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A monthly magazine of Current Affairs
June -2017
Chief Editor
Dr. Kanchan Deep Chaudhary
________________________________
Edited, Owned,
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CONTENTS
CRACK CLAT Bullets………..2
Latest in General Knowledge…4
Appointments
Awards & Honors
Books & Authors
Constitutional/Law
Defense
Economic Scenario
Ecology & Environment
Places
Report & Index
Software & Telecom
Persons in News………………12
Current Topics – India………..13
Current Topics – World……....16
Latest in Sports………………..20
Static GK Capsules……………23
Current Affairs MCQs………..25
Answer Key of MCQs………..28
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separately, and is only for our registered students.
All rights reserved. No part of this issue can be
reprinted in whole or in part without the written
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The editors and publishers of this magazine do their
best to verify the information published, but do not take
responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the
information.
All disputes subject to Jodhpur jurisdiction only.
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CRACKCLAT Bullets
National
..........introduced boat ambulance service in four
districts, Koraput, Malkangiri, Kendrapara and
Kalahandi as part of an MoU signed between State
government and Ziquitza Health Care. Odisha
A five day cultural festival organized in Cairo
Embassy of India in Cairo and Maulana Azad
Centre to mark the 155th birth anniversary of
Rabindranath Tagore
India has decided to replace the Maitri research
station in….. with a new one in the next three or
four years. Antarctica
IRCTC is now offering ……… of rail tickets and
will allow passengers to make payment through any
payment mode, including cash. home delivery
The Union Cabinet recently approved setting up of
a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences in
Kamrup, (Assam)
Presiding over a review meeting of the states
affected by Left-Wing Extremism (LWE), Union
Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced a new
strategy against the Maoists Samadhan
The Income Tax department has launched a new e-
facility to link Aadhaar with the Permanent Account
Number, (incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) a
mandatory procedure for filing IT returns
Home Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched the
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Mobile
Application ‗BSFMyApp‘ for Grievance Redressal
of the Central Armed Police Forces Personnel
Telangana in the First State to have logo for
vehicles driven by person with hearing impairment
‘Driver is Deaf- Please Watch Out’
Which State‘s Chief Minister has launched a water
harvesting and conservation campaign to resolve the
state‘s acute water crisis? Uttarakhand
The Election Commission of India has launched the
National Contact Centre and also gives a toll-free
number 1800111950. Public can make a call to this
number to get any information or to complaints
either in English or Hindi
The government has exempted residents of Assam,
Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya, Non-Resident
Indians, foreigners or any citizen above ……of age
from mandatory quoting of Aadhaar while filing
income tax returns 80 years
Which Indian court has decided to go completely
paperless and adopt digital management system?
Supreme Court
Which State‘s government is planning to launch
district-level action plans to reduce infant mortality
rate? Rajasthan
India‘s first-ever ‗village of books‘ will open in
which State to promote tourism? Maharashtra
PM Narendra Modi unveils conclusion of ‗Namami
Devi Narmade Sewa Yatra‘, conservation of the
Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh at
Amarkantak
Vishakhapatnam and Beas railway stations are the
cleanest railway stations out of the ……….station
in India. 407
Modi will become the first Indian Prime Minister to
visit Israel
International
Which State government of India signed a MoU
with US-based technology major Oracle to enhance
its IT infrastructure delivery of services?
Jharkhand
………has been unanimously elected as the
President of the UN-Habitat, to promote sustainable
human settlement s across the globe? India
India has signed a joint declaration with which
country for cooperation in the field of alternative
medicine? Germany
The Union Cabinet has approved MoU between
India and Which country in the field of Organ
Transplant Services Spain
The liberal politician who was recently sworn-in as
the President of South Korea is Moon Jae-in
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) in May
2017 stayed the execution of Indian national who
was sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court
for alleged spying Kulbhushan Jadhav
Which country recently organised a seminar to
strengthen the bilateral relations between the two
nations? Egypt
Which country has become the first country to open
an honorary consulate office in Gujarat
International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City)?
Belgium
India ranks …….. globally in terms of
representation of women in executive government
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and parliament, by the Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU) survey. 148th
As per the revised UN report 2017, Norway is the
world‘s happiest country. In the study of 155
countries, India ranked at 122
Italy ranks first in the world‘s healthiest country list
and India ranks 143 in a list of 188 countries
India and Pakistan agreed on redesigning the Miyar
Hydroelectric project, of Indus Water
Commissioners in Islamabad
India notified the Third Protocol amending the
existing India-Singapore Double Taxation
Avoidance Agreement
According to a report released by Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI),
…….. emerged as the world‘s largest importer of
major arms during 2012-16. India
Pakistan‘s Parliament passed landmark bill to
regulate ……… of minority Hindus in the country.
Marriages
Economy & Banking
India has jumped 12 places to 40th rank globally in
travel and tourism competitiveness list by World
Economic Forum
Rank of India in terms of stainless steel producing
countries in the world according to data released by
the International Stainless Steel Forum is Second
largest
Which Indian city was ranked second in the world‘s
most crowded cities list released by World
Economic Forum? Mumbai
Cashback portal Cashkaro.com tied up to launch
card-linked offers with Yes Bank
India‘s largest cab aggregator Ola partnered to
launch a range of integrated digital offerings to
customers with Airtel
According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Indian
economy will grow at a clip of 7.5% this fiscal, up
from 7.1% in 2016-17
Mastercard to Provide Payments Processing
Solution for Airtel Payment Bank, also launched
India‘s first online debit card along with a prepaid
card, both of which is accessible through the
Myairtel App
Karnataka Bank Launches National Pension System
in Mangaluru
Life insurance firm, HDFC life launched a
traditional life insurance plan, Pragati for Low
Income Group People
Mumbai-based Citi Bank has launched instant chat
services for customers named Citibank Online
(CBOL)
Science & Technology
Two Indian warships,……… visited Egypt on
Indian Navy‘s overseas deployment to the
Mediterranean Sea and west coast of Africa. INS
Mumbai and INS Aditya
Third generation ‗fire and forget‘ anti-tank missile
that was recently test-fired by DRDO is ‘Nag’
West Bengal decided to set-up a state-of-art plant
tissue culture laboratory at ………..to enhance
production and quality of plants and vegetables.
Kolkata Biotech Park
Japan launched a new satellite in Tanegashima to
track land and maritime movements in North
Korea
India test-fires ……… surface-to-air missile from
Odisha test range to neutralize enemy targets up to a
distance of 15 km and at heights between 20-
9000m. ‘Spyder’
Which Indian Navy Ship is currently undertaking a
hydrographic survey of Weligama Bay along with
Sri Lankan Navy? INS Darshak
Saurabh Sing hand Vikas Pandey have developed a
rapid diagnostic method for typhoid with diagnosis
time of Seven Hours
Four new tiny frog species found in Western Ghats
discovered by a team of researchers from the
University of Delhi and the Kerala Forest
Department
Rs 17000 crore deal jointly developing with Israel a
medium-range surface-to-air missile (MR-SAM) for
the Indian army with strike range of 70 km
Indian Space Research Organization is turning its
attention to India‘s second lunar mission,
Chandrayaan-2, scheduled for 2018
India successfully test fired Supersonic cruise
missile Brahmos at Balasore Odisha coast and
successful test fired the extended range beyond 400
km
Sports
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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaikun veiled the
logo and mascot of the Asian athletics
championship, is ‘Olly the turtle’
Who became the new owner of the four new Pro
Kabaddi League (PKL) teams in the fifth season of
the tournament, to be played from July to October,
2017. Sachin Tendulkar
Bajrang Punia of India won gold medal on the
Asian Wrestling Championship, in the men‘s 65kg
freestyle category at the Indira Gandhi Sports
Complex
The Chairman of the Committee ICC Cricket
Committee is Anil Kumble
The winner of the 2016-17 UEFA Europa League is
Manchester United
The Indian all-round cricketer who recently became
the highest wicket-taker in Women‘s One-Day
Internationals is Jhulan Goswami
The winners of the Monte Carlo Masters men‘s
Doubles title are Rohan Bopanna and Pablo
Cuevas
Ankur Mittal clinched the double trap gold in the
final of the Shotgun World Cup
Norman Isaac has become the first Indian ever to be
promoted by the International Basketball Federation
(FIBA) as Technical Delegate
Which has become the second Indian woman, after
Saina Nehwal, to break into the top 5 after the latest
BWF world rankings? PV Sindhu
Roger Federer claimed a record-equalling fifth ATP
Indian Wells Masters title with Novak Djokovic
........ became a five-time winner of the Vijay
Hazare Trophy. Tamil Nadu
India to host Combined World Cup 2019 for
shooting which will be a qualifying event for the
2020 Tokyo Olympics
World Toe Wrestling Championship is held
annually in England
Miscellaneous
The Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar was
awarded ‗The Fellowship Award‘ at the Asian
Awards in London
Prime Minister of Nepal who resigned recently
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda
Ministry that launched the Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay
Telecom Skill Excellence Awards Ministry of
Telecommunication
Which Indian monument has made it to the world‘s
top ten landmarks list? Taj Mahal
Which Indian actress won the best actress award at
the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2017
Konkona Sen Sharma
All India Radio (AIR) station that was honoured
with the prestigious ‗Lelte Award‘ is AIR Aizawl
President Pranab Mukherjee conferred the 52nd
Jnanpith Award to this eminent Bengali poet
Sankha Ghosh
Which was conferred by the CII President‘s Award
for Lifetime Achievement by the President Pranab
Mukherjee? Rahul Bajaj
Veteran Hindi Scholar and Novelist Surendra
Verma Selected for 2016 Vyas Samman
Shilpa Shetty appointed as the Ambassador for
Swachh Bharat Mission
Punjab Congress Chief Minster Amarinder Singh‘s
biography, ‗The People‘s Maharaja‘, written by
Khushwant Singh
Kanungo was appointed as the Deputy Governor
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for Three Years
Latest in General Knowledge
Anniversaries & Days
June 4: International Day of Innocent Children
Victims of Aggression
June 5: World Environment Day
June 3rd Sunday: Father's Day
June 14: World Blood Donor Day
June 21: International Yoga Day
June 26: International Day against Drug Abuse
and Illicit Trafficking
Appointments
Theresa May re-elected as Prime Minister of
Britain: Ms. Theresa May was re-elected as the
Prime Minister of Britain on June 9, 2017. After the
snap general elections called by the Prime Minister,
Britain delivered a hung parliament with no party
getting a clear majority. To reach a majority, a party
has to secure 326 seats – while the Conservatives
have secured 318 seats, the Labour party was
behind at 261 seats. Ms. May‘s Conservative party
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signed a deal with democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
which had won 10 seats.
Kaushik Basu takes over as President of IEA:
Mr. Kaushik Basu took over as President of the
International Economic Association (IEA). Mr.
Basu will serve a three-year term as the President.
Mr. Kaushik Basu has served as India‘s Chief
Economic Adviser from 2009 to 2012. He has also
served as senior Vice-President and Chief
Economist at the World Bank from 2012 to 2016.
Before this appointment, Mr. Basu was the C.
Marks Professor of International Studies at Cornell
University.
Krishna R. Urs appointed as US Ambassador to
Peru: Trump appointed Indian-American Mr.
Krishna R. Urs as the new US Ambassador to Peru
on June 28, 2017. Mr. Krishna R. Urs is a career
diplomat who has served at seven US embassies as
well as in several senior leadership positions in
Washington, DC. Before appointment, he was
serving as Charge d‘ Affaires of the US Embassy in
Madrid, Spain.
Neeru Chadha elected as first Indian woman
member of International Sea Tribunal: Ms.
Neeru Chadha was elected as the first Indian
woman member of the International Tribunal for the
Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a top body which
adjudicates cases related to the international law of
the seas. The Indian nominee topped the ballot for
the Asia-Pacific group in an election held on June
14, 2017, for a seat on the tribunal. Ms. Chadha, the
first woman Chief Legal advisor to the Ministry of
External Affairs, becomes the first Indian woman to
hold a high-ranking UN position after the late
Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
UNICEF appoints Syrian refugee Muzoon
Almellehan as Goodwill Ambassador: UNICEF
announced on the eve of World Refugee Day on
June 19, 2017, the appointment of Ms. Muzoon
Almellehan, a 19-year-old education activist and
Syrian refugee, as its newest and youngest Goodwill
Ambassador. The appointment makes Ms. Muzoon
the first person with official refugee status to
become an Ambassador for UNICEF.
