Current Affairs - Perfection IAS

PERFECTION Current Affairs

YEAR-4 VOL.-05 TOTAL VOL.-31 MAY 2022

For BPSC Examination

www.perfectionias.com

INDEX

Bihar Editorial

UPSC

1. Aspirational Districts Programme – Bihar 01–05

2. Smart City Mission (SCM) – Bihar 06–11

3. Bihar Economic and Trends 12–17

4. Labour, Employment and Migration During Pandemic In Bihar 18–21

5. Agriculture and Allied Sectors of Bihar 22–28

6. E–Governance in Bihar 36–40

7. The Needs of Caste Census in India and Its States 41–44

INDEX

1. BIHAR SPECIAL 01–08

2. BIHAR GOVERNMENT SCHEMES 09–13

3. BIHAR AWARDS 14

4. PLACES IN BIHAR 15

5. NATIONAL 16–23

6. INTERNATIONAL 24–31

7. ECONOMY 32–35

8. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 36–38

9. SECURITY 39–40

10. STATES/UTs 41–45

11. ENVIRONMENT 46–47

12. APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATIONS 48–50

13. AGREEMENT 51–52

14. REPORT & INDEX 53

15. SUMMIT & CONFERENCES 54–55

16. UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEMES 56–58

17. BOOKS & AUTHORS 59

18. AWARDS & HONOURS 60–63

19. FESTIVALS 64

20. IMPORTANT DAY 65–68

21. OBITUARIES 69

22. SPORTS 70–72

23. PRELIMS POINTER 73–78

24. APPS AND PORTALS 79

25. PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS 80–89

Current Affairs Magazine

MAY – 2022 (BPSC Exam)

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Key Advances– National Medical Commission (NMC) has

replaced the Medical Council of India (MCI). The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and

replaced it with a Board of Governors (BoG),which was chaired by a member of NITIAayog.

The NMC would function as the country's topregulator of medical education.

4. Bihar has sufficient oxygen for medical purposes.Why in news - 400 metric ton production starteddaily in Bihar

Important Points - 119 PSA oxygen plants were set up in Bihar to

deal with covid situation. Pressure swing adsorption (PSA) is oxygen

generating plants to produce medical-gradeoxygen.

Oxygen is being delivered to emergency and ICUthrough pipeline in hospitals.

5. Vaccination among adolescent in Bihar

Why in news - Health department released dataon vaccination among adolescents

Important Points -

East Chamaparan topped the chart with mostnumber of vaccinations.

Sheohar and Darbhanga stood at 2nd and 3rdplace respectively (in % terms).

Barring Patna and Gopalganj, ranking of everydistrict has either improved or decreased.

Patna stands at 32nd position.6. 'Poshan Pakhwada'

Why in news - Poshan Pakhwada held between21st March to 4th April in all 38 districts in Bihar.

Important Points - Purnia has bagged the first rank in the activities

organized at Anganwadi centres (AWCs). It was organized by Integrated Child Develop-

ment Services (ICDS).

BIHAR SPECIAL MAY

2022

1. Liquor Prohibition Amendment Act 2022.Why in news : State cabinet proposal to notifythe fine amount and other powers of themagistrate under the Prohibition AmendmentAct 2022 was approved.

Key Point – If caught drinking alcohol for the first time, the

accused would have to pay a fine ranging fromRs. 2000 to 5000. It would be decided in thepresence of the executive magistrate.

He would be sentenced to 30 days imprisonmentfor not paying the fine or cooperating with thepolice action

Being caught drinking alcohol for the secondtime, compulsory imprisonment of one year.

Vehicles seized in the illegal trade of liquor canalso be redeemed by paying a fine of up to 50%of the fixed sum insured of the vehicle.

2. Japanese Encephalitis (JE) vaccine.Why in news : Special campaign would beorganised for children deprived of JE vaccine.

Key Points- Health department would conduct a special

vaccination drive to vaccinate left out children(9 month to 10 years).

Piku ward would be kept fully prepared so thatAES affected children can get timely treatment.

Would be conducted in 12 districts of Bihar. 14 districts of the state have been particularly

affected by this disease. Muzaffarpur is the epicenter of the disease. Japanese encephalitis is a viral brain infection

that spread through mosquito bites. The virusis found in pigs and birds.

JE virus is transmitted to humans through thebite of infected Culex species mosquitoes,particularly Culex tritaeniorhynchus.

