Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2023

Notes:
The Central Government has recently revamped the rules governing the approval for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) of startups and MSMEs.
The aim of the new rules is to simplify the M&A process to enable the securing of approval within 15 to 60 days, as per a  Corporate affairs ministry (MCA) notification.

Notes:
Chevalier de la Legion d’honneur is France’s highest civilian honor. It was received recently by Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran.
He was conferred the award for his contributions to strengthen the trade relationship between India and France. French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs also called Chandrasekaran ‘a friend of France’.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently released the World Health Statistics 2023. It is annual compilation of the latest available data on health and health-related indicators. The report has been published since 2005.
According to this report, the pandemic has caused some 20 million deaths and a total of 336.8 million life-years.

Notes:
The arrival of Africa plume heatwave in the UK is expected to cause extreme heatwave conditions in the country.
African plume heatwave is the meteorological phenomena that is marked the mass of hot air coming from the Sahara Desert towards Europe.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh government is currently formulating a Green Hydrogen Policy. This policy seeks to promote the use of green hydrogen and establish the state as a leading hub for its production.
The primary objective of the policy is to attract investments in large-scale renewable energy projects, ensuring a consistent and sustainable supply of green electricity for electrolysis.

Notes:
Rayyanah Barnawi is the first Arab woman astronaut to go to space as part of Saudi Arabia’s maiden space mission.
She is part of a team which recently went to the International Space Station (ISS) in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Notes:
As part of the Act East Policy, the Indian government announced a 12-point development plan for the Pacific Island nations at the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) summit held at Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea.
The 12- point development agenda is part of the Act East Policy of India. This plan focuses on areas like renewable energy, healthcare and cybersecurity.

Notes:
54-year-old U.T. Khader was unanimously elected Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, becomes the first Muslim to hold the post in Karnataka.
He was a former Minister of the state and 5-time Member of Legislative Assembly. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah proposed the name of Mr Khader, which was seconded by Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

Notes:
Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean is known for hosting critical minerals needed to build batteries.
Researchers have discovered more than 5,000 species, with over 88 to 92 per cent of them spotted for the first time.

Notes:
State-owned Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has emerged as the top performer among public sector lenders in terms of loan and deposit growth in percentage terms during 2022-23.
The bank also recorded highest growth in profitability with bottom-line growing almost 126 per cent to ₹2,602 crore during the year.