Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2021

Notes:
Shivalik Mercantile Co-operative Bank Ltd. was granted an in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India, for transition into a small finance bank in 2020.
It is the first cooperative bank to be converted into a small finance bank, under the transition scheme. Shivalik Small Finance Bank Ltd. has commenced operations as a small finance bank with effect from April 26.

Notes:
Manoj Das, a famous 20th century Odia and English writer has recently passed away recently. Many of his short stories were translated into major Indian and foreign languages.
He received several national awards, including the Padma Bhushan award last year. He was also awarded with several other awards including Kendriya Sahitya Akademi Award, Odisha Sahitya Akademi Award, Sarala Award and Sahitya Bharati Award.

Notes:
Russia had developed and registered the world’s first Covid vaccine for animals named ‘Carnivac-Cov’ in March. Recently, the country has produced the world’s first batch of the vaccine, with 17,000 doses.
As per the country’s agricultural regulator Rosselkhoznadzor, the first batch will be supplied to several regions of Russia. Several countries have expressed interest in purchasing the vaccine.

Notes:
The Benin Bronzes are a group of over a thousand metal plaques and sculptures which were placed in the royal palace of the Kingdom of Benin, the present-day Nigeria.
Germany announced that it would start returning the artefacts known as the Benin bronzes that are held in its museums to Nigeria from next year. British soldiers seized thousands of the sculptures in 1897 during a raid on the Kingdom of Benin. They were then auctioned to many other countries.

Notes:
NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter had demonstrated powered, controlled flight on the Red planet. Now, the helicopter is to demonstrate a new activity.
The Ingenuity experiment will function in a demonstration phase, after the helicopter completes its next two flights. It will start exploring how aerial scouting and other aerial functions could benefit future exploration of Mars and other regions.

Notes:
Australian ace tennis player Ashleigh Barty has won the single title of Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2021 held at Stuttgart (Germany).
She became the first Australian to win the tournament’s singles title. She has also won the doubles title immediately after the singles tournament, together with Jennifer Brady of USA.

Notes:
The MPLADS (Member of Parliament Local Area Development Fund) is administered by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).
In view of the ongoing COVID pandemic, the Government of India has permitted the use of MPLADS funds for setting up oxygen manufacturing units in government hospitals, for the FY 2021-22.

Notes:
Every year, 3rd May is observed as World Press Freedom Day by the United Nations. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared this day to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and to lay emphasis on the right to freedom of expression.
A resolution in this regard was passed by the UN in the year 1993.

Notes:
West Bengal provided work to 11.8 million people through MGNREGA in FY21, which is the highest in the country.
It utilised around Rs 10,403.13 crore for implementing the scheme and stands third in spending the funds after only to Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh. Around 27.3 million households demanded work under MGNREGA in April 2021.

Notes:
A pulsar is a neutron star with over 20 km as diameter and mass of at least 1.4 times the mass of our Sun. Due to its large mass, it spins rapidly.
An international team of astronomers has discovered eight rare millisecond pulsars hiding inside dense clusters of stars surrounding the Milky Way.