K. K. Venugopal appointed as Attorney General
of India: Hon‘ble President Mr. Pranab Mukherjee
appointed senior advocate and constitutional expert
Mr. K.K. Venugopal as the new Attorney General
of India on June 30, 2017. He is the 15th Attorney
General of India. He succeeds Mr. Mukul Rohatgi
as the country‘s top law officer. Earlier, in the
Morarji Desai‘s government (1977-79), Mr.
Venugopal had served as Additional Solicitor
General of India.
Achal Kumar Joti appointment Chief Election
Commissioner: The most senior Election
Commissioner, Mr. Achal Kumar Joti, was
appointed as the next Chief Election Commissioner
of India on July 4, 2017. He succeeds Mr. Nasim
Zaidi who demitted his office on July 5, 2017. Mr.
Joti assumed the charge of his new office from June
6, 2017.
Rajiv Gauba appointed as Home Secretary: The
Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed
senior IAS officer Mr. Rajiv Gauba as Union Home
Secretary on June 21, 2017, replacing Mr. Rajiv
Mehrishi who is retiring in August 2017. The 1982-
batch Jharkhand cadre officer Mr. Gauba was
posted as Secretary in the Ministry of Urban
Development as Officer on Special Duty (OSD).
R.K. Pachnanda takes charge as Director
General, ITBP: Senior IPS officer Mr. R.K.
Pachnanda took charge as the new Director General
of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on June
30, 2017. He is the 29th Chief of the ITBP. With this
appointment, Mr. Pachnanda became the only IPS
officer who has served in all the major central
paramilitary forces and agencies – CRPF, CISF,
BSF, NDRF, SPG, CBI and now the ITBP.
Narendra Kumar Sinha assumes charge as
Secretary I & B: Mr. Narendra Kumar Sinha
assumed charge as Secretary in the Ministry of
Information & Broadcasting on June 30, 2017. Mr.
Sinha is an IAS officer of Bihar cadre of 1980
batch. He succeeds Mr. Ajay Mittal. Prior to his
appointment, Mr. Sinha was Secretary of Ministry
of Culture. He has also served as Principal
Secretary, Information Technology Department,
Government of Bihar.
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BOOKS AND AUTHORS
The Great Game in Afghanistan: Rajiv Gandhi,
General Zia and the Unending War – By Kollo
Bhattacherjee, Harper Collins
Women at War: Subhash Chandra and the Rani
of Jhansi Regiment – By Vera Hildebrand
A Horse Walks Into a Bar – By David Grossman,
the recipient of Man Booker International Prize,
2017
Love Fox Dancing – By Ruskin Bond, Speaking
Tiger Books
Baaz – By Anuja Chauhan, Harper Collins
Maid in India – By Tripti Lahiri, Aleph
Numbers Do Lie – By Aakash Chopra, Harper
Sport
Defense
Indian Army gets Modern-Bullet Proof Helmets:
After decades of wait, the Indian Army has finally
received its first batch of bullet-proof helmets. The
helmets were manufactured by Kanpur-based MKU
Industries at the cost of Rs. 180 crore. The new
bullet-proof helmets are capable of withstanding the
impact of 9mm ammunition fired from a short
range. The helmets match global standards of
equipment for armed forces. According to MKU,
the bullet-proof helmets undergo rigorous quality
and ballistic lab test at the company‘s testing
facilities in India as well as in Germany. The
helmets are designed in such a way that they can be
comfortably integrated with communication and
night-vision devices.
DRDO successfully test-fires anti-tank Nag
missile: The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) successfully test-fired anti-
tank ‗Nag‘ missile in Jodhpur, Rajasthan on June
13, 2017. The Nag missile is a third-generation anti-
tank guided missile which words on ―fire and
forget‖ principle. It is equipped with highly
advanced Imaging Infrared Radar (IRR) seeker
along with integrated avionics. It also possesses
advanced passive homing guidance system. The
anti-tank Nag missile is one of the five missile
systems developed by the DRDO under the
integrated guided missile development programme
(IGMDP). The four other missiles developed under
this programme include Agni, Akash, Trishul and
Prithvi.
India-Australia bilateral maritime exercise
AUSINDEX-17 held: India-Australia bilateral
maritime exercise AUSINDEX-17 was held in
Freemantle, off the Western Australian coast from
June 13 to 17, 2017. The bilateral exercise aimed to
enhance interoperability and professional
interaction between the two navies. Indian warships
INS Kamorta, INS Shivalik (the first stealth warship
built in India), and oiler INS Jyoti took part in the
exercise. Australian warships which took part in the
exercise include missile frigate HMAS Newcastle;
diesel-electric submarine HMAS Waller; special
operations unit, Clearance Diving Team Four; and
P3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft of the Royal
Australian Air Force.
Lockheed and Tata sign pact to make F-16
Planes in India: Lockheed Martin and India‘s Tata
Advanced Systems have signed a pact to produce F-
16 fighter planes in India. The two companies have
announced their agreement at the Paris Airshow.
Lockheed Martin‘s move to forge a joint venture
with Tata is aimed at winning billions of dollars
worth order from the Indian military.
India‘s Air Force needs hundreds of aircraft to
replace its Soviet-era fleet, but PM Mr. Narendra
Modi‘s government has said that foreign suppliers
would have to make the planes in India with a local
partner to help build a domestic industrial base and
cut outright imports. Lockheed Martin is one of the
largest aerospace, defence, security, and advanced
technologies companies having worldwide interests.
US to sell C-17 Globemaster Transport Aircraft
to India: US has decided to sell one C-17 transport
aircraft to India. US and India have built a close
defence relationship in recent years. The US, along
with Russia and Israel, has emerged as one of the
top three arms suppliers to India. The sale of $366.2
million C-17 transport aircraft manufactured by
Boeing also includes one Missile Warning System,
one Countermeasures Dispensing System, one
Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) Transponder and
precision navigation equipment. This proposed sale
is expected to improve the capability of India to
meet current and future strategic airlift requirements
as the country lies in a region prone to natural
disasters. It will also provide additional capability
for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. In
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addition, India will be able to provide more rapid
strategic combat airlift capabilities for its armed
forces.
Ecology & Environment
India matches the world in atmospheric carbon
dioxide levels: The first-ever picture of atmospheric
CO2 concentration over India shows that it is way
above the safety mark and in line with what has
been observed in other parts of the world. In 2015,
the global average was 400 ppm, accordin to Mauna
Loa observatory in Hawaii. In India, that year,
according to a report published in the latest issue of
Current Science, the average CO2 level was 399
parts per million (ppm). However, at Cape Rama, a
coastal station in Goa, the level shot up to 408 ppm.
Some parts of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and
Himachal Pradesh saw CO2 concentrations hover
much higher between 405 ppm and 410 ppm.
May 2017 was the second hottest month in 137
years: NASA: According to NASA, May 2017 was
the second hottest month in a span of 137 years
when modern record-keeping of average global
temperatures had commenced. The temperature of
May 2017 was 0.88 degrees celsius warmer than the
mean May temperature from 1951-1980. May 2016
is the hottest on record with 0.93 degrees Celsius
warmer than the May mean temperature. May 2017
temperature was 0.05 degrees celsius cooler than
the temperature recorded in May 2016. It was only
0.01 degrees Celsius warmer than the third warmest
May, which occurred in 2014. NASA's Goddard
Institute for Space Studies GISS) does the monthly
analysis of global temperature by analysing the
publicly available data acquired by about 6,300
meteorological stations around the world.
Tiger population grows in Karnataka:
Karnataka's Tiger reserves have indicated an
increase in the tiger population as per the annual
census completed recently. The State has five tiger
reserves. Bandipur has reported 136 tigers,
Nagarahole 91 and Bhadra 26. There are 58 tigers in
the BRT Tiger Reserve. This is estimated to be a
significant increase. The latest population estimate
reinforces Bandipur and Nagarahole landscapes as
having the highest tiger numbers in south India and
can be ranked among the top three or four national
parks in the country along with Jim Corbett, Kanha
and Kaziranga.
Assam to raise Special Rhino Protection Force:
The Assam government is going to raise a new
Special Rhino Protection Force (SRPF) for better
protection of the one-horned rhinos in Assam. The
State government has already started the process of
recruitment for the proposed force. The cadre for
the force will be selected from local youths hailing
from the fringe areas of the Kaziranga National
Park. After initial selection, the recruits will be
given necessary training. They will be also provided
with arms and ammunition for better protection of
the one horned rhinos.
Economic Scene
India launches historic tax reform GST: Hon'ble
President Mr. 'Pranab Mukherjee and Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi jointly launched at
midnight on June 30, 2017 the Goods and Services
Tax (GST), India's biggest tax reform in its 70-year
history. First proposed in 2006, the GST subsumes
more than a dozen State and Central levies into one
tax, unifying 29 States and 1.28 billion people into a
single market for the first time. It includes four tax
slabs of 5%, 12%, 18% to 28%. GST is expected to
expand India's narrow tax base and increase
government revenues. It has been heralded by
economists and will count as the most important
economic reform of Mr. Modi's three-year old
administration.
PAN cards will not be invalid if not linked with
Aadhaar Card by July 1: IT Department: The
Income Tax Department has clarified that the PAN
card will not be invalid if it is not linked with
Aadhaar Card by July 1, 2017. Earlier, there were
reports that the PAN card will become invalid if it is
not tied up with Aadhaar before July 1. In wake of
the government making it clear that Aadhaars will
be mandatory for filing Income Tax Returns and
obtaining a new PAN from July 1, 2017, a lot of
queries and doubts had arisen with people
complaining that they were not able to link their
Aadhaar with their PAN. While PAN cards will not
become invalid automatically after July 1, the
Aadhaar-PAN linking would become mandatory.
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Government unveils new hydrocarbon policy:
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister (IC) Mr.
Dharmendra Pradhan introduced a new oil and gas
block licensing poliwn June 28, 2017. It is expected
to open up 2.8 million square kilometres of
sedimentary basins to exploratiom and production
activities. The Open Acreage Licensing Policy
(OALP) is a part of the government's Hydrocarbon
Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), which
gives exploration companies the option to select the
exploration blocks on their own, without having, to
wait for the formal bid round from the government.
The company then submits an application to the
government, which puts that block up for bid. The
new policy will open up 2.8 million square
kilometres of sedimentary basins for exploration
and eventual production.
65 MoUs signed at Textile India 2017: Union
Textiles Minister Ms. Smriti Zubin Irani and
Minister of State for Textiles Mr. Ajay Tamta
witnessed the signing of 65 MoUs in the textiles
sector on the second day of the three-day mega
textiles trade fair, Textiles India 2017, held in
Gandhinagar, Gujarat from June 30 to July 2, 2017.
The MoUs were signed between various domestic
and international organisations from industry and
government; three of the MoUs signed are G2G
MoUs. The signatories to the MoUs included
organisations from countries like China, Australia,
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, among others.
India signs loan agreement with World Bank for
$35 million for Assam project: An agreement for
IBRD Credit of $35 million from World Bank for
Assam State Public Financial Institutional Reforms
Project was signed in New Delhi on June 27, 2017.
The programme size is $44 million, of which $35
million will be financed by the World Bank, and the
remaining amount will be funded out of State
Budget. The programme duration is 5 years. The
objective of the project is to improve predictability
and transparency in budget execution and efficiency
in tax administration in Assam. The project will
benefit the citizens of Assam.
Bilateral Trade between India and Israel
Bilateral trade between India and Israel stood at
$5.02 billion in 2016-17, rising 2.3 percent in 2016-
17 after four consecutive years of fall. This involves
$3.06 billion of exports and $1.96 billion of
imports. Of this, raw non-industrial diamonds figure
significantly on both sides of trade, contributing
more than a billion dollars to both imports and
exports.
While India is the largest exporter of polished
diamonds in the world, sending 75 percent of the
world supply, Israel is the second largest.
Israel, for long the top exporter of the shiny stone to
the United States—the world's largest market for
diamond—has recently been overtaken by India.
