Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2023

Notes:
The large outbreak of the Moroccan locus in the wheat basket of Afghanistan is estimated to destroy a quarter of the annual harvest. This loss is valued at 280 million USD to 480 million USD.
The Moroccan locust eats more than 150 species of plants, including tree crops, pastures and 50 food crops. The species is ranked among the most economically damaging plant pests anywhere in the world.

Notes:
Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) was set up by the Bangladesh government to provide debt assistance to the country’s not-for-profit micro lenders.
India’s microfinance sector is looking to set up a dedicated funding institution in line with Bangladesh model.

Notes:
Dr Jayant V. Narlikar, an astronomer, recently became the first recipient of the ASI Govind Swarup Lifetime Achievement award.
The award was instituted in 2022 to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Astronomical Society of India (ASI).

Notes:
Rajeev Varshney is an Indian agricultural scientist known for his contribution towards decoding legumes’ genomes and developing new varieties of chickpeas.
He is the only new Indian scientist to become the Fellow of the Royal Society this year. Rajeev Varshney is fourth Indian agricultural scientist to become FRS.

Notes:
Burachapori wildlife sanctuary is a protected area situated in Assam, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River.
The state government recently announced the plan to open the traditional path of wild animals from the Kaziranga National Park to Orang National Park through this wildlife sanctuary.

Notes:
The Training Programme on Legislative Drafting will be inaugurated by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The programme was organised by the Institute of Constitutional and Parliamentary Studies (ICPS), in collaboration with the Parliamentary Research and Training Institute for Democracies (PRIDE).

Notes:
Comet Read is the main belt comet that is found in the main asteroid belt but has a halo or coma and a tail like a comet. It is one of the three comets used to establish the category of main belt comets.
James Webb Space Telescope’s finding is intriguing because this is the first-time water has been found in the main asteroid belt, which is located between Mars and Jupiter.

Notes:
Gekko mizoramensis was discovered in Mizoram by researchers of Mizoram University and Germany-based Max Planck Institute for Biology.
It is a gliding gecko, a subgenus found in Southeast Asia. The lizard is named as Parachute Gecko because of skin flaps along the body and tail that enable it to glide.

Notes:
Sea butterflies belong to a suborder of sea snails. This group’s smallest species, shelled pteropods, is threatened due to the acidification of ocean.
As the sea absorbs an increasing quantity of carbon dioxide (CO2) that turns the water more acidic, the thin outer casing, or the ‘homes’ of these small sea butterflies, dissolve.

Notes:
The ‘South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship 2023’ recently concluded in Itanagar.It was a three-day international event in which more than 100 athletes from six countries Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal participated.
In the Under-19 Boys singles, Ankur Bhattacharjee defeated Payas Jain to claim the gold, while in Under-19 girls’ singles, Suhana Saini defeated Yashaswini Ghorpade claimed the gold.