3. IGIMS Patna gets special recognitionWhy in news - The Indira Gandhi Institute ofMedical Sciences (IGIMS) has been chosen as theNational Medical Commission (NMC)'s regionalcentre for medical education technology.

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7. Arsenic in Gangetic valley.

Why in news - Arsenic is spoiling the health ofpeople of Patna

Important Points -

Health problems - Gall bladder stones, Cancer,Skin diseases, Arthrities, Liver toxicity etc

Other heavy metals present in water - Lead,Fluoride and Mercury.

8. Bihar Legislative Council

Why in news - Recently, Bihar Legislative Councilelections were held.

Bihar Legislative Council (BLC) -

On 25th August, 1911 recommendation wasmade by the Govt of India to create legislativecouncil.

The Council was formed under Govt. of IndiaAct 1909 (as amended in 1912) and a total of 43members belonging to different categories weretaken into it.

The first sitting of the Council was convened on20th January, 1913 at Bankipore.

On 1st April, 1950, the secretariat of BLC startedfunctioning.

Important Points -

Article 169 of the Constitution provides forcreation or abolition Legislative Council by simplemajority.

Six States having a Legislative Council: AndhraPradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,Maharashtra, Karnataka.

Article 171 - Legislative Council of a state shallnot have more than one-third of the total strengthof the State Assembly, and not less than 40members.

Participants – State MLAs

rd

3

1 , Municipalities

& District Boards

rd

3

1, Teachers

th

12

1 and

Graduates

th

12

1 .

9. Film of Bihar in Oscars.Why in news - Mukund Narayan's short film"Patal Ti" would be nominated for Oscars.

Important Points - Mukund Narayan hails from Alwar district of

Bihar. Presently, Patal Ti has been selected for 39th

Busan International short film festival.10. Startup Tower and Investment hub.

Why in news - To promote investment in Bihar,State industries minister Shahanawaz Hussainproposed to develop Startup Tower and Investmenthub.

Important Points - Bihar State Finanace Corporation (BSFC)

building at Fraser road Patna would be set up asStartup tower.

Indira Bhawan would be developed as anInvestment hub for small,medium and largeindustries.

Shahanawaz Hussain inaugurated 'Zero lab' atUdyg Bhawan (Gandhi Maidan).

11. Asian Para Games 2022.

Why in news - Narayan Thakur has been selectedfor Asian Para Games 2022. He hails from Kansivillage in Darbhanga.

Key points- Narayan Thakur is the first para-athlete in the

history of India to clinch a gold medal at 2018Asian Para Games, held in Indonesia in Octoberlast year.

He completed the 100 metre race in record timingof 13.50 seconds and currently holds the firstposition in para athletics in Asia.

Narayan Thakur's present coach–Amit Khanna.

About Asian Para Games 2022 Venue - Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China (from 9th

to 15th October 2022) Mascot - Fei Fei, a character inspired by the divine

bird of the Liangzhu culture. Motto - "Hearts meet, Dreams shine" Hangzhou would be the second Chinese city to

host the Asian Para Games, after Guangzhou in 2010.

12. Illegal occupants would evicted from non-cultivable land (majrua).Why in news - List of such land is being madeby land survey officials in the state.

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Key points-

After completion of survey, people occupyingnon-cultivable or common land without validdocuments would be evicted.

There is also a provision for this in the BiharSpecial Survey and Settlement Act.

After the abolition of Zamindari, the right ofsettlement of such land remained with the stategovernment only.

Such land of this category which is being usedas road, drain, river, zila parishad road,crematorium, graveyard schools pond etc would berecorded in common non-cultivable land.

13. Medical colleges and District hospitals to havetheir own dedicated feeder lines

Why in news - Government has decided to setup separate feeder lines to give un-interruptedsupply of electricity to 9 Medical colleses and 46District hospitals.

Key points-

Simultaneously, more than 8800 health centerswould get new electricity conections.

Health department has provision of Rs 72 crorefor this project.

To implement the project, negotiations heldbetween South Bihar and North Bihar powerdistribution companies after which the plan wasagreed upon.

14. Smart Classes would be available in all middle

schools of Bihar

Why in news - Preparations have started toimplement smart class scheme in 2739 middleschools.

Key points-

Smart Class Scheme would be implemented in all30,000 schools of Bihar.

The government has set a target to effectivelyimplement the system of smart classes in middleschools by the year 2024.

Central assistance –Rs 657 crore 60 lakh. Rs 2,40,000 would be spent on the construction

of each smart class.

