Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
The Balpakram National Park is home to wide species of plants and animals and is located in the midst of the Garo Hills in Meghalaya. The national park is full of sprawling vegetation consisting of sub tropical and deciduous trees. The park is famous for the golden cat and the barking deer. Other animals include Wild water buffalo, Red panda, Elephant and eight species of cats including Tiger and Marbled cat. Wide species of baboons and monkeys are also found in the forest. It is famous for pitcher plant and many medicinal plants called ‘Dik.ke’.

Notes:
On May 10, India is hosting the 15th edition of the Asia Media Summit (AMS-2018) in New Delhi with theme “Telling our Stories- Asia and More”. New Delhi is hosting the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) Kuala Lumpur for the first time. The 3-day summit will encourage regional and bilateral dialogue and cooperation to respond to challenges to the broadcasting sector in the region. It will also provide a unique opportunity for broadcasters in the Asian region to share their thoughts on software and hardware aspects of broadcasting. Over 200 foreign delegates representing 39 countries and over a hundred Indian delegates would participate in the event. Dignitaries attending the Summit include Minister of Information from Bangladesh and Cambodia and Standing Commissioner Korea Communications Commission. The summit is hosted by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, jointly with the Indian Institute of Mass Communication and public sector firm Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Limited (BECIL).

Notes:
Mahathir bin Mohamad has become the new Prime Minister of Malaysia on May 10, after scoring a historic victory at the 14th general election 2018. With this, 92-year old Mahathir became the oldest living Prime Minister of Malaysia and the world’s oldest head of government. His coalition party ‘Pakatan Harapan’ defeated the governing Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, which has been in power for more than 60 years. The victory capped a dramatic political comeback for Mahathir, who previously ruled the country for 22 years (from 1981 to 2003), and came out of retirement to take on Prime Minister Najib Razak after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal.

Notes:
The 25 MW Mithapur Solar Power Plant is located in Mithapur, Gujarat and is spread over an area of 100 acres. The panels are of polycrystalline silicon photovoltaic technology. It is expected to produce 40,734 MWh/year.

Notes:
The Telangana government has launched Rythu Bandhu (friend of farmers) scheme at Dharmarajupalle-Indiranagar village in Karimnagar district on May 10, 2018. The scheme is a first-of-its-kind initiative providing investment support to farmers, who own land. It is expected to provide the much needed breather to the marginal and small farmers who constitute a major chunk of land owners in the State. Under the scheme, each eligible farmer will get at least Rs 4,000 per acre for two crops in a year — kharif in May and rabi in October. The farmers can utilize the assistance either for purchase of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides or any other input requirement as per their requirement. The scheme will cover both agriculture and horticulture crops and benefits all farmers irrespective of the size of their land holdings.

Notes:
Pawan Kumar Agarwal, a 1985-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, has been given 3 months extension beyond May 15, 2018 as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). He was appointed as the CEO of the FSSAI in December 2015. The FSSAI is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. It is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety.

Notes:
After topping the chart for four years, India has been slipped to the 6th position globally on the Global Optimism Index in the first quarter of 2018, as per survey by Grant Thornton’s International Business Report (IBR). The report says the business optimism in India has deteriorated while entering the last year of the current regime. Austria topped the index followed by Finland, Indonesia, the Netherlands and the US. The report was prepared on a quarterly global business survey of 2,500 businesses in 37 economies. With regard to India, Grant Thornton stated that the underlying pessimism is reflected in other parameters as well including revenue, selling prices, profitability, employment and exports expectations. Indian businesses have been citing regulations and red tape, availability of skilled workforce, lack of ICT infrastructure and shortage of finance as the biggest growth constraints.

Notes:
According to the report ‘RemitSCOPE – Remittance markets and opportunities – Asia and the Pacific’, India has become the largest remittance-receiving country in the world in 2017, with migrant workers from the country sending home 69 billion US dollars. The remittances to the Asia-Pacific region amounted to 256 billion dollars last year. In 2017, India with 69 billion, China with 64 billion and the Philippines with $33 billion are the three largest remittance-receiving countries in the world. Worldwide, an estimated 40% of the total values of remittances go to rural areas. However, in the Asia-Pacific region, remittances go dis-proportionally to countries with a majority of rural populations such as Nepal 81%, India 67%, Vietnam 66%, Bangladesh 65%, Pakistan 61% and the Philippines 56%. As per report, cash-to-cash transactions remain by far the most common form of transfer.

Notes:
The book ‘Across the Bench – Insight into the Indian Military Judicial System’ has been authored by Lt Gen Gyan Bhushan, former Army Commander and Member ‘A’, Armed Forces Tribunal of Lucknow Bench. The book deals with military judicial system vis-a-vis command and management issues within the military establishments besides the whole gamut of issues relating to veterans, their families and dependents. It was released by Gen Bipin Rawat, Chief of Army the Staff on May 11, 2018.

Notes:
The International Nurses Day (IND) is celebrated every year across the world on May 12 to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. The day is also mark to recognize the strong commitment, compassion and dedication that nurses display in the practice of their profession. The 2018 theme is – Nurses A Voice to Lead – Health is a Human right.