Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Justice Ramalingam Sudhakar has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Manipur High Court on May 18, 2018. He was administered the oath of office by Prof. Jagdish Mukhi, the acting governor of Manipur, at the Raj Bhawan in Imphal. Prior to this post, Justice Sudhakar has served as Acting Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. Now, Justice Alok Aradhe has become the Acting Chief Justice of J & K High Court. Beside him, Justice Mohammad yaqoob Mir has been sworn-in as the new Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court. 

Notes:
Raghuvir Singh (95), the lone freedom fighter of Muzaffarnagar district, has passed away in Noida, Uttar Pradesh on May 19, 2018. Singh was part of Subhas Chandra Bose’s Azad Hind Fauj.

Notes:
Uttam Pacharne, the noted artist and sculptor, has been appointed as the new Chairman of Lalit Kala Akademi by the President of India. He will hold office for a term of three years from the date on which he assumes the charge of his office. Pacharne is a widely respected person in the field of art and has held various important positions. Currently, he is Member of Advisory Committee of Kala Academy (Goa) and Member of Advisory Committee of P.L. Deshpande State Lalit Kala Academy and Director of Janseva Sahakari Bank (Borivali). Previously in March 2018, M.L. Srivastava, Joint Secretary (Akademies) of Ministry of Culture, was appointed Protem Chairman of the Lalit Kala Akademi.

Notes:
Davis Cup player Prajnesh Gunneswaran has won the prestigious T.K. Ramanathan award for the year 2017-18 at the annual day function of the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association at SDAT tennis stadium on May 19, 2018. The award is instituted by the legendary Ramanathan Krrishnan in the memory of his father, which carries a cash prize of Rs 30,000. Beside this, Bandaru Kundana Sri bagged the Nagamani Mahadevan award and Rs10, 000. VM Sandeep, part of the junior Davis Cup team, secured the Muthukrishnan Memorial Award with Rs 10,000.

Notes:
Bernard Lewis (101), the renowned Jewish-American historian, has passed away in New Jersey, United States on May 19, 2018. He was one of the most famous and influential Middle East scholars in the world who warned of a “clash of civilizations” between Islam and the West. His influential books shaped generations of scholars on the West Asian region but whose views stirred fierce passions. Mr. Lewis, who was born in London and was a long-time professor at Princeton University, was a Cold War hawk, a strong pro-Israel Jew, and influential among White House and Pentagon planners of the U.S.-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. The books included The Arabs in History (1950), The Emergence of Modern Turkey (1961), and The Crisis of Islam (2003).

Notes:
Lionel Messi, an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona, has won the 2018 European Golden Shoe. He claimed the prize after scoring 34 goals in La Liga this season, helping his club to a 25th league triumph. With this, he becomes the first player to win the European Golden Shoe for a record 5 times. He won the award in 2017, as well as in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Four-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished 9th in the rankings after scoring 26 goals for Real Madrid in La Liga.

Notes:
The Maharashtra Government has introduced a new scheme to help the landless labourers among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) to acquire agricultural land. The landless among the SCs can now purchase for acres of rainfed agricultural land or two acres of irrigated land by paying only 5% of the cost. The rest up to Rs 8 lakh will be borne by the state government. This is a modified scheme as the earlier Dadasaheb Gaikwad empowerment of scheduled caste landless labourers scheme was providing 50% subsidy and was found inadequate and benefited only about five thousand landless labourers from SCs in the State so far. 

Notes:
The National Anti Terrorism Day (NATD) is celebrated every year in India on May 21 to generate awareness in the country among all sections of people, about the danger of terrorism and violence and its effect on the people, society and the country as a whole. It was on this day in 1991, the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a suicide squad of Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE), while attending a rally in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu. The aim behind the observance of Anti-Terrorism Day is to wean away the people from terrorism and violence.

Notes:
C K Prasad, the retired judge of the Supreme Court of India (SCI), has been appointed the chairman of the Press Council of India (PCI) for a second term. Prasad headed the media watchdog for three years from November 2014. He had succeeded Justice Markanday Katju. The Press Council of India is a statutory body with a mandate to act as a watchdog to oversee the conduct of the print media. It was reconstituted for three years in October, 2014 and the term ended in October 2017. According to the Press Council Act, the council shall consist of a chairman and 28 other members.

Notes:
Actor Sushant Singh Rajput has collaborated with NITI Aayog for the promotion of Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) launched by the Cenrtal government. An agreement in this effect was signed by the actor with NITI Aayog in New Delhi on May 25, 2018. The aim of the WEP is to build an ecosystem for women across India to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale-up innovative initiatives and chalk-out sustainable, long-term strategies for their businesses. Mr. Rajput will also promote NITI Aayog’s digital payments campaign which looks towards transforming India into a less-cash economy. The actor will endorse the WEP and encourage use of Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) application by appearing in various video, print and social media campaigns of NITI Aayog. He would also be supporting NITI Aayog in promoting the Women Transforming India Awards 2018, the theme for which is ‘Women and Entrepreneurship’ and whose nominations are currently ongoing.