15. Output and Performance-based Road AssetMaintenance Contract (OPRMC) in Bihar.Why in news - Bihar's 13000 km long roadnetwork to be monitored online. The governmenthas taken this decision after a complaint ofnegligence in road repairing.

Key Points - OPRMC is output and performance-based

contract adopted for the long-term maintenanceof existing road assets.

OPRMC is in force since 2019. Under OPRMC, the responsibility of repairing roads

has been given to different agencies till the year 2026. Money would be deducted on the part of the

agency if repairs are not done within stipulatedtime frame.

Percentage of deduction on critical errors is upto 40%.

The investigation is to be done at four levels. Apart from local engineers, the Flying squad

would also make a surprise visit for inspection.16. Bihar to auction all unused bridges as scrap.

Why in news - Days after bridge theft, Bihar Govt.decided to auction all unused bridges as scrap.

Key Points - The decision came after thieves dismantled and

took away a 60-foot-long abandoned iron bridgein Rohtas district.

Constructed in 1972, the Nasriganj bridge inRohtas had been left unused since 2002.

17. Rajgir ropeway operations reviewed.Why in news - The ropeway accident in Jharkhand(Tirkut hills in Deoghar) has put on alert operatorsof cable cars in Rajgir.

Key Points - Bihar has three ropeways. The first ropeway was started in 1969 in Rajgir

and is the oldest ropeway in the country. 1969 ropeway was gifted by Fuji Nichidatsu

(Fuji Guruji), a Japanese monk and founder ofthe Nippponzan-Myohoji order of Buddhism. It'sa single-seater ropeway.

In 2021, the state tourism department launchedtwo new cabin ropeways, at Rajgir and Banka.

The ropeway at Ratnagiri at Rajgir has eight-seater cable cars while the one at Mandar hills inBanka has four-seater cable cars.

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The ropeway team must have technical handswith not less than 10 years of experience inrunning a ropeway.

Rajgir has seen at least three mishaps in the past -A. 2009: A boy fell from the single-seater

ropeway and was later rescued.B. 2017: The single-seater cable car stopped

midway. The ropeway was carrying a groupof 30 tourists from Sri Lanka.

C. 2019: A child fell from the single-seaterropeway but was rescued by the team.

18. India, Nepal discussed Gandak, Kosi projectsin Patna.Why in news - The 10th meeting of the jointcommittee on the Kosi and Gandak projects(JCKGP) of India and Nepal held in Patna.

Key Points - For management, protection and maintenance

of projects on the two rivers which wreak havocwith floods every year.

An Indo-Nepal agreement on the Kosi projectwas signed in 1954 and amended in 1966 forthe building, operation and maintenance of theKosi barrage and associated structures.

A similar agreement on the Gandak project wasmade in 1959 and amended in 1964.

Sanjay Agarwal, secretary (WRD), headed theIndian delegation while the Nepalese delegationwas headed by Sushil Chandra Acharya.

The first meeting of the committee was held in2001 in Kathmandu.

Flood prone areas in Bihar 73.63% of the geographical area of North Bihar

is considered to be prone to floods. Out of 38districts, 28 districts get flooded (of which 15districts are worst affected) causing huge loss ofproperty, lives, farmlands and infrastructure.

According to the Bihar Government's FloodManagement Information Systems Cell, floods inBihar can be divided into 4 categoriesA. Class I: Flash floodsB. Class II: River floodsC. Class III: Drainage congestion in a river

confluenceD. Class IV: Permanent waterlogged areas

Flood prone districts in Bihar - North Bihar districts are vulnerable to five major

flood-causing rivers during monsoon -Mahananda, Koshi, Bagmati, Burhi Gandak andGandak - which originate in Nepal. Some southBihar districts have also become vulnerable tofloods from Son, Punpun and Phalgu rivers.

19. Data on Labourers of Bihar on e-Shram portal.Why in news - 94% of workers' income isless than 10 thousand rupees as disclosed by theregistration of laborers on the e-shram portal.

Key Points - There are just less than one% laborers whose

income is more than 18000 monthly among thelabourers registered on the e-shram portal.

The central government has given a target ofregistration of 3.5 crore laborers in Bihar. So farmore than two crores 80 lakh 88 thousandworkers have registered on the portal.

The number of workers earning less than 15thousand is more than one crore 40 lakh, whichis 4.99% of the total registration.

More than one crore and 39 lakh workers areassociated with the agriculture sector.

