Latest Current Affairs – July 01 2018

1. Lok Sabha MPs can ask only 5 questions from next session

Lok Sabha MPs will be allowed to ask a maximum of five questions in the house per day from the upcoming Monsoon Session, a Lok Sabha Questions Cell bulletin has revealed. The MPs were earlier permitted to ask 10 questions, due to which the number of notices for questions exceeded 230 per day, the bulletin added.

2. Air pollution significant contributor behind diabetes: Study

A study conducted by the researchers at USA’s Washington University has found that air pollution leads to a significantly increased risk of diabetes. According to the study, air pollution levels, even when deemed ‘safe’ by agencies like WHO, lead to reduction in insulin production which hampers the body’s ability to convert blood glucose into energy.

3. Argentina’s most capped player retires after World Cup exit

Defender Javier Mascherano, who holds the record for most appearances for Argentina (147), has announced his retirement from international football after crashing out of the World Cup on Saturday. “I will (now) be just another fan of the…team. It’s over. The illusion is shattered,” the 34-year-old said. He represented Argentina in four World Cup editions and five Copa América tournaments.

4. India at 73rd place in terms of Swiss bank money, UK on top

India has moved up 15 places to 73rd in terms of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks in 2017, while the UK remains on top. The UK accounted for over 27% (403 billion francs) of the total foreign money while India accounted for 0.07%. The money held by Indians rose 50% to 1.01 billion francs (₹7,000 crore).

5. One Nation One Tax: GST Day observed on July 01

GST Day is bobserved on July 01 to commemorate one year of the implementation of Goods and Services Tax. Addressing a function in New Delhi Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said that Goods & Service Tax has long term benefits for the economy. Union Minister Arun Jaitley hailed GST on the completion of one year and said that GST was necessary for the nation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Congratulated countrymen on the special occasion of GST completing 1 year.

6. MAIDS ranked ‘best dental college’ in India

The Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences (MAIDS) under the Government of NCT of Delhi has been ranked the “Best Dental College in India for the seventh year in a row. The evaluation was done on the basis of reports of independent rating agencies of Hansa Research, Drshti Strategic Research Services and Nielsen India.

The MAIDS is the first and only dental hospital in India to be accredited by the National Accreditation of Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH). The institute offers a five-year undergraduate programme, Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), with an annual intake of 40 students and is the only government institute to offer a postgraduate program, Master of Dental Surgery (MDS), in all nine dental specialties.

7. Unesco announces new heritage sites around the world

Mountain monasteries in South Korea, a Saudi oasis and Mumbai’s art deco buildings are among a number of sites to make it on to Unesco’s World Heritage List.

Being listed gives them legal protection under international treaties. The UN’s cultural organisation, meeting in Bahrain, have been agreeing which landmark sites around the world need preserving for their cultural, historic or scientific significance.

8. India reach second spot in ICC T20I team rankings

Following their thrashing of Ireland in the two-match T20I series, the Indian team reached the second spot in the ICC T20I team rankings. The change in rankings occurred after Australia lost their only T20I against England. Pakistan occupy the top spot in the table with an eight-point lead over India. India will next face England in a three-match T20I series.

9. PAN-Aadhaar linking deadline extended to March 31, 2019

The Central Board of Direct Taxation has extended the deadline for the PAN-Aadhaar linking from June 30, 2018, to March 31, 2019. This is the fifth time the government has extended the deadline for individuals to link their PAN with their Aadhaar. Over 16.65 crore PANs out of 33 crore were linked with Aadhaar till March this year.

10. Irrfan Khan gets Icon Award at London Indian Film Festival

Actor Irrfan Khan has been honoured with Icon Award at the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) this year. Irrfan, who is undergoing treatment in London for a neuroendocrine tumour, accepted his award privately. Richa Chadha won the Outstanding Achievement Award, while Manoj Bajpayee was also awarded an Icon Award.

11. Former WWE champ Matt Cappotelli passes away at 38

Matt Cappotelli, a former co-winner of WWE Tough Enough III, passed away at the age of 38. Cappotelli was first diagnosed with brain cancer in 2006, before succumbing to the disease after it reappeared in 2017.

