1) Who was appointed as the new Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) by the Union Government on 8 June 2015? – K.V. Chowdary
Explanation: K.V. Chowdary is a former Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). He retired as CBDT chief in October last year and since then has been working as adviser to Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) that is probing black money cases. On the other hand, T.M. Bhasin, Chairman & Managing Director, Indian Bank, was appointed Vigilance Commissioner. The post of CVC was lying vacant since last nine months when Pradeep Kumar retired from the post on 28 September 2014, while Vigilance Commissioner J M Garg had completed his tenure on 7 September 2014. The Central Vigilance Commission is headed by a CVC and comprises two vigilance commissioners and these appointments constitute the full Commission. However, it is important to mention that with the appointment of Chowdary as the CVC, the government has for the first time broken away with the tradition of appointing an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer as the chief of the anti-corruption watchdog since it was formed in 1964. The appointments have come after opposition leaders including Congress President Sonia Gandhi had criticized the government for not appointing a CVC for such a long period. However, the appointment of Chowdary as the CVC also came under controversy following senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani’s allegations of the govt. totally overlooking Chowdary’s credentials while doing the appointment. He alleged that he was totally unfit for this post.
2) Who was appointed by the Union Govt. as the new Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) on 8 June 2015? – Vijai Sharma
Explanation: Vijai Sharma, a former Environment Secretary, has been working as Information Commissioner in the Central Information Commissioner since 2012. The CIC, which is mandated to resolve appeals and complaints filed against government departments or public authorities by information seekers under the Right to Information Act, has been working without a chief for over nine months, after the tenure of CIC Rajiv Mathur ended on 22 August 2014. Many right-to-information (RTI) activists were aggrieved over non-appointment of a CIC for such a long period of time. In this appointment the government has followed the convention of appointing the senior most Information Commissioner’s as the CIC.
3) A tropical storm in the Arabian Sea was declared as a severe cyclonic storm on 8 June 2015. What is the name given to this storm which is expected to affect Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra coasts during the next two days? – “Ashobaa”
Explanation: This tropical storm was located 590 km west-southwest of Mumbai and 470 km southwest of Veraval (Gujarat) in the morning of 8 June. ‘Ashobaa’ would move initially north-northwestwards and intensify further into a severe cyclonic storm during the next 36 hours. Meanwhile, the cyclone is expected to move north-northwest (initially towards Karachi coast and then steering west towards Persian Gulf) before being declared as a cyclonic storm during the next 24 hours. Fishermen along and off Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat coasts have been advised not to venture into the sea for next 48 hours.
4) Cambodia has recently lodged a protest to India over a private trust’s plans to build an Angkor Wat replica in Bihar. It alleged that the plans of this Bihar temple, seriously violates the 12th century Hindu temple and a world heritage property which holds exceptional and universal value. What is the name of the trust in this case, which is planning to construct a replica of the largest Hindu temple in the world at Angkor Wat? – Mahavir Mandir Trust
Explanation: Patna-based Mahavir Mandir Trust (MMT) is planning to construct the largest Hindu temple for Lord Rama some 120 kms from Patna. This temple, to be named the ‘Viraat Ramayan Mandir’, is expected to be the replica of the world famous Angkor Wat temple of Cambodia, which is presently the largest temple complex in the world. The proposed temple will be 2,800 feet in length and 1,400 feet in width and its sanctum sanctoram shall be 405 feet in height. The site is spread over a sprawling area of 161 acres and the hall will have a seating capacity for 20,000 devotees at a time. The protest comes after Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation received a report about MMT’s plans to construct a replica of Angkor Wat. Cambodia “considers that this copy of Angkor Wat Temple for commercial benefit seriously violates the World heritage which is of a universal and exceptional value of humanity’, the Ministry said in its protest note to the Indian External Affairs Ministry.
5) The ruling party of Turkey that was founded by President Tayyip Erdogan, suffered a major setback on 7 June 2015 as the party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election for the first time. With this, Erdogan’s hopes of assuming greater power also suffered a major jolt. What is the name of this ruling party? – AK Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi)
Explanation: President Tayyip Erdogan was expecting his AK Party to do well in the parliamentary elections held on 7 June so as to assume greater power in country’s parliament. AK Party while remained the largest party, failed even to achieve a simple majority on its own. The vote share of AK Party stood at 40.8%, down from 49.8% at the last parliamentary election in 2011.The outcome augurs weeks of unpredictability as parties vie to form a coalition and possible early elections. Erdogan, Turkey’s most popular modern leader but not one used to compromise and negotiation, had hoped a crushing victory for the AK Party would allow it to change the constitution and create a more powerful U.S.-style presidency. On the other hand, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party crossed a 10% threshold to enter parliament for the first time.
6) Who was appointed as new Director General (DG) of National Security Guard (NSG) on 7 June 2015? – R.C. Tayal
Explanation: R.C. Tayal, 1980-batch officer of the Indian Police Service (IPS), was the Special Director General of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) till now. He replaced J.N. Choudhury who retired as NSG DG on 31 May 2015. NSG is a security force of India constituted in 1984 for combating terrorist activities with a view to protect States against internal disturbances. It comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
7) India finished at which place in the 21st Asian Athletics Championships that concluded in Wuhan (China) on 7 June 2015? – Third
Explanation: India secured a medal haul of 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze in the championships to finish third behind China (15, 13, 13) and Qatar (7, 2, 1). Japan (4, 3, 11) and Bahrain (3, 3, 2) finished fourth and fifth respectively. This was India’s best finish after 2007 in Amman, Jordan where the country was placed second. A highlight for India was the bagging of the maiden gold medal in a major international event by women athlete Tintu Luka, as she won women’s 800m finals. This was 26-year-old Luka’s first individual title in a major international event after breaking into the scene in 2008-09 with a lot of promise under the tutelage of the legendary P.T. Usha.
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