According to Mr. Praveen Shankar Pandya,
Chairman of Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion
Council, "Israel has high manufacturing costs which
are prompting their firms to send over small raw
diamonds to India for processing".
Top Export Items:
* Petroleum oil * Raw diamonds * Organic
chemicals
Top Import Items:
* Raw diamonds * Electrical machinery and
equipment * Fertilisers
Honours & Awards
NATIONAL
Femina Miss India World 2017: Ms. Manushi
Chhillar from Haryana emerged as the winner of the
Femina Miss India World 2017 pageant, which was
held at the Yash Raj Studios in Mumbai on June 25,
2017. While Ms. Manushi Chhillar was crowned as
the winner, Ms. Sana Dua from Jammu and
Kashmir and Ms. Privanka Kumari from Bihar were
the first and second runners-up respectively. Ms.
Manushi will represent India in Miss World 2017
Contest to be held in China in December 2017. Ms.
Manushi has also won Miss Photogenic title. The
contest saw participation of 30 contestants from
different States.
Prime Minister's Yoga Award: Ramamani
Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute, Pune became the
first recipient of the Prime Minister's Yoga Award
on June 21, 2017, for outstanding contribution to
promotion and development of Yoga. The Institute
has been selected from among 85 nominations and
15 more recommended by the Screening
Committee. PM's Yoga Award was instituted at the
2nd International Day of Yoga celebrations at
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Chandigarh by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
for promoting the ancient Indian spiritual discipline.
Bhupen Hazarika National Award, 2017: The
Bhupen Hazarika National Award, 2017 has been
conferred upon the noted Assamese writer Mr.
Yeshe Dorjee Thongshi. The award has been
instituted by Sarhad, a Maharashtra-based
organisation. The award honours an outstanding
literary work at national and international levels.
Mr. Thongshi belongs to Arunachal Pradesh. In
spite of having Sherdukpen as his mother tongue,
Mr. Thongshi started writing his works in
Assamese. So far, he has written about a dozen
novels and numerous short stories and plays.
Sahitya Akademi Awards: Sahitya Akademi
announced its annual Youth and Children Awards
on June 22, 2017. The Youth Awards will be given
in 24 languages. Sixteen awards in poetry, five in
short stories, two biographies and one, essay have
won the Youth Awards. The Youth Award in
English language was won by. Mr. Manu S. Pillai
for Biography: The Ivory Throne. The Children
Awards are also given in 24 languages. The
Children Award in English was won by Ms. Paro
Anand for short story book: Wild Child and Other
Stories.
Kalinga Literary Awards: Legendary Odiya poet,
essayist and columnist Mr. Haraprasad Das was
conferred the covetous Kalinga Literary Award on
June 11, 2017, for his work and contribution to
literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary
Festival. Mr. Das had also received the prestigious
Moortidevi Award in 2013 for his book Vamsha'—a
recreation of Mahabharata in the new idiom of
contemporary poetry.
INTERNATIONAL
Man Booker International Prize: Israeli author
Mr. David Grossman won the Man Booker
International Prize on June 14, 2017, for his novel
"A Horse Walks Into a Bar". Mr. David Grossman
has become the first Israeli author to win the Man
Booker International Prize His works have been
translated into over 10 languages. He is also a
recipient of France's Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts
et des Lettres in 1998. The Man Booker Prize is
world's most prestigious English-language literary
award.
Great Immigrants Award: ‗Indian-Americans,
Adobe chief Mr. Shantanu Narayen and former US
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, are among 38
immigrants honoured in 2017 for their role in
helping advance the country's society, culture and
economy. Mr. Narayen and Dr. Murthy were
honoured with the prestigious 'Great Immigrants'
annual award on US's Independence Day on July 4,
2017. Dr. Murthy was appointed by former US
President Mr. Barack Obama in 2014, becoming the
first-ever Indian-American to occupy the post and
also the youngest ever surgeon general of the
country.
Queen's Young Leader's Award: Anti-hunger
activist Mr. Ankit Kawatra was awarded the
Queen's Young Leader's Award for 2017 at a
ceremony in the Buckingham Palace in London on
June 29, 2017. The award, recognizing the 25-year-
old's exceptional work towards solving hunger and
malnutrition in India, was presented to him by
Queen Elizabeth II. Mr. Kawatra is the founder of
Feeding India, an organisation that aims to eradicate
hunger and food wastage in India.
Bharat Gaurav Award: Filmmaker Mr. Madhur
Bhandarkar received the Bharat Gaurav Award at
the UN Hall, New York on June 10, 2017. He
dedicated the award to Indian Armed Forces and
their families. Mr. Bhandarkar, also a recipient of
the Padma Shri Award, has made a name in the
industry for making socially relevant films like
Traffic Signal, Chandni Bar, Fashion and Page 3.
Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Ms.
Nisha Dutt, Chief Executive Officer of Hyderabad-
based Intellecap was honoured with the "Social
Entrepreneur of the Year" award at the 7th Asian
Awards in London on June 22, 2017. She is the first
Indian woman leader to have been conferred this
recognition. This award has been presented to her
for leading Intellecap to become a globally known
enterprise that focuses on social capital and impacts
the under-served communities.
Inventions & Discoveries
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New material removes water pollutants using
solar energy: Scientists have developed a new non-
toxic material that uses solar energy to degrade
harmful synthetic dye pollutants which are released
at a rate of nearly 300,000 tonnes a year into the
world's water. The novel, non-hazardous
photocatalytic material developed by researchers at
Swansea University in the UK effectively removes
dye pollutants from water, adsorbing more than 90
percent of the dye and enhancing the rate of dye
breakdown by almost ten times using visible light.
NASA discovers 10 new Earth-size exoplanets:
NASA revealed 10 new rocky, Earth-sized planets
that could potentially have liquid water and support
life, on June 19, 2017. Ten of the new discoveries
were orbiting their suns at a distance similar to
Earth's orbit around the sun, the so-called habitable
zone that could potentially have liquid water and
sustain life. Kepler has already discovered 4034
potential exoplanets, 2,335 of which have been
confirmed by other telescopes as actual planets. The
10 new Earth-sized planets bring the total to 50 that
exist in habitable zones around the galaxy.
Carved skulls' fragments discovered at a Stone
Age temple in Turkey: A group of archaeologists
discovered unprecedented carved skulls at a Stone
Age temple, called Gobekli Tepe, in Turkey. The
deeply chiselled human craniums are the first of
their kind in the region. Three Neolithic skull
fragments that were discovered show evidence of a
unique type of post-mortem skull modification at
the site. Archaeologists believe that this find is
extremely significant and means that this society,
like many others in this part of the world at the
time, was a skull cult that venerated the human skull
after death. The research was published on June 28,
2017 in the journal Science Advances.
Places
Grenfell Tower, London: Grenfell Tower, a 24-
storey public housing complex in London was
ravaged by a fire on June 13, 2017, that claimed
more than 30 lives and injured more than 80 people.
Countless others were rendered homeless by the
fire. The 120-flat tower was home to 600 people.
The affordable-housing project was recently given a
8.7 million pound facelift, but in the aftermath of
the disaster, survivors said that despite the cosmetic
changes, the building was riddled with faulty wiring
and frequent gas leaks. There have been many
safety warnings given earlier about the tower about
the poor fire safety standards.
Sharjah, UAE: Sharjah city in the UAE was
recently in news when it was crowned with the
prestigious 'The World Book Capital' for 2019 by
UNESCO for the quality of its literary and cultural
activities and for its efforts to make books
accessible to the entire population of the nation. It
was selected because of its innovative and inclusive
application, with a community-focussed activity
programme containing creative proposals to engage
the very large migrant population, according to
UNESCO. Sharjah is the 19th city to become World
Book Capital and third in the Arab world and
Middle East, to have received this recognition.
Reports & Indexes
India to become most populous country in the
world by 2024: UN report: India's population
could surpass that of China's around 2024, two
years later than previously estimated, and is
projected to touch 1.5 billion in 20 according to a
UN forecast. The World Population Prospects: The
2017 Revision, published by the UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, says that currently
China with 1.41 billion inhabitants and India with
1.34 billion remain the two most populous
countries, comprising 19% and 18% of the total
global population. In roughly seven years, or around
2024, the population of India is expected to surpass
that of China, the report said. The 2017 Revision of
World Population Prospects is the 25th round of
official UN population estimates and projections.
India among the top five consumer markets in
Asia: BMI research: India is among the top five
consumer markets in Asia offering retailers
consumer spending growth of an average of 6.1
percent over the next five years, says a report
According to BMI Research, a Fitch group
company, China, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, India and
Indonesia represent five favourite consumer
markets in Asia, offering retailers the strongest
consumer spending growth over its, forecast period
to 2021. Some of the key factors responsible for
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increase in consumer spending include, increasing
access to consumer credit, lower inflation, and a
more favourable regulatory environment for
foreign-owned retailers bodes well for India's
consumer sectors over the coming years.
Space
Hottest planet in universe discovered: Scientists
have discovered the hottest known planet located 65
light years from Earth, which is warmer than most
stars in the universe and sports a giant, glowing gas
tail like a comet The Jupiter-like planet orbits a
massive star KELT-9 every day and a half. With a
day-side temperature peaking at 4,326 degree
Celsius, the newly discovered exoplanet, designated
KELT-9b, is hotter than most stars and only 926
degree Celsius cooler than our Sun. The ultraviolet
radiation from the star it orbits is so brutal that the
planet may be evaporating away under the intense
glare, producing a glowing gas tail.
NASA launches rocket to prod colourful
artificial clouds: The NASA has successfully
launched Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding
rocket that created colourful artificial clouds visible
in the skies of the US. The rocket was launched
from its Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on June
30, 2017. The rocket during the 8-minute flight had
released 10 canisters about the size of a soft drink
into space. The canisters deployed blue-green and
red vapour that formed artificial clouds visible in
the skies of the US from New York to North
Carolina. The artificial clouds are formed through
the interaction of barium, strontium and cupric-
oxide. The vapour tracers will help in understanding
the movement of the particles in the ionosphere. It
will help to learn more about the movement of the
air currents at that altitude.
ISRO working on using kerosene as fuel for
semi-cryogenic engine: Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) is developing a semi-
cryogenic engine that will use eco-friendly kerosene
as propellant. The advantage 9f, using this semi-
cryogenic engine in the launch vehicle is that it uses
refined kerosene which is lighter than liquid fuel
and can be stored at a normal temperature. The
current fuel, a combination of liquid hydrogen and
liquid oxygen, is heavier than kerosene and has to
be stored at freezing temperatures of (-)253 degree
Celsius.
Software & Telecom
Reliance Jio launches longest 100G submarine
cable system: Reliance Jio Infocomm has launched
the Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable
system, which is the longest 100Gbps technology-
based submarine system, will stretch over 25,000
km from Marseille, France to Hong Kong, with 21
cable landings across Asia and Europe. The 4G
entrant said that the project is the combined work of
leading telecom service providers from Europe, the
Middle East and Asia. AAE-1 links seamlessly with
other cable systems and fiber ne Irks to deliver
direct access to all global markets.
MISCELLANY
World record created in Ahmedabad on
International Yoga Day: Over 3 lakh people from
Ahmedabad and Gujarat congregated at the GMDC
Ground and four other venues in Vastrapur on June
21, 2017 and created 23 world records, on the
International Yoga Day. Guinness World Records
handed a certificate to the Chief Minister of Gujarat
for creating the world record for the highest number
of people taking yoga lessons at a single venue as
54,522 people had performed yoga at the GMDC
Ground. This broke the 2015 world record set by
35,985 people performing yoga in a session led by
PM Mr. Narendra Modi at Rajpath in Delhi. Apart
from this, 22 records were set or broken during the
pre-event yoga camp from June 18 to 20, 2017. The
records were set for the highest number of surya
namaskars, most surya namaskars in one hour, etc.
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Persons in News
Narendra Modi: PM Mr. Narendra Modi hogged
the limelight when he made a visit to Israel from
July 4 to 6, 2017. His visit witnessed India and
Israel elevate their ties to the strategic partnership
level. Earlier, Mr. Modi had visited the United
States of America from June 25 to 26, 2017. He met
US President Mr. Donald Trump with a focus on
pushing the strategic ties. A joint statement was
released by both the leaders which made terrorism
the cornerstone of mutual cooperation. PM Mr.
