Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2018

Notes:
Piyush Goyal, the Union Minister of Railways & Coal, has launched two new mobile apps – ‘Rail Madad’ and ‘Menu on Rails’ – to ease the travelling experience of the commuters. The Rail Madad app is aimed at expediting & streamlining passenger grievance redressal while the ‘Menu on Rails’ app will allow passengers to check the list of meals and beverages served on all type of trains and their prices. The Rail MADAD (Mobile Application for Desired Assistance During travel) app allows passengers to lodge complaints through mobile app/web platform and enables them to check real-time feedback on the status of redressal of their complaints. The app for the first time completely digitized the Complaint management system. It integrates RPGRAMS (Railway Passenger Grievance Redressal and Management System) developed by Northern Railway (Delhi Division). Rail MADAD also displays various helpline numbers (e.g., Security, Child helpline etc) and provides direct calling facility for immediate assistance in one easy step

Notes:
The Assam government will soon launch an awareness programme — ‘Sanskar’– in all development blocks and panchayats. The move is taken in the wake of incidents triggered by superstition and ignorance including the lynching of two young artistes in Karbi Anglong district of the state. The Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) would be the nodal agency and the programme would involve all deputy commissioners, superintendents of police and all government departments concerned in a district. Local bodies, womens’ organisations, voluntary organizations, media persons, leading citizens, academicians, MPs and MLAs from ruling and opposition parties would be stakeholders of the programme. Social activist Birubala Rabha, who has been tirelessly fighting against witch-hunting, will also be involved in the programme.

Notes:
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has recently approved the final extension of tenure of the Commission constituted to examine the issue of Sub-categorization within Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in the Central List. Earlier, it was mandated to present the report to the President upto 20th June 2018. Now, it is extended till 31st July, 2018. As per Article 340 of the Constitution, President Ram Nath Kovind appointed a Commission on 2nd October 2017. Justice (Retd.) G. Rohini is the head of the commission. The commission will work out the mechanism, criteria, norms and parameters in a scientific approach for sub-categorisation within such OBCs. It will also take up the exercise of identifying the respective castes or communities or sub-castes or synonyms in the Central List of Other Backward Classes and classifying them into their respective sub-categories.

Notes:
Dr Inder Jit Singh, a 1985 batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, has been appointed the coal secretary in New Delhi. He succeeded Susheel Kumar. Prior to his appointment as Coal Secretary, he, was posted as Secretary (Coordination) in Cabinet Secretariat. Dr Singh is a Ph.D in Economics from Punjab University.

Notes:
The Maharashtra government has signed pact with Quebec province of Canada to increase economic cooperation and welfare of the tribal community. The key areas of focus are information technology, biotechnology, artificial intelligence and welfare of the tribal community. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is on a week-long tour to the US and Canada, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to this effect with Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard on June 13, 2018.

Notes:
Shujaat Bukhari (50), the veteran journalist and editor of Srinagar based Rising Kashmir newspaper, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen outside his office in the Press Enclave area of Srinagar in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) on June 14, 2018. Apart from Bukhari, his two personal security officers (PSOs) Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan were also killed outside the newspaper’s office. Bukhari was instrumental in organising several conferences for peace in the Kashmir Valley. He was also part of the Track II process with Pakistan.

Notes:
Adiraju Venkateswara Rao (80), the veteran journalist and author, has passed away in Hyderabad, Telangana on June 15, 2018. Popularly known as Adiraju, Venkateswara Rao was born in 1938 at Panditapuram village in Khammam district. In a career spanning over five-and-a-half decades, he worked for several Telugu and English dailies and news agencies including Andhra Jyothi, Udayam, Deccan Chronicle, Indian Express, Himachal Times and Hindustan Samachar at Hyderabad and Delhi.

Notes:
The SAARC Development Fund (SDF) will soon launch a Social Enterprise Development Programme (SEDP) to fund approx 80 enterprises across the 8-member states annually. As part of SDF social window, the SEDP will be implemented in all the SAARC member states (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) with an objective of identifying and building social enterprises by using a mix of grants and concessional returnable capital. The SDF is organising a two-day SDF partnership conclave in New Delhi from July 2. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant would deliver the key note address. SDF, whose Secretariat at Thimphu in Bhutan, was established by the heads of the 8 SAARC member states in April 2010 and its governing council comprises finance ministers of these eight countries.

Notes:
The 840MW Hasdeo Thermal Power Station (HTPS) is a coal-fired power station at Korba in Chhattisgarh. The power station is owned and operated by Chhattisgarh State Power Generation Company, a publicly owned generation utility formed in 2009 following the restructuring of the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board.

Notes:
Col Rajyavardhan Rathore, the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), has inaugurated the European Union Film Festival (EUFF) at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on June 18, 2018. The purpose of the festival is to improve cultural ties between India and European countries. As per official release, 24 latest European movies from 23 European countries will be screened during the festival. The film festival will traverse through eleven cities in the country including, New Delhi, Chennai, Port Blair, Pune, Puducherry, Kolkata, Jaipur, Visakhapatnam, Thrissur, Hyderabad and Goa till 31st of August. The festival is being organized by Directorate of Film Festivals under Ministry of I&B, partnering with the delegation of the European Union and embassies of EU Member States.