The number of domestic workers is more than41 lakh 43 thousand.

The number of workers associated with theconstruction sector is more than 27 lakh 84thousand and from the textile sector more than16 lakh 43 thousand.

At the same time, there are more than nine lakh94 thousand workers from various categories.

20. Creation of wards in 79 municipal bodies ofthe state.Why in news - The State Election Commissionhas directed to complete the process of formationof all the municipal wards of Bihar.

Key Points- All these processes would be completed by next June 2. The process started on 13th April and ran till

27th April. These include 6 Municipal Corporations, 34

Nagar Parishads and 39 Nagar Panchayats. Similar action would be taken in the remaining

districts except for Sheohar, Jehanabad, Arwal,Supaul, Lakhisarai, Munger and Jamui.

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It has to approved by concerned divisionalCommissioner.

21. Largest beverage bottling plant in the north-east region.Why in news - Hon CM Nitish Kumar inauguratedthe largest beverage bottling plant of the north-eastregion on the Industrial Growth Centre premisesin Barauni, Begusarai.

Key points - State industry minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain

was the chief guest on the occasion. Varun Beverages Limited (VBL) has established

the unit to produce carbonated soft drinks as wellas various non-carbonated beverages.

Production capacity -A. Carbonated soft drinks - 162.2 lakh unitsB. Packaged drinking water - 83.4 lakh unitsC. Packaged juice - 73 lakh units.

22. 10 districts of Bihar selected for the center'sclimate-friendly farming.Why in news - To reduce the impact of climatechange on agriculture and other related activities,the Central Government has chosen 10 districtsin Bihar.

Key points - 10 districts are - Darbhanga, East Champaran,

West Champaran, Siwan, Saharsa, Lakhisarai,Kishanganj, Bhagalpur, Nalanda and Sitamarhi.

The National Innovation in Climate ResilientAgriculture (NICRA) scheme of the CentralGovernment is going on since 2011.

This scheme is different from the 'Climate ResilientFarming Scheme' being run by the state government.

23. New weather stations in Bihar.Why in news - 26 Weather stations to be set upin Bihar.

Key points - Presently, there are 28 weather stations in Bihar.24. Patna HC scraps the AOR system.

Why in news - The Patna High Court hasrepealed a rule under which advocates wereregistered as "advocate-on-record (AOR)".

Key Points - The AOR system was started to ensure that the

practicing lawyers were well trained andcompetent.

Patna HC was the only high court in the countryhaving this AOR system.

This system was introduced in Patna HC in 2010. AOR practice is only followed in the Supreme

Court.25. Steps on to boost SSG.

Why in news - Two instances of breach in BiharCM Nitish Kumar's security have turned thespotlight on the Special Security Guard (SSG).

Key Points - Special Security Guard (SSG) was created in 2011

on the lines of Special Protection Group (SPG). It was created under the Bihar Special Security

Guards Act 2000. Structure of SSG - 531 new posts created

including two superintendents of police (SP), twoadditional SPs and five deputy SPs, 30 sub-inspectors and 300 constables among others.

26. Deaf Olympics.Why in news - Abhishek from Barh selectedfor Deaf Olympics.

Key Points - Deaf Olympics held in Brazil from 1st to 15th

May 2022. He has been selected for the 50-meter range

shooting competition.27. Multi-layered trumpet road in Patna.

Why in news - Bihar's first multi-layered trumpetwould be constructed in Patna.

Key Points - IIT Delhi would provide technical support. The trumpet allows for the interchange of

secondary two-way streets to a multi-laneroadway with minimal traffic mix.

In Patna, it would be constructed near KacchiDargah.

28. IIT Kanpur to discover ancient sites.Why in news - Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR)survey has been started across the state todiscover ancient structures.

Key Points - The survey work started from Banka. Recently,

villagers have found ancient brick structures inBanka.

GPR survey has almost completed in Bhadariavillage of Amarpur block of Banka.

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Recently, CM Nitish Kumar announced sitesdiscovered on the banks of River Chanan inBhadariya village to be developed as touristdestinations.

29. Vaishali Mahotsava, HajipurWhy in news - Deputy CM Tarkishore Prasadinaugurated the Vaishali festival.

Key Points - It is a three-day festival starting from 14th April

on the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir (24thTirthankara of Jainism).

The place is well known for the archaeologicalsites including Buddha Stupa, Ashokan Pillar,Abhisek Puskarani and others.

