Current Affairs Quiz - May 2022

Notes:
NITI Aayog launched the National Data & Analytics Platform (NDAP) for open public use. The platform aims to democratize access to public government data by making data accessible, interactive, and available on a user-friendly platform.
It presents foundational datasets from various government agencies and provides tools for analytics and visualization. This public launch follows a beta release of the platform in August 2021 that had provided access to a limited number of users for testing and feedback.

Notes:
Minister of State, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar launched the Pilot Project for Skilling Tribal Youth – Rural Tribal Technical Training at the Centre for Research and Industrial Staff Performance CRISP, Bhopal.
The project seeks to provide training for about 250 beneficiaries of 17 districts selected from six states of India – Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Odisha and will be organized at Jharkhand. The training will enable the youth to start their own business.

Notes:
The Indian Government has banned wheat exports with effect from May 13, citing a risk to food security, partly due to the war in Ukraine.
Wheat prices in India have risen to record highs, well above the government’s minimum support price. India’s wheat harvest has also suffered from record heat-wave. Rising food and energy prices pushed India’s retail inflation to an eight-year high in April.

Notes:
Ministry of Electronics and IT launched the ‘GatiShakti Sanchar’ portal, which aims to accelerate approvals for laying of fibre and tower installations, ahead of the 5G roll-out in the country.
The portal will enable centralised right of way (RoW) approvals for telecom infrastructure projects and can be used by industries to apply for RoW approvals, including for 5G services. The portal brings down the time taken for approvals from nearly 100 days to around 22.

Notes:
Ace football player Lionel Messi was the highest-paid athlete in the world over the last 12 months, as per the Forbes’ list of highest paid athletes 2022.
Messi earns around USD 75 million a year from playing soccer, also receives USD 55 million from sponsorship deals and endorsements. He is ahead of LeBron James and rival Cristiano Ronaldo on the list. Previously in 2019, Messi topped the Forbes’ list.

Notes:
‘Vesak’ festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Nibbana), and death (Parinirvana) of Gautama Buddha.
The name Vesak is derived from the Pali term ‘vesakha’ which is considered the month of Buddha’s birth. It is traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia.

Notes:
The World Bank sanctioned USD 350 billion to Gujarat for the implementation of Systems Reform Endeavours for Transformed Health Achievement in Gujarat (SRESTHA-G).
Under the SRESTHA-Gujarat project, the government will undertake the initiative to expand the health services to the rural and urban people and strengthening the epidemic prevention system of the state. The five-year total cost of the project will be around USD 500 billion, of which USD 350 billion will be provided by the World Bank while the rest is borne by the state.

Notes:
Shreya Singla from Punjab recently won a gold medal in Badminton in the ongoing 24th Deaflympics in Brazil.
In shooting, India finished in the second place with three gold and two bronze medals. Ukraine was at the top spot with six gold and 12 overall medals. India currently ranks eighth on the medals table with seven gold, one silver and four bronze medals.

Notes:
South Korea defeated the defending champions China to win the prestigious Uber Cup championship, held in Thailand Capital Bangkok.
South Korean women team ended their 12-year wait for an Uber Cup title while stopping China to clinch their 16^th title. In Thomas Cup, the Indian men team defeated their Indonesian counterparts to clinch the title.

Notes:
According to a recent report on pollution and health published in The Lancet Planetary Health, Air pollution was responsible for 16.7 lakh deaths in India in 2019, which is 17.8% of all deaths in the country that year. This is the largest number of air-pollution-related deaths of any country.
The majority of the air pollution-related deaths in India were caused by PM2.5 pollution and the rest by household air pollution. Globally, air pollution alone contributes to 66.7 lakh deaths.