Modi had visited Portugal also on June 24, 2017.
He held in-depth bilateral talks with his Portugese
counterpart Mr. Antonio Costa. Besides, he had
paid a working visit to the Netherlands on June 27,
2017. Mr. Modi held official meetings with Prime
Minister Mr. Mark Rutte, King Willem Alexander
and Queen Maxima.
Carrie Lam: Ms. Carrie Lam took oath as the first
woman Chief Executive of Hong Kong on July 1,
2017. She was sworn in by Chinese President Mr.
Xi Jinping. Ms. Lam was selected by a pro-Beijing
committee, as were her predecessors. Ms. Lam is a
former student activist who climbed the rungs of the
civil service over 36 years. The Sino-British Joint
Declaration gave Hong Kong rights unseen on the
mainland through a semi-autonomous "one country,
two systems" agreement, lasting 50 years.
Palbinder Kaur Shergill: Indian-origin Sikh
human rights advocate Ms. Palbinder Kaur Shergill
has been appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of
British Columbia in New Westminster. Ms. Shergill
is the first turbaned Sikh to be appointed to the
judiciary in Canada. The appointment was made on
June 24, 2017 with immediate effect. She replaces
Justice EA Arnold-Bailey, who retired in May
2017. Prior to her appointment to the Bench, Ms.
Shergill practised as a lawyer and mediator with her
law firm, Shergill & Company, Trial Lawyers.
Raja Chari: Indian-American Mr. Raja Chari, a
lieutenant Colonel with the US Air Force, has been
selected by space agency NASA among 12
astronaut candidates who will conduct research off
the Earth for deep space missions. Mr. Chari has a
Bachelor's degree in Astronautical Engineering and
Engineering Science from the US Air Force
Academy and a postgraduate degree in Aeronautics
and Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology. He also graduated from the US Naval
Test Pilot School.
Neeru Chadha: Ms. Neeru Chadha was elected as
the first Indian woman member of the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), a top
body which adjudicates cases related to the
international law of the seas. She topped the ballot
for the Asia-Pacific group in an election held on
June 14, 2017, for a seat on the Tribunal. Ms.
Chadha, the first woman Chief Legal Advisor to the
Ministry of External Affairs, has become the first
Indian woman to hold a high-ranking UN position
after the late Vijayalakshmi Pandit.
Tanmay Bakshi: Tanmay Bakshi, a 12-year-old
Indian-origin boy living in Canada has been listed
among the youngest app developer in the world. His
notable works include an algorithm designed by
him called AskTanmay' described as "the world's
first Web-Based NLQA System", built using IBM
Watson's Cognitive Capabilities. The eight-step
algorithm can apparently solve queries related to a
'Person', 'Organisation', `Location', or 'Date' answer
type. Tanmay started working on programming
from the age of five.
Muzoon Almellehan: Ms. Muzoon Almellehan,
er9-year-old education activist and Syrian refugee,
was appointed as the newest and the youngest
Goodwill Ambassador of UNICEF on the eve of
World Refugee Day on June 19, 2017. The
appointment makes Ms. Muzoon the first person
with official refugee status to become an
Ambassador for UNICEF. She has done extensive
work for girls' education in Syria.
Ekta Bisht: Indian women cricket team's left arm
spinner Ekta Bisht created history on July 2, 2017,
when she picked up 5 wickets for 18 runs, playing
against Pakistan in a match in Women's World Cup.
It helped India notch up their third win on the trot in
the ICC Women's World Cup 2017. Ekta has now
become third Indian woman cricketer to pick 5 or
more wickets in a match in the Women's World
Cup.
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Manushi Chhillar: Ms. Manushi Chhillar from
Haryana winner of the emerged as the Femina Miss
India World 2017 pageant, held in Mumbai on June
26, 2017. While Ms. Manushi Chhillar was crowned
the winner, Ms. Sana Dua from Jammu and
Kashmir and Ms. Priyanka Kumari from Bihar were
the First Runner-up and Second Runner-up
respectively. Ms. Manushi has also won Miss
Photogenic title.
CURRENT TOPICS: INDIA
India-Israel Take Their Partnership To Strategic
Level
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi was on a visit to
Israel from July 4 to 6, 2017. Mr. Modi has become
the first Prime Minister of India to visit the Jewish
nation. PM Mr. Modi received a rousing reception
at the Ben-Gurion International Airport near Tel
Aviv with Israeli PM Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu
greeting him with the words ―Aapka swagat hai
mere dost‖. Extending the honour, which had so far
been accorded only to the Pope and the President of
the United States, is symbolic of the significance
attached to the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime
Minister to Israel.
The historic visit saw India and Israel elevate their
ties to the strategic partnership level. After the
wide-ranging talks, the two sides signed seven pacts
covering areas like innovation, water conservation,
agriculture and space. India and Israel also agreed
to set up a $40 million fund for industrial research
and development, and innovation fund, with both
countries contributing #20 million each. Besides,
separate MoUs were signed on cooperation in GEO-
LEO optical link and cooperation in electric
propulsion for small satellites. The leaders asserted
that strong measures should be taken against
terrorists, terror organizations, their networks and
all those who encourage, support and finance
terrorism, or provide sanctuary to terrorists and
terror groups.
PM Mr. Modi laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem
Memorial Museum and paid tributes to over six
million Jews killed by Nazi Germany. In a special
gesture, Mr. MOdi met Moshe Holtzberg, an 11-
years old Israeli child who was just two years old
when he lost his parents in the 2008 Mumbai terror
attack at Chabad House.
Government Launches National Biopharma
Mission: Union Minister of Science and
Technology Mr. Harsh Vardhan launched the
National Biopharma Mission on June 30, 2017,
aimed at accelerating biopharmaceutical
development in the country. Under the mission, the
Ministry also launched Innovate in India (i3)
programme to create an enabling ecosystem to
promote entrepreneurship and indigenous
manufacturing in the sector. i3 programme will
witness an investment of $250 million with $125
million as a loan from the World Bank. It aspires to
create an enabling ecosystem to promote
entrepreneurship and indigenous manufacturing in
the sector. The mission, to be implemented by
Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance
Council (BIRAC), is expected to bring together
expertise from the national and international
corridors to provide strategic guidance and direction
to move promising solutions through the product
development value chain.
Railway Minister Lays Foundation Of Survey
Work On Bilaspur-Manali-Leh Railway Line At
Leh
Railway Minister Mr. Suresh Prabhu kicked off the
final location survey of the 498-km long Bilaspur-
Manali-Leh line and laid the foundation stone for
the survey of the strategically vital rail project at
Leh in Ladakh on June 27, 2017. Coming up at a
high of 3,300 metres, the strategically important rail
project is touted to become the highest rail track in
the world, overtaking China‘s Qinghai Tibet
Railway.
The all-weather Leh rail network is one of the four
important railway connectivities identified by the
Defence Ministry along the China border. The
proposed alignment passes through Shivalik, Great
Himalayan and Zanskar Ranges – areas with wide
variation in height 600 metre – 5300 metre above
mean sea level.
Leh is the most important town in Ladakh region of
Jammu and Kashmir having approximately 1.5 lakh
population. It is the second largest district in the
country with elaborate Army Establishments and is
the Headquarter of 14 Corps. Personnel and
equipment will be transported more easily to the
strategic military base of Leh with the
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commissioning of the line. The work of Final
Location Survey has been entrusted by the Ministry
of Railways to RITES Ltd. and is planned to be
completed by March 2019 with an approximate cost
of Rs. 157 crore.
Cabinet Approves Disinvestment OF Air India:
The Union Cabinet formally approved the
privatization of national airline Air India Ltd. and
five of its subsidiaries on June 28, 2017. NITI
Aayog, the government‘s think tank, has suggested
complete privatization of the Air India, which has a
debt burden of over Rs. 52,000 crore. Disclosing
this, Finance Minister Mr. Arun Jaitley said that he
would be heading a group to work out procedures
for the Air India disinvestment. The group under
Mr. Jaitley will decide on the treatment of
unsustainable debt of Air India, hiving off certain
assets to a shell company, spinning off and selling
stakes in three profit-making subsidiaries, the
quantum of disinvestment, and the eligibility
criteria for the bidders. This group will then report
back to the Union Cabinet for final approvals. The
Ministry of Civil Aviation has been looking at ways
to revive Air India, which is surviving on Rs.
30,000 crore bailout package extended by the
previous UPA (United Progresive Alliance) regime.
Air India was launched in 1932 by Mr. JRD Tata as
Tata Airlines. Its name was changed to the current
one in 1946. The government decided to take it over
in 1953. In 2000 too, under a BJP-led government,
there was a move to privatise Air India but it went
nowhere.
Government Launches VAJRA Scheme To
Attract Indian Scientists Abroad
In a bid to bring together the Indian scientists
abroad and India-based researchers for conducting
joint researches in India, the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) launched a scheme named
‗Visiting Advanced Joint Research Faculty‘
(VAJRA) on June 22, 2017. Minister of Science and
Technology Mr. Harsh Vardhan launched the Web
portal of VAJRA in New Delhi and said that the
initiative would boost research work and lead to
newer, cutting-edge technologies, which were
needed in India. Under this scheme, scientists or
senior researchers abroad – of Indian origin or
otherwise – can collaborate with faculties in India.
Mr. Harsh Vardhan said that the Central
Government had been stressing upon converting
brain-drain into brain-gain. The broad areas of
research like energy, health, advance material and
others would be promoted under the scheme. The
Minister said that VAJRA will bring huge value to
India‘s innovation ecosystem. It will facilitate
sustained international collaborative research with
the guidance and mentoring of masters, Ph. D. and
post-doctoral students. It will expose the best of our
young minds to the best of global research practices
and also enhance our access to state-of-the-art
research facilities in other countries, he said.
The foreign researchers would receive endowments
on a par with those in their own countries. The
endowments for faculties would be $15,000 in the
first month of residency and $10,000, for the
remaining months. The hope is to draw 1,000
VAJRA faculty members annually, with the aim of
reaching that target within seven years.
30 More Smart Cities Annoucned; Takes The
Total To 90 So Far
Central Government announced another list of 30
cities for development as smart cities on June 23,
2017, taking the total cities picked up so far to 90
under Smart City Mission launched on June 25,
2015. Announcing the new batch of smart cities at a
National Workshop on Urban Transformation in
New Delhi, Minister of Urban Development and
Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation Mr. M.
Venkaiah Naidu said that 45 cities contested for 40
available smart city slots but only 30 were selected
to ensure feasible and workable plans that match the
aspirations of the citizens as directed by Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi while launching the
mission.
The proposed investment in these 30 cities is Rs.
57,393 crore under various smart city plans. With
that, the total investment for smart infrastructure
development for the 90 cities had gone up to Rs.
1.91 lakh crore.
Uttarakhand, Haryana Become Open Defecation
Free States
Uttarakhand and Haryana have become the fourth
and fifth Open Defecation Free (ODF) States of
India under the Swachh Bharat Mission, said an
official statement on June 22, 2017. The two States
have now joined the league of Sikkim, Himachal
Pradesh and Kerala, which were the first three
States to be declared ODF. Nationally, the
sanitation coverage has increased from 42 percent
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to over 64 percent in just two-and-a-half years since
the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of
Drinking Water and Sanitation, said in Dehradun
that Swachh Bharat Mission has become a truly
people‘s movement. People of Uttarakhand and
Haryana, the government officials and
representatives of other institutions have
contributed towards this milestone, he said. With
the total number of ODF States now rising to five,
over two lakh villages and 147 districts have been
declared Open Defecation Free across the country.
Third International Yoga Day Celebrated Across
The Nation
The nation celebrated the third International Yoga
Day with the theme this year as ‗Yoga for Harmony
and Peace‘ on June 21, 2017. The main event took
place at Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, at Ramabai
Ambedkar Maidan where Prime Minister Mr.
Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Yogi Adityanath performed Yoga along with over
50,000 participants. UP Governor Mr. Ram Naik,
Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Keshav Prasad Maurya
and Cabinet Ministers were also present at the grand
event. PM Mr. Narendra Modi performed yoga
asanas in the light rain, leading thousands of people
in celebrating Yoga Day. Addresing the huge
crowd, PM Mr. Modi said that yoga has become a
part of so many lives. Yoga‘s popularity out of
India is high and it has connected the world with
India, he said.