Lord Mahavir was born in a village called Kundalpur,4 km from Vaishali. This festival is celebrated everyyear on Baisakhi Purnima.

30. Reality Show Hunarbaaz winner.Why in news - Akash Singh of Bhagalpur wonthe title of 'Hunarbaaz'.

Key Points - He used to practice dance on pillars of lights and

pillars in parks. Akash has received a check of Rs 15 lakh as a reward.

Neetu Singh and Nora Fatehi presented the trophyto Akash in the grand finale of Hunarbaaz.

31. Bihar third in new HIV infections.Why in news - Bihar records around 8,000 newcases of people living with HIV (PLHIV) annuallydespite a 27% reduction in the new infection ratefrom 2010.

Key Points - Bihar ranks third after Maharashtra and UP in

new HIV/AIDS infections every year. The youth accounted for a higher incidence of

PLHIV in the state. The intravenous drug user and gays or men who

had sex with men (MSM) accounted for most ofthe new HIV/AIDS cases. (Earlier - female sexworkers).

With a 0.17% PLHIV prevalence rate, Bihar faredbetter than the national average of 0.22%.

India aims to eliminate the public threat of thedisease by 2030.

With 1.34 lakh infected, Bihar accounted fornearly 5.77% of India's 23.19 lakh people livingwith HIV/AIDS.

32. Neetu Chandra Srivastava.Why in news - Neetu Chandra Srivastava, whohas worked in several films in Tamil, Telugu andKannada languages along with Bollywood, hasalso stepped into Hollywood.

Key Points - Neetu has become the first Bihari actress to get a

lead role in Hollywood by playing the lead rolein 'Never Back Down: Revolt'.

She was also the brand ambassador of theTaekwondo Federation of India.

33. 44 thousand cases of SC-ST Act pending in Bihar.Why in news - There are 44791 total SC–STpending cases in Bihar.

Key Points - Only 378 cases have been executed. Settlement of 160 cases by conciliation. Punishment given in 22 cases to 56 accused. Release granted in 196 cases. 651 accused were

released. Except for Ara, Chapra, Gopalganj, Sheikhpura,

Aurangabad, Bettiah, Darbhanga, Gaya, Mungerand Sitamarhi, the number of punishments wasfound to be zero in all the remaining 28 districts.

34. IAS shortage in BiharWhy in news - Bihar is facing the biggest shortageof IAS officers in the country.

Key Points - According to the data of the General Administration

Department, there are 23 such IAS officers in Bihar,who have the responsibility of two to threedepartments.

The number of sanctioned posts in Bihar is 359,out of which 157 are currently vacant. Only 202officers are working.

35. Kunwar Singh Vijay Utsav Diwas 2022.Why in news - Home Minister Amit Shah attendedthe Kunwar Singh Vijay Utsav organized in thememory of Kunwar Singh's victory over the British.

Key Points - Kunwar Singh had liberated his Jagdishpur

princely state during the revolution of 1857. Steps taken by Bihar government in the memory

of Veer Kunwar Singh

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A. Birth place of Kunwar Singh has beendeveloped as a tourist destination.

B. Jagdishpur fort has been developed as amuseum. Contribution of Kunwar Singh inthe freedom struggle has been displayedthrough the terracotta mural.

C. A university was established 1992 in Bhojpurin his name.

D. Veer Kunwar Singh Agricultural College hasbeen established at Dumraon, Buxar in 2015.

E. A memorial has been developed at Shivpurghat under Shapur block. It is said thatKunwar Singh cut off one of his hands andthrew it into the Ganges during the 1857 battle.

Every year 23rd April is celebrated as 'VijayDiwas' as a state function.

36. World record for hoisting the tricolor.Why in news - The world record for hoistingthe 78,220 Tiranga has been set at Dulour,Jagdishpur in Bhojpur district on the occasion ofVeer Kunwar Singh's Vijyutsav.

Key Points - Guinness Book team has handed over a certificate

to the BJP for making a world record of 78,220tricolor hoisting simultaneously.

With this, India broke Pakistan's 18-year-oldworld record of people waving a national flag.

164th death anniversary of Veer Kunwar Singh wasorganised as part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav'.

37. Budget app to be developed by BhagalpurEngineering College students.Why in news - Students of Bhagalpur EngineeringCollege are developing a reliable recommendationapp that would help people with medical,restaurant, courses and tours.

Key Points - A prototype model of the app would be

developed under the supervision of GovindKumar Jha.