12. India beat Iran to lift Kabaddi Masters 2018 title

The Indian kabaddi team beat Iran 44-26 to lift the Kabaddi Masters 2018 title in Dubai. The Indian team remained unbeaten throughout the tournament. India had also beaten Iran in the final of the World Championships two years ago. Notably, India’s Ajay Thakur has not lost a single match as captain of the Indian team.

13. Sathyasri Sharmila enrolled as TN’s first transgender lawyer

Sathyasri Sharmila became the first transgender to be enrolled as a lawyer in Tamil Nadu. Sharmila, who has worked as a transgender activist for 11 years, said the plight of the transgender community inspired her to take up law. Sharmila added she decided to register as a lawyer after the Supreme Court recognised her community as third gender.

14. Anjolie Ela Menon awarded National Kalidas Samman

Noted artist Anjolie Ela Menon (78) received in the Capital the National Kalidas Samman for visual arts from the Madhya Pradesh government. The award was conferred in recognition of her insightful and sensitive portrayal of the identity and spirit of women through her meaningful paintings in a variety of media.

With her first solo exhibition being held in Delhi in 1958 Menon is counted among India s most accomplished artists and is the recipient of numerous national and international awards including the Padma Shri.

15. 30 June: International Day of Parliamentarism

The 2018 International Day of Parliamentarism was observed across the globe on June 30, 2018 with an aim to recognise the role of parliaments in national plans and strategies and in ensuring greater transparency and accountability at national and global levels. The Day celebrates parliaments and the ways in which parliamentary systems of government improve the day-to-day lives of people the world over. It is also an opportunity for parliaments to take stock, identify challenges, and ways to address them effectively.

The year 2018 marked the first celebration of the International Day of Parliamentarism.

A few facts and figures about parliaments

• Every country in the world has some form of representative government.
• Parliamentary systems fall into two categories: bicameral (with two chambers of parliament) and unicameral (with one chamber). Out of 193 countries, 79 are bicameral and 114 are unicameral, making a total of 272 chambers of parliament with over 46,000 members of parliament. (figures from the IPU)
• The oldest parliament is the Althingi, the Icelandic Parliament, founded in 930.

Source : United Nations

16. Madhya Pradesh will be awarded for reducing Maternal Mortality

Madhya Pradesh has been registered an unprecedented 48-digit decline in maternal deaths as per the report of the Registrar General of India from 2014 to 2016. Under Prime Minister’s Safe Motherhood Campaign, Madhya Pradesh will be awarded for reducing maternal mortality.

The Prime Minister’s Safe Motherhood Campaign has been launched to ensure quality of care of over 3 crore pregnant women of the country before delivery.

17. Nissan signs MoU with Kerala government for digital hub

Nissan Motor signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Kerala to establish a new global center for its digital operations in India. The Nissan Digital Hub in Kerala will serve as an important engine to drive Nissan’s global digital transformation.

The hub also seeks in transforming Nissan’s global business by placing digital technology at its operations and service. For this project, the Kerala government has provided 70 acres of land to Nissan to set up the digital hub at the Technocity campus, Pallipuram.

18. Monti Rajkhowa, the First Assamese Woman To Scale Mount Kanchenjunga

Monti, who is professionally an executive engineer of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) based in Mumbai, is the first lady ONGC officer among her male counterparts to have managed to scale the world’s toughest peak.

She was born and brought up in Meghalaya. The ONGC Kanchenjunga expedition was flagged off by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in April 2018. Mount Kanchenjunga is the third highest mountain in the world.

19. Ravi Thapar to be the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Costa Rica

Ravi Thapar, presently Ambassador of India to Panama, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Costa Rica. He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1983 batch and expected to take up the assignment shortly.

20. Antonio Vitorino from Portugal elected as new Director General of UN migration agency

Antonio Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino of Portugal was elected by the member States of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to serve as the agency’s Director General, beginning on 1 October 2018.

He succeeds William Lacy Swing of the United States, who will have served two five-year terms as IOM chief. Established in 1951, IOM had been an observer to the UN since 1992.

21. Haryana Government is going to host 2018 World Union of Wholesale Markets

Haryana will host 33rd World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) Conference in Gurugram from October 10-13 this year. Heads of 200 mandis from across the world will participate in this Conference. Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board will organise this conference.

Countries from Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe will also participate in the conference. Information related to reforms all over the world will be shared so that India could move towards a single unified world market.