Current Affairs Quiz - May 2022

Notes:
‘Nanjarayan Tank’ has been declared as the 17th Bird sanctuary of Tamil Nadu. It is a a protected birding hotspot in Tiruppur district of the state.
The Nanjarayan Tank also known as Sarkar Periyapalayam Reservoir, has 220 cormorants and 165 pelicans. It has over hundreds of painted storks, and coots. The tank is over 800 years old and birds have been visiting here for centuries. 181 species of birds, 16 species of reptiles, over 40 varieties of butterflies, 11 species of mammals and as many as 76 types of flora have been recorded.

Notes:
The Supreme Court slammed Kerala as it failed to comply with January 2017 order requiring them to compensate victims who suffered effects of endosuflan pesticide.
The judgment had directed three steps – identification of victims, disbursal of ₹5 lakh compensation to each victim, and setting up medical facilities to deal with the long-term health effects arising from the effects of endosulfan. The Supreme Court banned the use of Endosulfan in 2012.

Notes:
The Supreme Court Bench of Justices invoked the extraordinary power conferred on the court under Article 142 of the Constitution, to order the release of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict A G Perarivalan.
The Apex court cited the inordinate delay and lack of decision making by the Tamil Nadu Governor in pardoning Perarivalan under Article 161 of the Constitution.

Notes:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken chaired the high-level Ministerial meeting on ‘Global Food Security-Call to Action’ in New York.
India’s Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan expressed concern over global food insecurity in the meeting. He said that India welcomes the UN Secretary General’s initiative of establishing a Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (GCRG) and exemption of food purchases by WFP for humanitarian assistance from food export restrictions.

Notes:
UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs released its World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) report.
India is projected to grow by 6.4 per cent in 2022, slower than the last year’s 8.8 per cent but still remains the fastest-growing major economy. For the fiscal year 2023, India’s growth is projected to be 6 per cent. The war in Ukraine slowed global economic growth to 3.1 per cent from 4 per cent.

Notes:
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation trade ministers meeting was held in Thailand. It focussed on promotion of trade and investment in a post-COVID-19 world.
Representatives of Japan, the United States and three other countries namely Australia, Canada and New Zealand walked out of the meeting in protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The coordinated walkout happened when Russian Minister started delivering his remarks.

Notes:
The Central government has announced the new composition of the Standing Committee of the Inter-State Council that includes 13 members, including its Chairman Amit Shah.
The committee comprises four other Union Ministers including Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, Virendra Kumar and Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and eight Chief Ministers. It processes the matters pertaining to Centre-State Relations before they are taken up in the Inter-State Council.

Notes:
US President Joe Biden officially launched the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) in Japan, aimed at countering growing Chinese influence in Asia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the launch event.
IPEF will initially include South Korea, Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. In total, the countries account for about 40 percent of global economic output.

Notes:
World Turtle Day is celebrated on 23 May globally, to raise awareness about the ways to help turtles to survive in their natural habitat.
The theme for World Turtle Day 2022 is – ‘Shellebrate!’, to ask everyone to love and save Turtles. This special day was founded by the American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a non-profit organisation in 1990.

Notes:
A record-breaking 239 barriers, dams and weirs were removed across 17 countries in Europe in the year 2021.
However, as many as 150,000 obstacles still clog up the waterways across the continent. Migratory freshwater fish have declined by 93 per cent in Europe over the last 50 years. Restoring 25,000 km of rivers to a free-flowing state is one of the goals of The European Union Biodiversity Strategy for 2030.