Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

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:
India has been ranked joint-sixth in the list of doping violations with 69 cases, same as that of Russia, according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report for samples collected in 2016. India improved its position to sixth after being joint-third for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015. Though, the number of dope violations for India has reduced but the trend of sports which are mostly under the scanner remain same. Italy topped the rankings of drug cases in 2016, followed by France (86), United States (76), Australia (75), Belgium (73).

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:
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:
On May 2, Jagdish Mukhi has been sworn in as the acting governor of Manipur by the Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court, Justice N Kotiswar Singh. As per official release, Mukhi, who is the governor of Assam and Meghalaya, will hold office in the absence of Governor Najma Heptullah. The swearing-in was attended by Deputy Chief Minister Y Joykumar Singh, Speaker Y Khemchand Singh, Rajya Sabha MP Ksh Bhabananda Singh, the council of ministers, the chief secretary and director general of police and other senior officials.

Notes:
Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton has won the 2018 Azerbaijan Formula 1 Grand Prix tournament at the Baku City Circuit in Baku on April 29, 2018. In it, both Red Bulls sensationally collided with each other. Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari finished second and Sergio Perez of Force India ended third in the Race.

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:
Radhakrishnan Nair, the former IRDAI member, has been appointed to ICICI Bank’s board as an Additional (Independent) Director. His appointment will be for a period of five years and is subject to shareholders’ approval. Nair has around 40 years of experience in the banking industry and in the field of securities and insurance regulation. He is already an independent director of three subsidiaries of ICICI Bank — ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Ltd; ICICI Prudential Trust Ltd and ICICI Securities Primary Dealership Ltd. Meanwhile, the Board of Directors of ICICI Bank Limited (IBN) has appointed Dr. Tushaar Shah as a non-executive Director effective May 3, 2010

Notes:
On May 5, the NITI Aayog and IBM have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The purpose of the partnership is to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes. The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest/disease outbreak based on advanced AI innovations.