PM Modi Dedicates Kochi Metro To The Nation
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi dedicated Kochi
Metro to the nation, flagging off the maiden run of
the metro train on June 17, 2017. The PM also took
a short inaugural ride on one of the trains.
Addressing the inaugural function, Mr. Modi
stressed the need to bring about a paradigm shift in
urban planning by adopting a people-centric
approach and integrating land use and transport.
Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) is a 50-50 joint
venture of the Central and the State governments.
The Centre has so far released over Rs. 2,000 crore
for the project. The coaches reflected ‗Make in
India‘ vision. They have been built by Alstom near
Chennai and have an Indian component of around
70 percent. One of the fastest to be built in the
country, the Kochi metro is the first public transport
system to reserve jobs for members of the third sex
and it will be manned mainly by women of the
Kudumbasree Mission, the State government‘s
women empowerment initiative. The project is also
an example of environment-friendly development. It
will meet nearly 25% of the entire energy
requirements from renewable sources, particularly
solar energy.
Energy Conservation Building Code 2017
Launched
Minister of State (IC) for Power, Coal, New and
Renewable Energy and Mines, Mr. Piyush Goyal
launched the Energy Conservation Building Code
2017 (ECBC 2017) on June 19, 2017. Developed by
the Ministry of Power and Bureau of Energy
Efficiency (BEE), ECBC 2017 prescribes the
energy performance standards for new commercial
buildings to be constructed across India. The
updated version of ECBC provides current as well
as futuristic advancements in building technology to
further reduce building energy consumption and
promote low-carbon growth. ECBC 2017 sets
parameters for builders, designers and architects to
integrate renewable energy sources in building
design with the inclusion of passive design
strategies. The code aims to optimize energy
savings with the comfort levels for occupants, and
prefers life-cycle cost effectiveness to achieve
energy neutrality in commercial buildings.
Dedicating the ECBC Code 2017 to all the young
children of India, Mr. Goyal said that it is
incumbent on all of us to efficiently utilize every bit
of resources, ensure implementation of such
progressive and forward looking programmes of
Government very diligently and ensure that we will
leave behind for next generation a better world than
what we inherited. ECBC 2017 will give clear
direction and have criteria for new buildings. It
reflects current and futuristic advancements in
building technology, market changes, and energy
demand scenario of the country, setting the
benchmark for Indian buildings to be amongst some
of the most efficient globally.
NITI Aayog Launches SATH Programme
Furthering the agenda for cooperative federalism,
NITI Aayog launched SATH, a programme
providing ‗Sustainable Action for Transforming
Human Capital‘ with the State Governments, on
June 10, 2017. The vision of the programme is to
initiate transformation in the education and health
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sectors. The programme addresses the need
expressed by many States for technical support
from NITI Aayog. SATH aims to identify and build
three future ‗role model‘ States for health systems.
NITI Aayog will work in close collaboration with
their State machinery to design a robust road map of
intervention, develop a programme governance
structure, set up monitoring and tracking
mechanisms, hand-hold State institutions through
the execution stage and provide support on a range
of institutional measures to achieve the end
objectives. The programme will be implemented by
NITI Aayog along with McKinsey & Company and
IPE Global consortium, who were selected through
a competitive bidding process.
Government Launches Tele-Law Scheme To
Provide Legal Aid To Rural India
The Central Government launched ‗Tele-Law‘
programme on June 11, 2017, aimed at providing
legal aid services in rural areas through digital
technology. Announcing the launch of ‗Tele-Law‘,
Law and Justice Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad
said that it would fulfil NDA government‘s
commitment to ensure access to justice and
empowerment of the poor. The programme is a
continuation to the Access to Justice Project to
Marginalised Persons implemented by UNDP in
2008. The pilot project is being undertaken by the
Ministry of Law and Justice in collaboration with
the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology and will be launched across 1,000
Common Service Centres (CSC) in Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar and 500 CSCs will be tested in its first
phase. The Common Services Centres and Para
Legal Volunteers will offer easy legal advice to
litigants in rural India, making them digitally and
financially inclusive.
Among the services offered will be
videoconferencing with lawyers so as to enable
people seeking legal advice and counselling. A
panel of lawyers from the State capitals will also be
provided via the National Legal Services Authority
(NALSA). Legal school clinics, District Legal
Service Authorities, voluntary service providers and
Non-Government Organisations working on legal
aid and empowerment can also be connected
through CSCs at the panchayat level. A direct and
first contact for people seeking legal advice would
be the Para Legal volunteers (PLVs) engaged by the
CSC who would assist and help people understand
the legal issues and explain the advice given by
lawyers. The scheme plans to appoint 1,000 women
PLVs who would work through CSCs with the
agenda to promote women participation and
empowerment.
Uttar Pradesh Ranks First In Number Of Child
Labourers: CRY Report
Over 8 lakh children in India between the age group
of 5 and 6 years are engaged in child labour. A large
percentage, over 5 lakh of these children, do not
attend school. Majority of these kids are engaged in
family-based employments, states a CRY report.
According to the report released on June 10, 2017,
Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of 2,50,672
children engaged in labour, followed by Bihar with
1,28,087 children and Maharashtra where the
number stands at 82,847. While the decade 2001-
2011 saw an overall 30% reduction (about 3.2
million) in working children in the age-group of 10-
14 years, number of working children within 5.9
years increased by 0.68 million, an increase of 37%
from 2001.
CURRENT TOPICS: WORLD
North Korea Tests Intercontinental Missile Cocking a snook at the US President‘s declaration
some time ago that no ballistic missile test by North
Korea would happen, the defiant North Korea
claimed on July 4, 2017 that it tested its first
intercontinental missile. It is a potential game-
changing development in the world‘s most
dangerous nuclear stand-off. A US scientist, who
examined the height and distance, said that the
missile could potentially be powerful enough to
reach Alaska. North Korea‘s Academy of Defence
Science said that the test of an ICBM, the Hwasong-
14, marked the ―final step‖ in creating a ―confident
and powerful nuclear state that can strike anywhere
on Earth‖.
Ms. May has reshuffled her cabinet after the
election results. After the reshuffle, for the first time
in the political history of the UK, 207 women MPs
reached the House of Commons after being elected.
In 2015, the number of women MPs was 196. The
newly elected MPs include 44-year old Ms. Preet
Kaur Gill who has become the first Sikh woman to
be in the British Parliament. Also, Mr. Tanamjeet
Singh Dhesi, aged 38, has become first turbaned
Sikh to be a member of the British Parliament.
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There are now twelve Indian-origin MPs as
compared to ten in 2015.
Carrie Lam Sworn In As Hong Kong’s New
Leader
Chinese President Mr. Xi Jinping swore in new
Hong Kong leader Ms. Carrie Lam on July 1, 2017,
as the politically divided city marked 20 years since
it was handed back to China by Britain, with clashes
between pro and anti-Beijing protesters close to the
ceremony. Ms. Lam was selected by a pro-Beijing
committee, as were her predecessors, and is already
being cast by critics as a China stooge in a city
where many are angry at Beijing‘s tightening grip
on the freedom of nearly eight million people. She
took her oath of office under China‘s national flag
at the city‘s harbourfront convention centre, before
shaking hands with Mr. Xi. Ms. Lam‘s inauguration
came a day after China‘s Foreign Ministry declared
that the document signed by Britain and China
which initiated the handover ―is no longer relevant.‖
The Sino-British Joint Declaration gave Hong Kong
rights unseen on the mainland through a semi-
autonomous ―one country, two system‖ agreement,
lasting 50 years. There are growing fears that those
freedoms are now under threat from an assertive
Beijing, which Chinese authorities accused of
interfering in a range of areas in Hong Kong, from
politics to media and education.
British PM Theresa May Wins Confidence Vote
In Parliament
British, Prime Minister Ms. Theresa May narrowly
won a confidence vote in Parliament on June 30,
2017, showing her weakness after her Conservative
Party lost its majority in a shock general election
result on June 9, 2017. With support from the small
ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP) of Northern Ireland, Ms. May‘s legislative
programme, known as the Queen‘s Speech, was
approved by 323 votes in favour and 309 against in
the 650-seat Parliament. PM Ms. May overturned
the United Kingdom‘s Fixed Term Parliament Act
and called a snap general election ahead of the fixed
time-frame it would have been held in 2020. She
had hoped for a more decisive majority than the 331
seats won by former PM Mr. David Cameron in the
2015 general election but instead, she ended by
sacrificing the small lead she did have in
Parliament.
Ms. May has reshuffled her cabinet after the
election results. After the reshuffle, for the first time
in the political history of the UK, 207 women MPs
reached the House of Commons after being elected.
In 2015, the number of women MPs was 196. The
newly elected MPs include 44-year old Ms. Preet
Kaur Gill who has become the first Sikh woman to
be in the British Parliament. Also, Mr. Tanamjeet
Singh Dhesi, aged 38, has become first turbaned
Sikh to be a member of the British Parliament.
There are now twelve Indian-origin MPs as
compared to ten in 2015.
UN Refugee Agency Says Record 65.6 Million
People Displaced Worldwide
A record 65.6 million people are either refugees,
asylum seekers or internally displaced across the
globe, the UN refugee agency has said. The
estimated figure for the end of 2016 is an increase
of 300,000 on 2015, according to its annual report.
It is a smaller increase than 2014, when the figure
rose by five million. The UN High Commissioner
for Refugees Mr. Filippo Grandi said that it was still
disheartening failure of international diplomacy.
The world seems to have become unable to make
peace, he said. Old conflicts continue to linger and
new conflicts erupt, and both produce forced
displacement, Mr. Grandi said. In 2016, some
3,40,000 people fled the violence in South Sudan
into neighbouring Uganda. That was more than any
other country – even more than the 2,00,000 people
estimated to have fled Syria.
Switzerland Ratifies Auto Info Sharing With
India And 40 Other Nations On Black Money
Switzerland ratified automatic exchange of financial
account information with India and 40 other
jurisdictions on June 16, 2017, to facilitate
immediate sharing of details about suspected black
money, even as it sought strict adherence to
confidentiality and data security. Adopting the
dispatch on the introduction of the AEOI, a global
convention for automatic information exchange on
tax matters, the Swiss Federal Council said that the
implementation is planned for 2018 and the first set
of data should be exchanged in 2019. The council,
which is the top governing body of the European
nation, will soon notify the Indian government
about the exact date from which the automatic
exchange would begin. As per the draft notification
approved by the council in its meeting, the decision
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is not subject to any referendum – which means
there should be no further procedural delay in its
implementation.
The issue of black money has been a matter of great
debate in India and Switzerland has been long
perceived as one of the safest havens for the illicit
wealth allegedly stashed abroad by Indians.
Total Money OF Indians In Swiss Banks Falls By
45 Percent During 2016
Money parked by Indians in Switzerland‘s banks
nearly halved to 676 million Swiss francs (about Rs
4,500 crore) in 2016 to hit a record low amid a
continuing clampdown on the suspected black
money stashed behind their famed secrecy walls. In
comparison, the total funds held by all foreign
clients of Swiss banks somewhat rose to CHF 1.42
trillion or about Rs. 96 lakh crore (from CHF 1.41
trillion a year ago). The total funds held by Indians
directly with Swiss banks stood at CHF 664.8
million at the end of 2016, while the same held
through fiduciaries was nearly $11 million, as per
the latest data published by the country‘s central
banking authority Swiss National Bank (SNB) on
June 29, 2017. The total money of Indians fell by 45
percent during 2016 to CHF 675.75 million,
marking the biggest ever yearly decline in such
funds. This included nearly CHF 377 million in the
form of customer deposits, about CHF 98 million
owed to Indians through other banks and CHF 190
million in the form of other ‗liabilities‘. The figures
fell sharply across all categories in 2016.
