Current Affairs Quiz - May 2022

Notes:
The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
As per the MoU, UNDP will provide technical support towards the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) scheme & Kisan Credit Card – Modified Interest Subvention Scheme. UNDP has been providing technical assistance for the last 4 years.

Notes:
The University of Mysore’s Department of Studies in Genetics and Genomics signed a MoU with the Karnataka Forest Department for a study on biodiversity of vultures in Ramadevarabetta hills in Ramanagaram using DNA profiling techniques
‘Vulture Gene Bank’ is set to be established in Mysuru for conservation of the critically-endangered species. The genetics department has proposed to start vulture genome studies soon to save the species from getting extinct.

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:
Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the National Cyber Forensic Laboratory (NCFL) at Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) campus in Hyderabad.
The Laboratory will speed up the process for disposal of cybercrime cases in the country. The lab has been set up under the Cyber and Information Security Division at an estimated cost of about 35.5 crore rupees.

Notes:
Former Australia cricketer and two-time World Cup winner Andrew Symonds recently passed away in a car crash. He played all three formats of cricket as a batting all-rounder.
The 46-year-old featured in 198 ODIs, scoring six centuries and 30 half-centuries. He also contributed 133 wickets. ‘Roy: Going For Broke’ was his auto-biography written with Stephen Gray.

Notes:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann launched a first-of-its-kind public interaction programme, ‘Lok Milni’.
Under the programme, the Chief Minister hears grievances of people and issued directions for their redressal. This interactive programme is aimed at providing a single-window platform to the people for redressal of their complaints.

Notes:
Kanheri Caves are located inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai. A set of tourist amenities was inaugurated by Union Minister for Tourism and Culture G Kishan Reddy at Kanheri Caves recently.
Kanheri, which has around 100 caves, comes under the purview Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The cave complex demonstrates Buddhist style of art and architecture with Buddhist sculptures and relief carvings, paintings and inscriptions dating from 1st century CE up to 10th century CE.

Notes:
India announced the appointment of Naveen Srivastava, the additional secretary in the external affairs ministry, as the next ambassador to Nepal.
Srivastava will succeed Vinay Kwatra, who became foreign secretary this month. India and Nepal signed six agreements during the Nepal visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, including one for the 490-MW Arun-4 hydropower project.

Notes:
The Drought in Numbers, 2022 report was released at the ongoing 15th Conference of Parties (CoP15) to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
As per the report, the effect of severe droughts was estimated to have reduced India’s gross domestic product by 2-5 per cent over the 20 years from 1998-2017. India has featured as one of severely drought-impacted countries and nearly two-thirds of the country suffered drought during 2020-2022.

Notes:
‘World AIDS Vaccine Day’ is observed annually on May 18 to honour the healthcare professionals, researchers, volunteers and community members for their work to find a safe and effective preventive HIV vaccine.
It also commemorates the delivered by former US President Bill Clinton on May 18, 1997 in which he insisted on the need for an effective and preventive HIV vaccine that would control the spread of HIV. At the end of 2020, there were 37.7 million people living with HIV, and 0.68 million people died from AIDS-related illnesses.