Emergency – Indian Democracy’s Darkest Hour’ has been authored by Surya Prakash, the chairman of Prasar Bharati. The book has recently launched by Union Minister for Urban Development M Venkaiah Naidu in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The purpose of the book is to honor all those who fought for the restoration of democracy in the country in the mid-1970s.

Notes:
Recently, the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) has changed its name to World Taekwondo (WT) because of the “negative connotations” that came with its acronym WTF. The change was made before the start of the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships. The 23rd edition of the World Taekwondo Championships has started in Muju, South Korea from June 24 to June 30, 2017. The headquarters of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) is located in Seoul, South Korea.

Notes:
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has constituted a special 7-member committee to study contentious issues in implementing Lodha panel reforms which are being opposed by the state units. The committee’s mandate is to identify the few critical points in respect of the said judgement for the General Body of the BCCI to consider before its submission to the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The other members of the committee include former India captain Sourav Ganguly, T.C. Mathew (Kerala Cricket), Naba Bhattacharjee (North East representative), Jay Shah (Gujarat Cricket Association), BCCI Treasurer Anirudh Chaudhary and BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary. The four contentious Lodha panel recommendations that are delaying the implementation process are one-state, one vote, age cap of 70 for office-bearers, cooling-off period for office-bearers and size of the national selection panel.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has constituted an 11-member committee to scrutinize and recommend names from Maharashtra for the Padma Awards 2018 to the Government of India (GoI). The committee will be headed by Ram Shinde, the Minister for Water Conservation. The Padma awards seek to recognise work of distinction and exceptional achievements in different fields and disciplines such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.

Notes:
China has officially started building the world’s first forest city in the north of Liuzhou, Guangxi Province to fight against pollution and climate change, which is set to be completed in 2020. It is designed by Stefano Boeri Architetti, a team that develops green projects all around the world. The Liuzhou Forest City is expected to absorb nearly 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide yearly and produce 900 tonnes of oxygen. The energy self-sufficient city will house 30,000 people, 40,000 trees and nearly 1 million plants. As a result, the forest city will help to decrease the average air temperature, improve local air quality, create noise barriers, generate habitats, and improve local biodiversity in the region.

Notes:
Vidya Balan, the famous Bollywood film actress, has become the ambassador of the 2017 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM), which is supported by the Victorian Government. The 2017 theme of the fest is “Diversity” with a special focus on films by female directors and is scheduled to be held from August 10-22, 2017. It will showcase over 60 films, Indie and short included, in 20 different languages.

Notes:
The Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has signed an agreement with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd (KHI) of Japan to manufacture stainless steel coaches and bogies for metro rail. The agreement covers establishing state-of-the-art design, engineering and manufacturing facilities at BHEL using Japanese technology. It will also entitle BHEL for all technology advances and upgrades. The KHI is also the manufacturer and supplier of Shinkansen High Speed Bullet Trains, proposed to be introduced in India on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor.

Notes:
The National Statistics Day (NSD) is celebrated every year in India on June 29 to create public awareness about importance of statistics in socio-economic planning and policy formulation. The day also marks the birth anniversary of late Prof. Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, the Father of Indian Statistics, in recognition of his valuable contribution in the fields of statistics and economic planning. The 2017 theme is “Administrative Statistics”.