7 Countries Cut Off Ties With Qatar
Seven countries, led by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain
severed ties with Qatar, accusing it of backing
terrorism and opening up a rift among some of the
most powerful Arab states. The Arab nations
handed over a 13-point list of demands on June 23,
2017, giving 10 days to comply with it. The
demands included Doha ending support for the
Muslim Brotherhood; end funding of terrorist
groups; closing broadcaster Al Jazeera; handing
over of terrorists and fugitives from the United
States and countries involved in the boycott, to their
country of origin; downgrading diplomatic ties with
Iran; shutting down a Turkish military base in the
emirate and compliance with rules set by the Gulf
Cooperation Council, a six-nation bloc of oil-
producing Arab states. Qatar rejected the ultimatum
on June 24, 2017. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh
Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said that the
demands are meant to infringe the sovereignty of
the state of Qatar.
The oil-rich monarchy‘s relations with Saudi
Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait and the United
Arab Emirates were cut off in a surprise move on
June 5, 2017.Bahrain was the first to snap ties,
followed by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab
Emirates, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives.
They accused Qatar of backing groups such as al-
Qaeda, Islamic State and the Muslim Brotherhood
and pushing policies that were destabilizing the
region.
French President Macron’s Party Wins Majority
In Parliamentary Polls
French President Mr. Emmanuel Macron‘s centrist
party scored a decisive victory after the second
round of parliamentary elections held on June 18,
2017. With 97 percent of the votes counted, Mr.
Macron‘s La Republiqe En Marche (LREM) party
won 300 seats in the 577-strong National Assembly.
Its political ally, the Mouvement Democrate
(MoDem) won 41 seats. Former presidential
hopeful Ms. Marine Le Pen‘s far-right National
Front won only eight seats. She won a seat in
Parliament for the first time, representing Henin-
Beaumont, a former mining town in the north. The
Socialists, who had been in power for the past five
years, alongside their partners, looked set to get
only 41-49 seats – their lowest tally ever. Mr.
Macron‘s party, founded just a year ago, had also
won the first round of elections on June 11, 2017
with less than half of eligible voters going to the
polls. The second round of the polls was again
marked by weak voter tornout. Nationwide, it stood
at just over 35 percent.
India, Afghanistan Open Air Freight Route
Adding a new dimension to bilateral ties, India and
Afghanistan inaugurated a dedicated air freight
corridor service on June 19, 2017. The corridor
which passes through the airspace of Pakistan was
launched with a cargo aircraft flight flagged off by
Afghanistan President Dr. Ashraf Ghani in the
presence of several Afghan Cabinet Ministers and
India‘s Ambassador to Afghanistan Mr. Manpreet
Vohra. The dedicated air corridor was planned
during the meeting of Prime Minister Mr. Narendra
Modi and President Mr. Ghani in Kabul in
September 2016. The cargo aircraft which carried
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high-grade Afghan asafetida or ―hing‖ among other
goods, landed in Delhi and was welcomed by
External Affairs Minister Ms. Sushma Swaraj,
Minister of State for External Affairs Mr. M.J.
Akbar, Minister of Civil Aviation Mr. Ashok
Gajapathi Raju and Afghan envoy to India Ms.
Shaida Abdali. A similar cargo flight from Delhi to
Kabul had earlier carried 100 tonnes of cargo
(mainly pharmaceuticals, water purifiers, medical
equipment) on June 18, 2017. Prime Minister Mr.
Modi welcomed the formal opening of the
dedicated service in a tweet and said that the direct
connectivity between India and Afghanistan will
usher in prosperity. He thanked President Mr.
Ashraf Ghani for the initiative.
At present, major exports from India to Afghanistan
are man-made filaments, apparels and clothing
accessories, pharmaceutical products, cereals, man-
made staple fibres, tobacco products, dairy and
poultry products, coffee, tea, meat and spices.
Major imports from Afghanistan to India are fresh
fruits, dried fruits, nuts, raisins, vegetables, oil
seeds, precious and semi-precious stones.
193 Countries Of The World Unite To Take
Action And Save Oceans From Pollution
The 193 UN member nations have issued an urgent
call for action to reverse the decline in the health
and productivity of the world‘s oceans, with the
United States backing the action plan but rejecting
its support for the Paris Agreement to tackle climate
change. The final document was gavelled to
approval by consensus at the end of the first-ever
UN Conference On Oceans held in UN
Headquarters at new York from June 5 to 9, 2017. It
recognizes the critical importance of the world‘s
seas for the future of the planet: Covering three-
quarter of the Earth, they supply nearly half the
oxygen that we breathe, absorb over a quarter of the
carbon dioxide we produce, provide food, and play
key roles in water cycles and the climate system.
The government leaders called on people and
organizations everywhere to take action to reverse
the threats from plastic garbage, illegal and
excessive fishing, rising sea levels that could wipe
out small islands, and increasing acidity of ocean
water that is killing marine life.
Leo Varadkar Becomes Ireland’s Youngest
Prime Minister
Mr. Leo Varadkar, the son of an Indian immigrant,
took over as Irish Prime Minister on June 14, 2017,
after he was voted leader of the country‘s main
governing party. Mr. Varadkar, who was nominated
in Parliament by departing Prime Minister Mr. Enda
Kenny, won the votes of the independent lawmakers
backing his Fine Gael party‘s minority government
and secured the abstention of main opposition party
Fianna Fail. Mr. Varadkar earned 60 percent of the
vote in the centre-right party‘s leadership contest,
which was decided by the Fine Gael members,
councillors, and parliamentary party members. Mr.
Varadkar‘s opponent, Mr. Simon Coveney, took 40
percent. The election came less than a month after
Prime Minister Mr. Enda Kenny announced his
resignation, ending his 15-year reign as party
leader. Speaking after the final votes were tallied in
Dublin, Mr. Varadkar said that he was delighted,
humbled and honoured to win. Mr. Kenny said that
he was sure that Mr. Varadkar would devote his life
to improving the lives of people across the country.
He said that he would provide his full support to
Mr. Varadkar in the work that lay ahead.
In addition to becoming Ireland‘s first Prime
Minister of Indian- origin, Mr. Varadkar will also
become the country‘s first openly gay premier. Mr.
Varadkar‘s father Mr. Ashok Varadkar is a doctor
from Konkan region of Mumbai and his mother Ms.
Miriam is an Irish nurse. They met while they were
both working at an English hospital in the 1960s.
Mr. Leo Varadkar was born in Ireland.
68 Countries Sign OECD Pact To Plug Tax
Treaty Loopholes
Sixty-eight countries have signed a ground-breaking
multilateral BEPS convention that will close
loopholes in thousands of tax treaties worldwide.
The multilateral instrument was signed at the
OECD headquarters in Paris on June 7, 2017. The
OECD multilateral convention aimed to crack down
on tax evasion around the world, be it companies or
investors, anybody trying to create a structure
primarily to avoid or evade taxes. The multilateral
instrument was signed by Finance Minister Mr.
Arun Jaitley on behalf of India. The multilateral
instrument (MLI), developed by the OECD under
Action 15 of the BEPS project, will transpose BEPS
recommendations into over 1,100 tax treaties
worldwide. The Convention will strengthen
provisions to resolve treaty disputes, including
through mandatory binding arbitration (which has
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been adopted by 25 signatories), to reduce double
taxation and increase tax certainty for businesses.
Eight additional countries and jurisdictions have
signed a letter expressing their intent to sign the
convention.
Latest in Sports
BADMINTON
Sai Praneeth wins Thailand Grand Prix Gold
title: Bhamidipati Sai Praneeth is on a roll as he
completed a come-from-behind win to keep his
good run going. Six weeks after winning the
Singapore Open Super Series, the 24-year-old
clinched his first Grand Prix Gold title clinching the
$120,000 Thailand Open with a hard fought 17-21,
21-18, 21-19 victory against Christie Jonatan of
Indonesia in Bangkok on June 4, 2017.
Srikanth clinches Indonesia Open badminton
title: Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinched his
third Superseries title, lifting the Indonesia Open
men‘s singles trophy with a straight-game victory
over Japanese qualifier Kazumasa Sakai in the
finals at Jakarta on June 18, 2017.
World No.22 Srikanth, who had reached the finals
at Singapore Open in April, outclassed Sakai,
ranked 47th, 21-11, 21-19 in just 37 minutes to take
home a cheque of $75,000. Later, reacting to the
win, the Badminton Association of India announced
a cash award of Rs.5 lakh.
K. Srikanth clinches Australian Open
Superseries title: Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth
notched up his second successive Super Series title
with a stunning straight-game triumph over reigning
Olympic champion Chen Long in the Australian
Open summit clash in Sydney on June 25, 2017.
The world No.11 Srikanth won 22-20 21-16 in a 45-
minute clash against the world No.6 Chinese, who
is also the current All England champion.
Srikanth, who had reached the summit clash in
Singapore and Indonesia before this tournament, is
only the fifth player in the world to contest three
successive Super Series finals.
The Indian, a semi-finalist in the last edition of the
tournament, was the one to grab the early lead.
Following a sedate start, Srikanth capitalised on his
opponent's rather sluggish game to clinch a 10-6
lead.
CRICKET PLUS
Virat Kohli sole Indian in Forbes list of highest
paid athletes: Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli is
the sole sportsperson from the country to feature
among the world's 100 highest paid athletes in the
latest Forbes list topped by soccer star Cristiano
Ronaldo.
Kohli, 28, has been ranked 89th on the 2017 Forbes
list of 'The World's highest paid athletes' with a total
pay of $22 million that includes $3 mil-lion from
salary and winnings and another $19 million from
endorsements.
Describing Kohli as the "Indian cricket phenom",
Forbes said the sports star has "for good reason"
already drawn comparisons to all-time great Sachin
Tendulkar.
It added that Kohli has continuously shattered
batting records and in 2015 was named the captain
of the Indian national team, making him one of the
youngest players to ever hold the job.
The list has been topped by Ronaldo with a total
pay of 93 mil-lion dollars. American basketball star
LeBron James comes in at the second spot with
$86.2 million, followed by Argentine footballer
Litor1 Messi (3) with 80 million, tennis star Roger
Federer (4) with 64 million and American
basketball player Kevin Durant.
Murali first Sri Lankan to be inducted into ICC
Hall of Fame: Muttiah Muralitharan, the most
successful bowler in Tests and one-day
internationals, was on June 8, 2017 inducted into
the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. The Sri Lankan spin
great was honoured during the innings break of the
India versus Sri Lanka Champions Trophy match at
The Oval.
He became the first player from Sri Lanka and the
83rd overall to be inducted into the Hall of Fame
when ICC CEO Dave Richardson presented him
with a commemorative framed cap.
Pakistan defeats India by 180 runs to clinch
Champions Trophy: An inspired Pakistan
hammered a blundering India by 180 runs to lift the
ICC Champions Trophy on June 18, 2017, riding on
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a scintillating hundred from rookie opener Fakhar
Zaman and a sensational bowling spell from
Mohammad Amir. This is Pakistan's first ICC title
triumph since their 2009 World Twenty20 win but
more importantly, it broke the jinx of not
performing against India in big ticket matches. For
a team that can't play international cricket at home
due to security issues, the victory has far-reaching
implications.
The victory was achieved by one of the most de-
glamorous outfit under one of the most unassuming
captains in the history of Pakistan cricket—Sarfraz
and he deserved it more than anyone else for
showing the compo-sure one expects from model
captains.
Man of the match Fakhar Zaman scored a pulsating
114—his first ODI hundred—to help Pakistan
clinch their maiden Champions Trophy title.
Anil Kumble resigns as head coach of Indian cricket
team: India cricket coach Anil Kumble on June 20,
2017 stepped down from his position after a widely-
speculated feud with captain Virat Kohli, marking a
bitter end to a highly successful tenure.
Kumble's decision comes in the wake of reports
claiming rifts between him and Kohli, and just two
days after India's embarrassing loss to Pakistan in
the Champions Trophy final.
Lasith Malinga gets suspended one-year ban: Lasith
Malinga received a suspended one-year cricket ban
after the fast bowler pleaded guilty to a charge of
speaking to the media with-out permission, as Sri
Lanka's cricket board said on June 27, 2017.
The charge against Malinga came from his response
to criticism by Sri Lanka's sports minister over the
team's fitness levels.
FOOTBALL
Real Madrid become the first team to ever win
back-to-back Champions League titles: Never in
the history of the UEFA Champions League had a
team won the title in consecutive seasons. That is
until now — Real Madrid have done it.
