Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Tennis player Anikta Raina, who has displayed good form this season both in the Fed Cup and the professional circuit, has been included in the Government of India (GoI)’s Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS). Ankita recently broke into the top-200, reaching a career-best 197 in the WTA rankings released earlier this month. With this, she became only the 5th Indian woman singles tennis player after Sania Mirza, Nirupama Vaidyanathan, Sunita Rao and Shikha Uberoi to break into the world’s top 200. Beside Raina, Mehuli Ghosh, Om Prakash Mitharwal, Gaurav Solanki, Shahzar Rizvi, Hussamuddin Mohammad, Manu Bhaker, Anish Bhanwala and Gaurav Solanki were also included in the TOPS list.

Notes:
The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBS-2019) will be held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh from January 21 to 23, 2019. The event would be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth. There will be provision for the participants to participate in the Kumbh Snan (in Allahabad) and then travel to New Delhi to be part of the Republic Day Parade on January 26. It will be organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with the Uttar Pradesh government with theme “Role of Indian Diaspora in building a New India”.

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:
Uma Bharti, the Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, has launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) – DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal, Haryana on May 1, 2018. The purpose of scheme is to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people. Under the scheme, cooking gas would be provided to rural habitations and technical support would ensure that the scheme functioned on a sustainable basis. 

Notes:
Ashok Mitra (90), the noted scholar and the first Finance Minister in the Left Front government in West Bengal, has passed away in Kolkata on May 1, 2018. Besides serving the State Government, he also worked with the Central Government as the Chief Economic Adviser from 1970-72, when Indira Gandhi was prime minister, and was a member of Rajya Sabha. A teacher of Economics, who taught in UN Economic Commission, Mitra was also associated with World Bank for many years. He was one of Bengal’s most prolific columnists and was known for his deep and critical analysis of society and its politics.

Notes:
Chennai-based transgender Mubina has won the 2018 Miss Koovagam beauty pageant title in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. This year, nearly 40 transgenders in the age group of 18 and 35 contested for the ‘Miss Koovagam’ title. In it, apart from their beauty and attire, the contestants were tested for their knowledge in Indian mythologies.

Notes:
The first-ever India- South Africa Business Summit (ISABS 2018) was held at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa on April 29-30, 2018. The tag line of the Summit was “United by Legacy, Unified for Prosperity” and was attended by the Minister of Commerce and Industry and Civil Aviation, Suresh Prabhu. In it, Suresh Prabhu highlighted the historical relations between India and Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho and pledged to take the economic partnership forward. The highlights of the summit included a book release of ‘The Red Fort Declaration – The Legacy 20 Years’ on commemoration of 20 years of Strategic Partnership, authored by journalist Fakir Hassen, which documents the progress of bilateral relations between the two countries. There was also the release of a White Paper setting out the substantive corporate social responsibilities of Indian companies based in South Africa.

Notes:
Maharashtra has become the first Indian state to provide digitally-signed land record receipts (also known as 7/12 receipts). The 7/12 receipt is the most important document which establishes the ownership of the land, and is primarily used by farmers while applying for loans. It is also used by the government during crop surveys and to extend various facilities. With digital authentication, the farmers will no longer have to visit revenue offices or the Maha e-seva centres. Now, the farmers will have to inform only the gat (group) number or survey number to bank or a government department, and the respective agency can ensure the 7/12 receipt online. Presently, eight lakh 7/12 receipts come with digital sign, and the aim is to complete the digitisation of all 2.5 crore receipts by August 1. To get the 7/12 receipt with digital sign, one must go to https://mahabhulekh.maharashtra. Gov.in and fill the necessary details. A pdf file with digital sign can be printed, which can be used with any government office.

Notes:
Air Chief Marshal Idris Hassan Latif (94), the former Chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), has passed away 2018 in Hyderabad on May 1, 2018. He was the IAF chief from September 1978 to August 1981. After his retirement in 1981, Latif held the posts of Maharashtra Governor and Indian Ambassador to France. He had joined the Royal Indian Air Force in 1941 at the age of 18 and was commissioned the next year. On completion of his training at Ambala, he was posted in Karachi, where he flew vintage biplanes like the Wapiti, Audaxes and Harts, on Anti-Submarine flights over the Arabian Sea. During 1943-44, he was one of the few Indian pilots to be seconded to the Royal Air Force in the United Kingdom, where he underwent training on more contemporary aircraft like the Hurricane and Spitfire. He returned to India in 1944 and took part in the Burma campaign. At the time of partition, he chose IAF though he was reportedly urged by some to join the Pakistan Air Force.

Notes:
Indian-American Deepa Ambekar has been appointed as the interim judge to a US civil court of New York City. She has become the 2nd Indian-American woman judge in the city after Chennai-born Raja Rajeswari. In 2015, Rajeswari was sworn in as a criminal court judge and became the first India-born woman to be appointed a judge in the city. Judge Ambekar served with the New York City Council for 3 years as Senior Legislative Attorney and Counsel to the Committee on Public Safety. Prior to that, she was a Staff Attorney at the Legal Aid Society, Criminal Defense Division, and a litigation associate at a private firm.