Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Akshay Kumar has bagged the best actor award at the 2018 Dadasaheb Phalke awards for his role in ‘Padman (Jury)’ and for ‘Toilet: Ek Prem Katha’. The awards were given by Dadasaheb Phalke Film Foundation in Mumbai on April 29. Bhumi Pednekar won the best actress trophy for her work in Toilet Ek Prem Katha. Manisha Koirala won the ‘Most Versatile Actress’ award. Whereas,veteran actor-director Rakesh Roshan was given the lifetime achievement award for his contribution to the industry as an actor, producer and a director. Meanwhile, veteran actor Farida Jalal was awarded the Saraswatibai Dadasaheb Phalke Best actress (Lifetime) award for her contribution to the film industry.

Notes:
Kottayam Pushpanath (80), the renowned Malayalam detective novelist, has passed away in Kottayam, Kerala on May 2, 2018. He expanded the world of horror fiction in Malayalam literature and wrote over 100 detective and horror novels in Malayalam. His original name was Pushpanathan Pillai. It was Kottayam Pushpanath who translated Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ into Malayalam. Among his novels, ‘Brahmarakshas’ and ‘Chuvanna Anki’ were later adapted into movies. Many of his works were translated into various languages including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Notes:
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, an MP from Gulbarga (Karnataka), has been re-appointed chairman of the 22-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament for its fresh term starting on May 1. Kharge, is the leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha. A majority of the members of this parliamentary panel, which is headed by an opposition leader, are from the ruling NDA. It is the oldest parliamentary committee that examines the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for expenditure of Government of India and such other accounts of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.

Notes:
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, has been appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Khuntia’s appointment for a period of 3 years. The post was vacant for more than two months after TS Vijayan’s tenure came to an end on February 21.

Notes:
The 2-day national workshop on Data Requirements for Disaster Risk Reduction Database successfully concluded in New Delhi on May 3, 2018. It has set the stage for the creation of a national-level disaster database. Developing the integrated database with locally obtained and validated data is crucial for tracking the risks and progress towards resilience without which India will not be able to meet its developmental goals. It will also play a vital role in implementing the Prime Minister’s 10-point agenda to address disaster risks. The workshop was organised by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with UNICEF, UNDP and UNISDR. The discussions held at the workshop will lead to the formation of a Steering Group to oversee the setting up of the database, and guiding trainings and capacity building for operating, maintaining, updating and using the database. The group will also identify pilot States and draw a roadmap for implementation of the project.

Notes:
The World Press Freedom Day is observed every year on May 3 to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives while following their profession. The 2018 theme “Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law” highlights the importance of an enabling legal environment for press freedom and gives special attention to the role of an independent judiciary in ensuring legal guarantees for press freedom and the prosecution of crimes against journalists. The day serves as an occasion to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.

Notes:
The Vindhyachal Thermal Power Station, which is one of the coal-fired power stations of NTPC, is located in Singrauli district of Madhya Pradesh. It is the largest power station in India with an installed capacity of 4760 MW. The coal for the power plant is sourced from Nigahi mines, and the water is sourced from the discharge canal of Singrauli Super Thermal Power Station.

Notes:
The 19th edition of TOONZ Animation Masters Summit 2018 was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on May 4-5, 2018. It was inaugurated by Ashish Kulkarni, Chairman of FICCI for Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics Forum, and was organized by the Technopark-based Toonz Media Group. The purpose of the summit is to present new trends which can give a fresh vigour to the industry segment with the help of modern technology and taking advantage of fresh opportunities. At least 400 members of the animation and media industry drawn from within India and overseas attended the summit. In the summit, V G Samant, a venerated pioneer of Indian animation and creator of ‘Hanuman’, was honoured with the ‘Legend of Animation’ award for his contributions to the animation industry. Legendary masters including Kiran Antony- Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather, Resul Pookutty- Oscar winning sound engineer and Paul Robinson- International Media Executive, also took part in the event.

Notes:
The 2018 International Children’s Theatre Festival will be held at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kolkata, West Bengal from June 17 to 21. Children of various theatre groups from eight countries besides host India will take part in fest. The participating countries are France, Slovenia, Swaziland, Mexico, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bangladesh. Children of theatre groups from Indian states such as Kerala, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha and West Bengal will also be participating in the 5-day festival. There will be no entry free and the festival will be open for everybody.

Notes:
The first organised census of Indus Dolphins will be carried out by the Punjab government along with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) -India for the conservation of Indus dolphins, which are one of the world’s rarest mammals. This is India’s first organized Dolphin Census, which will be completed within a span of five years. The main purpose of this census is to find out the exact population of this species of dolphins. After this, their protection program will be run. The Indus dolphins are found only in India and Pakistan and are confined to only a 185 km stretch between Talwara and Harike Barrage in India’s Beas river in Punjab.