The Merengues throttled Juventus, 4-1, in
Champions League final, 361 days after they
prevailed over Atletico Madrid on penalties in
Europe's ultimate match. Now, they stand alone as
the only team in the history of the competition to
win back-to-back titles.
Unsurprisingly, it was Cristiano Ronaldo who found
himself at the center of attention in both wins. A
year ago, he buried the winning penalty kick to set
off the wild celebrations. This time around, he
scored a brace to lead Real Madrid to not just their
second straight Champions League title, but their
third in four seasons.
England beat Venezuela 1-0 to win FIFA U-20
World Cup: A first-half goal from Dominic
Calvert-Lewin gave England a 1-0 win over
Venezuela in the 2017 Under-20 World Cup final at
Suwon World Cup Stadium on Sunday and a first
global title since 1966.
The Everton striker made the difference, though
goalkeeper Freddie Woodman saved a second-half
penalty from Adalberto Penaranda as the South
Americans piled on the pres-sure in an open and
entertaining clash in which both teams hit the wood-
work.
England made most of the running in the first half
though Venezuela looked dangerous in attacking
areas.
Dhanraj Pillay to get East Bengal's highest
award: Former India hockey captain Dhanraj Pillay
will be conferred East Bengal football club's highest
honour — Bharat Gaurav — at its foundation day
ceremony on August 1.
One of modern day Indian hockey's biggest stars
Pillay has the distinction of representing India at
four Olympics, World Cups, Champions Trophy
and Asian Games in his career spanning over 15
years. He made 339 appearances for the national
team and scored 170 goals.
RACE
Lewis Hamilton wins. Canadian Grand Prix for
sixth time: Lewis Hamilton's love affair with the
Canadian Grand Prix continued unabated on June
11, 2017 as he won the race for a sixth time and
slashed Sebastian Vettel's Formula One champion-
ship lead to 12 points.
After watching Ferrari sweep to a one-two finish
two weeks ago in Monaco, Mercedes hit back with
a dominating display as Hamilton cruised to his
56th career win, a leisurely 19.7 seconds in front of
team mate Valtteri Bottas.
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OLYMPICS
IOC approves new events for Tokyo Olympics:
The International Olympic Committee (IOC)
approved new events for the 2020 Tokyo Games,
including a number of mixed-gender competitions.
The IOC's Executive Board made the decision at a
meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on June 8, 2017.
The additions include a mixed team event for judo.
Each team will consist of 3 men and 3 women, all
representing different weight classes. Team events
have already taken place at the judo world
championships, but never on a mixed-gender basis.
Table Tennis will also get a mixed doubles
competition.
SHOOTING
Heena Sidhu, Jitu Rai win ISSF World Cup
mixed team 10m gold: Ace shooters Jitu Rai and
Heena Sidhu delivered India its first medal at the
International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF)
World Cup Rifle/Pistol series being held in Gabala,
Azerbaijan by combining superbly to claim gold in
the mixed team 10m air pistol event.
Jitu and Heena forged a stirring recovery from 0-4
to 7-6 to beat Russia, thus giving India's shooting
contingent at the tournament reason to cheer.
TENNIS
French Open 2017
Men's singles: Rafael Nadal beat Stan Wawrinka,
6-2, 6-3,6-1.
Women's singles: Jelena Ostapenko beat Simona
Halep, 4- 6, 6-4, 6-3
Men's doubles: Ryan Harrison and Michael Venus
beat Santiago Gonzalez and Donald Young, 7-6(7-
5), 6-7(4-7), 6-3.
Women's doubles: Bethanic Mattek-Sands and
Lucie Safarova beat Ashleigh Batty and Casey
Dellacqua, 6-2, 6-1
Mixed doubles: Gabriela Dabrowski and Rohan
Bopanna beat. Anna-Lena Gronefeld and Robert
Farah, 2-6, 6-2, [12-10]
Federer lifts ninth Halle Open title: Swiss legend
Roger Federer has clinched his ninth Halle Open
title after beating hapless Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-3
in the final.
The top seed Roger Federer showed no mercy with
fourth seed Alexander Zverev after wrapping up his
ninth title in his 11th Halle final within 53 minutes
on June 25, 2017.
TABLE TENNIS
Ganeshan first Indian to be in-ducted in ITTF
URC: Ganeshan Neelakanta Iyer, the only assigned
competition manager of International Table Tennis
Federation (ITTF), has become the first Indian to be
nominated as a member of the Umpires and
Referees Committee (URC). Following the AGM of
the world table tennis body early this week, the
Board of Directors of various committees met on
the sidelines of the ongoing World Championships
and hand-picked the best in the business for the job.
Ganeshan's term as URC member is for a period of,
two years and can be extended.
In another first, Ganeshan has also been
recommended as the Technical Commissioner from
the Asian Continent to ITTF and his term will be for
a period of four years. Ganeshan is also the
chairman of the South Asian Federation technical
committee and a member of the Technical
Committee of the Common-wealth Table Tennis
Federation.
Manika Batra, Mouma Das make history by
becoming first Indian pair to reach quarters:
Manika Batra and Mouma Das made history by
becoming the first Indian pair to reach the
quarterfinals of the World Table Tennis
Championships on June 1, 2017. In the men's
singles, top-ranked Indian Sharath Kamal stormed
into the round of 32 beating Ukraine s Kou Lei in
straight games of 11-3, 11-9, 14-12, 11-3.
MISCELLANEOUS
Bhumika Sharma wins Miss World title in
bodybuilding championship: Dehradun's Bhumika
Sharma gained maximum points in three
categories— individual posing, body posing and fall
in that eventually bagged her the Miss World title
and the gold medal at the world championship in
Venice in June, 2017.
The championship drew 50 competitors from
different countries.
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Gokulnath 1st Indian to finish solo Race Across
America: Col Dr Srinivas Gokulnath of Nashik
became the first Indian to complete solo Race
Across America (RAAM) cycle race of 5,000 kms
on June 25, 2017.
Srinivas, 37, completed the toughest cycle race in
the world in 11 days and 11 hours in the 18-49 age
category. The time given was 12 days to complete
the race, that is 13 hours earlier than the scheduled
time. The race concluded at Odenton.
Static GK Capsules
Indian History
Who was the last British Governor General of
independent India? Lord Mountbatten.
Minto-Morley Reforms Act was introduced in the
year 1909
The Swaraj Party was founded by ……. in the year
1923. Motilal Nehru
National Anthem was adopted by the constituent
assembly on ……… January 24, 1950
The two prime occupations of Paleolithic age man
were …….. Hunting and Gathering
The temple town of the Chalukya Period was
Aihole, in modern Karnataka State
The shore temple of Mahabalipuram and the
Kailasanatha temple in Kanchipuram were
constructed by which Pallava Ruler? Narasimha
Varman l
Which Rashtrakuta Ruler had written the earliest
Kannada book- ‗Kavirajamarga‘ on rhetoric, poetics
and grammar? Amoghavarsha I
The last ruler of Pallava dynasty was Aparajitha
Varman
Which Rajput ruler was overthrown by the Turk
Muhammad Ghori from Delhi? Prithviraj
Chauhan
In the battle of Chandwar Muhammad Ghori
defeted which Rajput ruler of India. Jaichand
Rathore
Muhammad Ghori assigned his Indian possession to
Qutbuddin Aibak
The First battle of Tarain was fought between
Prithiviraj Chauhan and Muhammad Ghori
Who was the first Portuguese Governor in India and
Viceroy of the Portuguese State of India? Francisco
de Almeida
Which Parsi girl, brought out her own revolutionary
journal in awareness of Indian struggle for
independence in
Europe and America? Madame Bhikaiji Cama
When Vasco-da-Gama arrived at Calicut in 1498,
he was greeted by which local Hindu ruler?
Zamorin
Alfonso de Albuquerque captured Goa from Bijapur
in 1510
The East India Company was founded in 1600
Which English officer played an important role in
the formation of Indian National Congress? AO
Hume
Khilafat Movement (1919-20), the movement of
Indian Muslims was led by Muhammad Ali and
Shaukat Ali
Who was the perpetrator of Jallianwala Bagh
massacre on April 13, 1919, at Jalianwalla Bagh in
Amritsar (Pubjab)? General Reginald Dyer
General Science
It is easier to swim in sea water as Density of sea
water is …….. than the ordinary water. Higher
Violet wavelengths will suffer …….. deviation
while passing through a prism. Maximum
Hair of a shaving brush cling together when the
brush is removed from water due to Surface
Tension
Transformer devices works on the basis of the
principle of Mutual Induction
Radio-carbon dating is used to determine the age of
human Fossils
Metallurgy is defined as the whole process of
obtained a pure metal from one of its Ore
Lewis Acid Base theory is based on the formation
of new Chemical Bonds
Oxidation is better defined as an increase in
oxidation number, and reduction as a decrease in
Oxidation Number
Avogadro‘s law is an experimental ……… law
relating volume of a gas to the amount of substance
of gas present. Gas.
The vitamin prevents from rickets is Vitamin D
Arrhenius definition of acidity is pH, which is a
measurement of the hydronium ion concentration in
a solution, as expressed on a……… logarithmic
scale. Negative
Boyle‘s law is an experimental gas law that
describes how the pressure of a gas tends to
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increase as the volume of the container
Decreases
One mole an ideal gas has a volume of 22.4 litres at
STP as defined by IUPAC
Cations and anions can form a crystalline lattice of
neutral salts, such as the Na+ and CI – ions forming
NaCl
It vitamin prevents from sterility? Vitamin E
Which type of vitamin prevents beri-beri
(weakness, partial paralysis, irregular heartbeat)
Vitamin B1
Which type of the vitamin prevents from Scurvy
(bleeding gums)? Vitamin C
Which type of insoluble polysaccharide, are used by
plants to store food? Starch
At birth, the human skull is made up of ……..
separate bony elements. 44
The human skull is generally considered to consist
of ……… bones. twenty-two
The average adult has a blood volume of roughly 5
L
Indian Polity
The Constituent Assembly was set-up under the
Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946
Who has given the following statement:
―Democracy means. a government of the people. By
the people, and for the people‖ Abraham Lincoln
The Constitution of India describes India as Union
of States
January 26th was selected as the date for the
inauguration of the Constitution because Congress
had observed it as the Independence Day in 1930
The Preamble was amended by the 42nd
Amendment 1976
The words ‗Socialist Secular‘ were added by the
42nd
Amendment
The procedure of Amendment to the Constitution is
borrowed from the Constitution Of South Africa
The members of the Constituent Assembly were
elected by Provincial Assemblies
From ……….. Constitution was a concept of a 5-
year plan borrowed into our Constitution. USSR
The first General Election in India was held in
1951
To be recognized as a National party, it must secure
at least …….. of the valid votes in 4 or more States
4%
The Election Disputes regarding the election of
President and Vice-President can be heard by
Supreme Court
The largest Constitution in the world is India
Fundamental Rights are granted to citizens under
which Article? Article 12-35
Indian Constitution was adopted by the government
of India on November 26, 1949
The reservation seats for SCs/STs in State
assemblies is mentioned in the Article-332
The Indian Constitution has been divided into 25
Chapters
The counterpart of the Lok Sabha Speaker in the
Rajya Shabha is the Chairman, who is the Vice-
President of India
The Speaker has the……. rank in the political
executive of India. Sixth
Due to Federal and Unitary form of government.
