Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Mia Amor Mottley has become the first female Prime Minister (PM) of the Caribbean island of Barbados. The win makes Mottley just the 8th PM to lead Barbados since the island gained independence from Great Britain in 1966. The Mottley-led Barbados Labour Party (BLP) recorded an historic landslide victory in the 2018 general election, secured all 30 seats in the House of Assembly and over 70% of the popular vote that makes them the first party to accomplish this feat.

Notes:
The Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and IIT Bombay have been awarded the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018 in the Academic Institutions category at the 2018 India Innovation Conference in Bengaluru on May 16. The award places IIT Bombay in the top 12 innovators in India. Under the Government Research Organizations category, the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) have been awarded the Clarivate Analytics India Innovation Award 2018. Every year, Clarivate Analytics recognizes the most innovative companies in India according to patent-related metrics that get to the essence of what it means to be truly innovative. This analysis is done using proprietary Clarivate Analytics data and tools. The evaluation is strictly driven by metrics for both patent volume (patents published) as well as patent quality (grant success rate, extent of globalisation, and citations).

Notes:
The World Health Organization (WHO) has validated Nepal for having eliminated trachoma as a public health problem. With this, Nepal has become the first country in WHO’s South-East Asia Region to defeat the world’s leading infectious cause of blindness. Trachoma, an eye disease caused by infection with the bacterium Chlamydia trachomatis, is spread through contact with infective eye or nose discharges. Infection is particularly common in young children. Transmission is associated with poor sanitation and hygiene, which increase the availability of eye discharges and encourage the breeding of flies. Trachoma puts more than 190 million people at risk of blindness in 41 countries. It is responsible for the blindness or visual impairment of around 1.9 million people worldwide.

Notes:
Film actor Akshay kumar has launched an advertisement campaign on twin pit toilet technology for the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) in New Delhi on May 27, 2018. The ad campaign focuses on promoting the twin pit toilet technology in rural India. The actor appealed everybody to spread the awareness on the issue and make the cleanliness drive more effective. The twin pit toilet technology is an Indian invention that collects defecation for a period of five years and then it turns into valuable organic compost. This decomposed waste is safe to handle and rich in NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) nutrients which makes it ideal for use in agriculture. The technology is also recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Notes:
The BCCI and UN Environment has signed a letter of intent to promote ‘green’ Cricket in India at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on May 27, 2018. The aim of the partnership is to spread greater awareness about key environmental challenges facing the country, and highlight alternate and more sustainable solutions. The BCCI will endeavor to reduce its environmental impact by greening operations and engaging cricketers and fans in green initiatives. The partnership will also focus on phasing out single-use plastic across stadiums in the country. Even during the course of 2018 IPL, a film with messages from captains of various franchises was created and aired in stadiums highlighting hazards of plastic pollution. The headquarters of UN Environment is located in Nairobi, Kenya.

Notes:
Sangeeta Bahl (53), the former model and entrepreneur from Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), has become the oldest Indian woman to have scaled the world’s tallest peak “Mount Everest” on 19th May 2018 with the help of two Sherpas. She also became the first woman from J&K to scale the mountain. She broke the record held by Premlata Agarwal, who scaled Mt Everest at the age of 48 in 2011. Bahl had scaled Mt Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak in 2011 along with her husband Ankur Bahl and has now climbed six of the seven highest peaks of each continent.

Notes:
The first edition of Global Wind Summit will be held in Hamburg, Germany from September 25, 2018. The organisers of the 4-day event are expecting speakers from about 100 countries, including India, China, the US, Spain and Denmark. The conference on wind is the largest and most important meeting of the wind industry worldwide. The focus of the conferences would be on three major subjects: Dynamic markets, cost efficiency and smart energy. The event will provide a platform for experts from across the globe to discuss innovative and green technologies for harnessing wind energy making.

Notes:
The Jammu and Kashmir (J & K) government has submitted a Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Rs 189 crore Devika river rejuvenation project to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) for approval. The aim of the project is to develop bathing ghats in the premises of the Devika River, removal of encroachments, sewerage treatment, restoration of natural water bodies and development of catchment area. The river holds religious significance as it is revered by Hindus as the sister of river Ganga. Devika river, which is also known as Devika Nagari, originates from the hilly Suddha Mahadev temple in Udhampur district and flows down towards western Punjab (now in Pakistan) where it merges with the Ravi river.

Notes:
Sudha Balakrishnan, the Vice-President of National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), has been appointed the first-ever Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). She will hold the rank of executive director and will have a 3-year term. The CFO will be responsible for reporting of financial information of the central bank, establishing accounting policies and ensuring compliance with regulations. The CFO will also be entrusted with communicating RBIs expected and actual financial performance and overseeing its budget processes. As CFO, Balakrishnan will also be in charge of the dividend RBI pays to the government, which is crucial in the final budgetary calculations. Under the RBI Act, 1934, the central bank is required to pay the government its surplus after making provisions for bad and doubtful debts, depreciation in assets and, contribution to staff and superannuation fund among others. RBI follows a July to June financial year.

Notes:
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who is currently Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, has been appointed the new General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Northern Command (of the Indian Army). Lt Gen Singh will succeed Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, who will take charge as Vice Chief of the Indian Army on June 1. Lt Gen Singh was the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) when India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on September 26, 2016. Lt Gen Singh had also served as commander of the Army’s One Corps in Mathura. The Udhampur-based Northern Command is considered very crucial as it looks after Army’s operations in J&K besides guarding the LoC.