GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 05-06, 2018

Notes:
On May 4, the sports initiative ‘Star Khel Mahakumbh’ was launched by BJP MP Anurag Thakur and cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh in the presence of 1,500 athletes. The athletes will compete in volleyball, basketball, cricket, football, kabaddi and athletics. The initiative has been designed in a manner as to attract participation of at least one lakh youth from across 5000 villages and 800 panchayats. The registration will be done on grounds across panchayats from May 4-20.

Notes:
The 19th edition of TOONZ Animation Masters Summit 2018 was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on May 4-5, 2018. It was inaugurated by Ashish Kulkarni, Chairman of FICCI for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Forum, and was organized by the Technopark-based Toonz Media Group. The purpose of the summit is to present new trends which can give a fresh vigour to the industry segment with the help of modern technology and taking advantage of fresh opportunities. At least 400 members of the animation and media industry drawn from within India and overseas attended the summit. In the summit, V G Samant, a venerated pioneer of Indian animation and creator of ‘Hanuman’, was honoured with the ‘Legend of Animation’ award for his contributions to the animation industry. Legendary masters including Kiran Antony- Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, Resul Pookutty- Oscar winning sound engineer and Paul Robinson- International Media Executive, also took part in the event.

Notes:
On May 5, the NITI Aayog and IBM have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The purpose of the partnership is to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes. The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest/disease outbreak based on advanced AI innovations.

Notes:
On May 1, the Government of Manipur has launched ‘Go to Village’ mission across the State from Konuma ground of Komlakhong gram panchayat in Imphal West district. The mission was launched simultaneously in 60 villages in all 60 constituencies. Under the new mission, the government will identify the eligible and deserving beneficiaries and deliver government services at their doorstep.

Notes:
The World Cartoonist’s Day is celebrated every year on May 5 to honor all those creative ink-stained artists, past and present, the fascinating pieces they have created and the humor they have brought into our lives. The cartoonist’s aim is always to sum up the most important news of the time in a cartoon which ultimately makes the reader sit up and take notice.

Notes:
The 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila, Philippines on May 4, on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting was attended by the Finance Ministers / Heads of Delegations from the SAARC member states. Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada chaired the meeting. The Finance Ministers/Heads of Delegation briefed the meeting about the current status of economic progress achieved by their countries. They also appreciated ADB for its contribution in the economic growth of SAARC countries. An Indian delegation was headed by Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary of Department of Economic Affairs (DEA).

Notes:
India has been ranked at 11th position in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index 2018 of global consultancy firm A T Kearney.  It is the first time since 2015 that India has been pushed out of the top 10. Though, India remains among the top investment destinations due to its market size and rapid economic growth. The report said a possible factor for the fall could be the coming elections in India, as investors are likely to be monitoring political risks. The annual survey tracks the impact of political, economic and regulatory changes on the FDI preferences of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of the country. The index is topped by United States, followed by Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and China.

Notes:
Arun Date (84), the veteran Marathi singer, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on May 6, 2018. Date, famous for non-film ‘bhavgeet’ (lyrical poetry) songs, had crooned numbers like “Shukratara” and “Ya Janmavar”, which became very popular among people. He was the first recipient of the state government’s ‘Gajananrav Vatave Puraskar’. His father, Ramubhaiyya Date, was also a well-known classical music connoisseur.

Notes:
The 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS-2018) will be held in New Delhi on May 10-12 with theme “Telling our Stories- Asia and More”. The summit will provide a unique opportunity for broadcasters in Asia to share their thoughts on broadcasting and information. It is being organised by Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in collaboration with its partners and international organisations. The decision makers, media professionals, scholars, and stakeholders of news and programming from Asia, Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East and North America will attend the annual conference.

Notes:
The Keoti Falls is located on the Mahana River, a tributary of Tamsa or Tons River, in Rewa district of Madhya Pradesh. It has a total height of 98 metres and has a segmented type waterfall with a single drop. Keoti Falls is an example of a nick point caused by rejuvenation. Knick point represents breaks in slopes in the longitudinal profile of a river caused by rejuvenation. The break in channel gradient allows water to fall vertically giving rise to a waterfall.