India is called as Quasifederal
......... of India works as President, if the posts of
President and Vice-President lie vacant. Chief
Justice
Geography
Lakshadweep Islands are situated in the Arabian
Sea, off the coast of Kerala
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are situated in
the bay of Bengal. Off the coast of Myanmar
The intensity of earthquake wave is recorded by
Seismograph
The sun is vertically overhead at the equator on
March 21st (Spring Equinox)
Line joining places that experience earthquake at
the same time is called Homoseismal line
A person crossing International Date Line from East
to West Loses One Day
Earth takes time, revolution around the sun is 365
Days, 5 H, 48 Min and 45.51 Sec
Earth Spins on its imaginary axis from West to East
in 23 H, 56 Min and 40.91 Sec
The measure of the overall diversity for the
different ecosystems within a region is known as
Gamma Diversity
Jupiter and Saturn, are composed mainly of
Hydrogen and Helium
The angular distance measured in degrees along the
equator East or West of the Prime Meridian is
called Longitude
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The tropical storm in the Carribean or West Pacific
Ocean with extremely strong winds is called
Hurricane
The fertile soil generally found in UP, Punjab,
Haryana and Bihar is called Alluvial Soil
Which is also known as lying planet? Uranus
Planet
Sports
Saina Nehwal won the bronze medal in the
individual women‘s competition, the first for the
country in‘ the 2012 London Olympic Games
‗The National Sports Day‘ is observed on which of
the following days? August 29
The only player in the history of Test cricket to
score a century in each of his first three test matches
Mohammed Azharruddin
First Captain in World Cricket to win ICC T20
World Cup, ICC World Cup and ICC Champions
Trophy is MS Dhoni
He broke the 400 m Olympic record but lost the
bronze by just 0.1 second Milkha Singh
In the historical victory against Pakistan on March
15, 1975, India won the Hockey World Cup held at
Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
He became the first Indian to win the All England
Badminton championships Prakash Padukone
Apart from the 1983 victory, India created history
once again by winning its second World Cup title in
2011
Usha won four gold medals and one silver medal in
the track and field events of the Asian Games
(1986)
The 1st Indian Test Batsman to score 10000 runs is
Sunil Gavaskar
Malleswari wrote yet another golden chapter in
Indian sports history by becoming the first Indian
woman to win an Olympic Medal
He became the first Indian to win a world chess
championship. He has won world championships
five times. Viswanathan Anand
Anju Bobby George became the first Indian
medalist at the World Athletics Championships,
when she took the long jump (6.70 m) bronze in
Paris (2003)
Apart from ………..India has won Gold medals in
the Asian Games in 1990, 1994, 2002, and 2010.
2014
Narian Kathikeyan became India‘s first Formula 1
Motor Racing Driver
……… time World Champions and Olympic
bronze medallist Mary Kom captured everyone‘s
heart with her first Asian Games gold medal in the
women‘s 48-51 kg boxing. Five Time
Miscellaneous
The Minimum Support Price for Food-grains was
introduced in the year 1964
The adoption of High Yielding Variety Programme
in Indian Agriculture started in 1966
China announced its First Five Year Plan in 1953
Agronomy is a branch of Agriculture that deals with
principles and practice of Crop Productin
India alone accounts for nearly ……. of the world‘s
total iron-ore reserves. 20%
Nabakalebara festival is an ancient ritual that is
observed in most of the Jaganath Temples
(Odisha)
The Kala Ghoda festival is a most prominent
cultural event in Mumbai
Who was the first Indian actress to be awarded at
the Moscow film festival in 1963? Suchitra Sen
Tamil Thaipusam is a Hindu festival celebrated
mostly by the Tamil community on, the full moon
in the month of January
Tulsidas wrote several popular works in Sanksrit
and Awadhi
Current Affairs MCQs
1. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of
National Commission for Scheduled Castes
(NCSC)?
(a) Keshav Prasad Maurya
(b) Ram Shankar Katheria
(c) P M Kamalamma
(d) PL Poonia
2. India‘s first freight village will be set up in which
of the following cities?
(a) New Delhi
(b) Udaipur
(c) Varanasi
(d) Chennai
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3. Which state government has launched digital
wallet ―T-Wallet‖ for people with and without
mobile phones?
(a) Karnataka (b) Odisha
(c) Telangana (d) Manipur
4. What is the India‘s rank in the 2017 Global Peace
Index, as per global think tank Institute for
Economics and Peace (IEP)?
(a) 141st (b) 133rd
(c) 155th (d) 137th
5. Which state government will collaborate with
UNDOC to intensify anti-drug drive?
(a) Punjab (b) Haryana
(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Madhya Pradesh
6. first automatic coastal warning for disasters will
come up in which state?
(a) Tamil Nadu (b) Maharashtra
(c) Odisha (d) Andhra Pradesh
7. What is the India‘s rank in the 2017 global Multi-
dimensional Poverty Index (MPI)?
(a) 45th (b) 58th
(c) 37th (d) 26
th
8. Who has become the new Solicitor General of
India?
(a) Tushar Mehta (b) Pinky Anand
(c) Ranjit Kumar (d) P S Narsimha
9. Which country has topped the 2017 A T Kearney
Global Retail Development Index (GRDI)?
(a) China (b) India
(c) Malaysia (d) Vietnam
10. The first-ever United Nations Oceans
Conference has started in which country?
(a) France (b) United States
(c) Germany (d) United Kingdom
11. India‘s first-ever Rural LED Street Lighting
Project will be set up in which state?
(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Kerala
(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Assam
12. What is the India‘s rank in the 2017 IMD World
Competitiveness Index?
(a) 37th (b) 41st
(c) 45th (d) 28
th
13. Which state has become the India‘s first state to
launch single-women pension scheme?
(a) Andhra Pradesh (b) Telangana
(c) Kerala (d) Karnataka
14. Which Indian personality has joined UNICEF‘s
‗Super Dads‘ campaign?
(a) Amitabh Bachchan
(b) Sachin Tendulkar
(c) Shah Rukh Khan
(d) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore
15. Which country has officially become the new
member of North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)
(a) Mozambique (b) Cuba
(c) Montenegro (d) Austria
16. Which tennis pair have won the 2017 French
Open mixed doubles tournament?
(a) Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig
(b) Rohan Bopanna and Sania Mirza
(c) Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah
(d) Rohan Bopanna and Gabriela Dabrowski
17. Who has won the 2017 French Open Men‘s
Singles Tennis Tournament?
(a) Roger Federer (b) Novak Djokovic
(c) Stanislas Wawrinka (d) Rafael Nadal
18. Which Indian personality has been selected for
France‘s highest civilian award ―Legion of
Honour‖?
(a) Amitabh Bachchan (b) Shahrukh Khan
(c) Soumitra Chatterjee (d) Kamal Hasan
19. Which video conferencing aided legal service
has launched by the Union Government for rural
people?
(a) Tele Legal Aid (b) Tele Law
(c) Tele Law Center (d) Tele Lawyer
20. Which Indian pair have won gold in mixed team
10m air pistol event at 2017 International
Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Gabala World
Cup?
(a) Sanjeev Rajput and Anjali Bhagwat
(b) Apurvi Chandela and Jitu Rai
(c) Anjali Bhagwat and Omkar Singh
(d) Jitu Rai and Heena Sidhu
21. Who has won the 2017 Formula 1 Canadian
Grand Prix tournament?
(a) Lewis Hamilton (b) Valtteri Bottas
(c) Daniel Ricciardo (d) Sebastian Vettel
22. Which state government will start free mortuary
van service for its‘ citizens?
(a) Himachal Pradesh (b) Punjab
(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Madhya Pradesh
23. India‘s first underwater metro tunnel will come
up in which city?
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(a) Mumbai (b) Kolkata
(c) Kochi (d) Pune
24. Who has won the 2017 French Open Women‘s
Singles Tennis Tournament?
(a) Kristina Mladenovic
(b) Garbine Muguruza
(c) Jelena Ostapenko
(d) Simona Halep
25. The Nalanda University has signed MoU with
which country for academic linkages and
colloborations?
(a) South Korea (b) Japan
(c) Vietnam (d) Malaysia
26. Who has become the first Indian woman to be
elected as judge of the International Tribunal for
the Law of the Sea (ITLOS)?
(a) Nirmila Randhawat (b) Aniruddha Rajput
(c) Neeru Chadha (d) Nidhi Bhandari
27. Who has won the 2017 Man Booker
International Prize?
(a) Ian Samsom (b) David Grossman
(c) Roy Jacobsen (d) Amos Oz
28. What is the India‘s rank in the 2017 Global
Innovation Index (GII)?
(a) 60th (b) 36th
(c) 54th (d) 75
th
29. Who has won the 2017 Men‘s singles Indonesia
Open Super Series Badminton tournament?
(a) Parupalli Kashyap (b) Prannoy Kumar
(c) Kidambi Srikanth (d) Chetan Anand
30. Who has become the new brand ambassador to
promote Goods and Services Tax (GST)?
(a) Aamir Khan (b) Amitabh Bachchan
(c) Sachin Tendulkar (d) P T Usha
31. Who has been re-nominated by India for another
term as judge at the International Court of
Justice (ICJ)?
(a) Dhananjaya Chandrachud
(b) Madan Bhimrao Lokur
(c) Dalveer Bhandari
(d) Harish Salve
32. Muzoon Almellehan has been named as new
Unicef Goodwill Ambassador. She hails from
which country?
(a) Pakistan (b) Syria
(c) Israel (d) North Korea
33. Which institute has been selected as the first
recipient of the Prime Minister‘s Yoga Award?
(a) Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana
Samsthana (SVYASA), Bangaluru
(b) Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute
(RIMYI), Pune
(c) Lakshmibai National Institute of Physical
Education (LNIPE), Gwalior
(d) Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, New
Delhi
34. What is the theme of the 2017 International
Yoga Day (IYD)?
(a) Yoga for Health
(b) Yoga for Peace
(c) Yoga for Healthy mind
(d) Yoga for Healthy living
35. Which state government has announced free
education for girls in Government Schools and
colleges from Nursery to PhD?
(a) Bihar (b) Karnataka
(c) Punjab (d) Uttar Pradesh
36. Who has been appointed as the head of the
newly created United Nations Counter-Terrorism
Office (UNCTO)?
(a) Vladimir Voronkov
(b) Sergey Lavrov
(c) Vladimir Kolokoltsev
(d) Dmitry Medvedev
37. Which city has become the India‘s first city to
use robot to control unruly traffic?
(a) Indore (b) Pune
(c) Kochi (d) Raipur
38. Who will become the first Indian woman
wrestler to compete in World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE)?
(a) Pinki Rani (b) Kavita Devi
(c) Sakshi Malik (d) Geeta Phogat
39. NASA has successfully launched the world‘s
smallest satellite ―Kalamsat‖. The satellite is built
by
which Indian teen?
(a) Shawna Pandya (b) Raja Chari
(c) Rifath Sharook (d) Ashish Yadav
40. Which Indian shuttler has won the Australian
Open Super Series Badminton trophy?
(a) Chetan Anand (b) HS Prannoy
(c) Kidambi Srikanth (d) Mulyo Handayo
41. Who has become the first turbaned Sikh woman
to be appointed as Canada‘s Supreme Court
judge?
(a) Palbinder Kaur Shergill
(b) Gulab Kaur
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(c) Harita Kaur Shergill
(d) Sukhpreet Kaur
42. Which committee has been constituted by BCCI
to study contentious issues in implementing
Lodha panel reforms?
(a) Amitabh Choudhary committee
(b) T.C. Mathew committee
(c) Rajeev Shukla committee
(d) C.K. Khanna committee
43. Which city has been designated as the UNESCO
World Book Capital 2019?
(a) Warsaw (b) Pune
(c) Sharjah (d) Athens
44. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has
colloborated with which social media platform to
launch nationwide ―Voter Registration Reminder‖?
(a) Twitter (b) Facebook
(c) Instagram (d) YouTube
45. Which country has officially started building the
world‘s first forest city?
(a) Japan (b) Singapore
(c) Bhutan (d) China
46. Which country to host the 12th edition of G20
summit?
(a) Germany (b) France
(c) Italy (d) Japan
47. Which Indian Bollywood actress has been
appointed as the new brand ambassador for
government‘s flagship Skill India campaign?
(a) Aishwarya Rai (b) Sonam Kapoor
(c) Deepika Padukone (d) Priyanka Chopra
48. India‘s first blood bank for cattle will be set up
in which state?
(a) Odisha (b) Punjab
(c) Haryana (d) Himachal Pradesh
49. India‘s largest Fresh water aquarium has opened
in which state?
(a) Gujarat (b) West Bengal
(c) Tamil Nadu (d) Jharkhand
50. Who will be the new Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) of India?
(a) S K Khurana (b) O P Rawat
(c) Nasim Zaidi (d) Achal Kumar Jyoti
Answer Key CLATFOCUS June - 2017
Q. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Ans. B C C D A C C C B B
Q. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Ans. A C B B C D D C B D
Q. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.
Ans. A B B C A C B A C B
Q. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.
Ans. C B B A C A A B C C
Q. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.
Ans. A C C B D A D A D D
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