ANS : B 

• World Zoonoses Day is observed every year on July 6.
• The aim of the day is to commemorate the scientific achievement of administering first vaccination against a zoonotic disease.
• Zoonoses are infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites that spread between animals and humans.
• A zoonosis is any disease or infection that is naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. The day commemorates July 6, 1885, when Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against Rabies virus, a zoonotic disease.

ANS : C 

• Odisha Government granted immunity to the forest personnel for firearms use under Section 197 of the Code of Criminal Procedure Act 1973.
• The move grants protection from arrest and criminal proceedings unless a Magisterial Enquiry finds the use of firearms, unnecessary, unwarranted and excessive.
• Government of Odisha, being conscious of the vulnerability of Forest land and Forest- based resources in forest areas as well as wildlife in Protected and Reserved Forest areas of the state to mounting threats to their conservation, protection and existence have decided to arm forest personnel of the State with firearms.
• The department said that there is a need to provide forest personnel immunity from prosecution without prior sanction.
• According to the official notification, immunity will be granted to the forest personnel who are charged with the maintenance of public order relating to forest and wildlife protection conservation and management.

ANS : B 

• Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur received the award for ‘What’s Love Cot To Do With It‘ at the British National Awards.
• The director’s film was released in the United Kingdom, the United States, and India and received a tremendous response globally.
• The British National Awards were held earlier this week, and the film won four awards out of the nine categories in which it was nominated: best director, best British film, best screenplay, and best-supporting actor.
• The film’s screenplay has been written by Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s ex-wife Jemima Goldsmith.
• Shekhar Kapur is known for his outstanding films like ‘Bandit Queen‘, a British biographical drama ‘Elizabeth‘ for which he was nominated for best director at the BAFTAs and Golden Globes, and its sequel ‘Elizabeth: The Golden Age’ (2007), which won Cate Blanchett her first acting Oscar.

ANS : A 

•  Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) will open its first-ever overseas campus in Tanzania’s Zanzibar in October 2023 with a batch of 50 undergraduate students and 20 master’s students.
• The new IIT campus will be set up in Zanzibar under the name IIT Madras at Zanzibar.
• Zanzibar will be one of three campuses outside of India, with the others located in Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.
• The institution will offer data science and artificial intelligence courses for the first year.
• Zanzibar offers both the tranquillity of a relatively small town, allowing students to maintain focus on their studies, and access to the rich Swahili culture.
• President of Zanzibar, Hussein Mwinyi is looking forward to this project and has made it possible for IIT to begin operations this year by giving the necessary premises.
• He has guaranteed IIT the autonomy it needs to ensure that the quality is maintained.

ANS : D 

• B Neeraja Prabhakar, Vice-Chancellor of the Telangana State Horticultural University, has been appointed Chairperson of the Oil Palm Research Advisory Committee (RAC) by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• She will hold the position for three years.
• The 10-member Research Advisory Committee will guide the Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (Pedavegi, Andhra Pradesh) in formulating its research plans, based on the problems faced by oil palm farmers.
• The ICAR-Indian Institute of Oil Palm Research (IIOPR) located in Pedavegi is the sole esteemed institute in India dedicated to conducting research on oil palm and developing technologies applicable to all oil palm-growing states.
• The Research Advisory Committee (RAC) will play a crucial role in providing guidance to the IIOPR regarding research initiatives, specifically focusing on addressing the challenges encountered by oil palm farmers across the country.
• Director General (ICAR): Himanshu Pathak;
• ICAR established: 16 July 1929;
• ICAR HQ: New Delhi.

ANS : D 

• Tele-MANAS chatbot, which will start an instant conversation with people in distress, was launched in J&K on July 5.
• The initiative will ensure round-the-clock services for health counsellors, clinical psychologists and consultants
• This year Kashmir saw the highest number of distress calls to the Tele-Manas centre.
• The initiative will ensure the availability of health counsellors, clinical psychologists and consultants round-the-clock
• J&K Health and Medical Education Department has two Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and NIMHANS.
• NIMHANS, Bengaluru, has been tasked to improve mental health services, training and capacity building of medical officers and nursing staff.

ANS : C 

• Aadhav Arjuna, the president of the Tamil Nadu Basketball Association (TNBA), emerged victorious in the election held at Nehru Stadium and secured the position of president of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).
• Aadhav garnered an impressive 38 out of the 39 votes, defeating the incumbent president, K Govindaraj.
• Kulvinder Singh Gill, a former player and the president of the Madhya Pradesh Basketball Association, was elected as the secretary general.
• Historically, few leaders have been appointed without going through an election process over the past three decades. However, this time, we conducted the election under the supervision of the Supreme Court and emerged triumphant.
• The reforms implemented under my leadership have significantly elevated the performance of Tamil Nadu’s basketball teams, making them the top contenders in India.

Basketball Federation of India (BFI) :

• It is the governing body of basketball in India. It was founded in 1950 and is affiliated to FIBA Asia and the Indian Olympic Association.
• The history of basketball in India can be traced back to the early 1900s, when the game was introduced by Christian missionaries and YMCAs.
• The first national basketball championships were held in 1934, and India became a member of FIBA in 1936.
• The BFI has been responsible for the development and promotion of basketball in India.
• It organizes national and international tournaments, and provides training and support to players and coaches. The BFI has also played a role in the growth of the Indian basketball league, the Universal Basketball Alliance (UBA).

ANS : B 

• The second edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum is set to be held in Geneva, Switzerland.
• The forum, which is organised by the Muslim Council of Elders, in partnership with the World Council of Churches and the Rose Castle Foundation, will run from July 6 to 14 and will witness the participation of 50 young people from around the world.
• It also focuses on refining the skills of its participants while strengthening and developing their talents in the sectors of peacemaking, interfaith dialogue, coexistence and disseminating the values of human fraternity.
• The first edition of the Emerging Peacemakers Forum was held in the British capital of London in 2017.

ANS : C 

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate and lay foundation stones of multiple development projects worth more than ₹12,100 crore during a visit to his parliamentary constituency, Varanasi.
• He will open Pt Deendayal Upadhyay Junction-Son Nagar railway line of the dedicated freight corridor.
• Built at a cost of over ₹6,760 crore, the new line will facilitate faster and efficient movement of goods.
• The PM will also dedicate to the nation three railway lines, electrification of which has been completed at a cost of more than ₹990 crore.
• These include Ghazipur city-Aunrihar rail line, Aunrihar-Jaunpur line and the Bhatni-Aunrihar line.
• This will mark the completion of 100% electrification of railway lines in Uttar Pradesh.
• The four-lane widening of Varanasi-Jaunpur section of NH-56, which has been completed at a cost of over ₹2750 crore, making travel from Varanasi to Lucknow easier and faster will also be dedicated to the public.

ANS : A 

• The Assam government informed that it has decided to provide scooters to meritorious students who passed the Higher Secondary (Class 12) examination and will distribute 3.78 lakh bicycles amongst the students of Class 9 of the state.
• The decision was taken during the state cabinet meeting held  under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
• In this regard, Assam Tourism Minister Jayanta Malla Baruah informed that the state cabinet has decided that scooters to be provided to girl students who secured 60 per cent and above marks in the recently concluded Higher Secondary examination and for boy students the cut-off mark will be 75 % and above.