Bihar Council of Science and Technology maygive financial help.

Two years ago, Suresh Vidyarthi and his teamcreated an app called Vidyayan Educators,which the college helped and developed into astartup.

38. Bihar Air PollutionWhy in news - According to the CentralPollution Control Board, the city of Patna is morepolluted than New Delhi.

Key Points - Patna is the most polluted among 129 cities in

the country. The index of Patna has been foundto be 365 followed by Munger with 358.

Muzaffarpur (332), Bihar Sharif (309) andHajipur (290).

Delhi's index stood at 261.39. Bhagalpur IIIT

Why in news - Bhagalpur IIIT to tie up withSingapore based educational institute Lithon Educlass.

Key Points - Engineering graduate students would be able to

do a two-year diploma course. Students wouldbe offered PG Diploma in Software Managementand PG Diploma in Digital Marketing.

40. Rs 1207 crore approved for new medicalcolleges in Munger and East Champaran.Why in news - State government has approvedthe proposal of one new medical college andhospital each in Munger and East Champaran.

Key Points - According to the information received from the

health department, both the medical colleges wouldbe developed with 150 enrollment capacity ofMBBS.

There would be a total of 630 beds for patients.41. Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

Why in news - In BJP ruled states including Bihar,the demand for UCC from BJP is increasing. BJPis in favor of implementing it, JDU rejected it fiveyears back.

About UCC - UCC is a directive principle under Article 44 of

the Constitution. UCC would provide for one law for the entire

country, applicable to all religious communitiesin their personal matters such as marriage,divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.

In the Shah Bano case (1985) and Sarla MudgalCase (1995), Supreme Court asked thegovernment to move toward a UCC.

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42. Data Analytics Using Python.Why in news - Five-day national workshop titled'Data Analytics Using Python' inaugurated inPatna.

Key Points - A five-day national workshop started at the

Indian Institute of Business Management (IIBM)Patna.

Discussions were held on the utility of dataanalytics for proper resource analysis andclassification of growing data in different fieldslike commerce, business, management, education,research and research, tourism etc.

43. Foundation Day of Bihar Museum.Why in news - Foundation Day of Bihar Museumwould be celebrated every year on 7th August.

Key Points - On the occasion of Women's Day, free visits to the Bihar

Museum for women, children on the occasion ofChildren's Day and senior citizens on the occasion ofBihar Day.

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the ChiefMinister has also directed to arrange a free visitto the Bihar Museum.

44. Bird census in BiharWhy in news - Birds have been counted for thefirst time in Bihar. The counting of birds took 146hours and 22 minutes.

Key Points - 45,173 birds of 202 species live in Bihar. There are 80 species of aquatic birds, whose number

is about 39,937. Apart from this, 21 species of birdsassociated with aquatic nature and 101 species ofterrestrial birds have been found.

This census has been done by the Department ofEnvironment, Forest and Climate Change incollaboration with the Wetland InternationalOrganization. The next census would be held inFebruary-March, 2023.

45. Ring road would be built in four cities of Bihar.Why in news - Road Construction Minister NitinNaveen held discussions with Road Transportand Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in Delhi.

Key Points - Ring roads are proposed to be built in Gaya,

Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga and Bhagalpur.

o Gaya is a city of international religious and touristimportance. Also, It is the second largest city in Bihar.

Darbhanga is the fifth largest city in Bihar. It isconsidered the cultural capital of Bihar.

46. COMFED launched Palm juice in a bottle form.Why in news - To promote livelihood, the Bihargovernment is emphasizing the production andsale of Neera.

Key Points - Now Neera of Bihar would be available in the

form of soft drinks. COMFED has started production in 200 ml

bottles at its plants in Biharsharif and Hajipur. 500 liters of Neera would be produced from the

Hajipur plant and 500 liters from the Biharsharifplant.

When palm juice comes in contact with air andsunlight, then after fermentation it turns intotoddy.

Jeevika Samiti would store it in the chiller beforethe rays of the sun fall on them.

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1. Bihar very close to Kala-Azar eradication.Why in news - Health minister Mangal Pandeyassured people of the eradication of Kala Azarin Bihar by end of 2022.

Key Points – Only two Primary Health Centers (PHC) have

left from where Kala Azar has to be eradicated. These two PHCs are - Isuwapur (Saran) and

Goriyakothi (Siwan). Under the Campaign, Synthetic Pyregroid is

being sprayed in 32 districts except Aurangabad,Jamui, Rohtas, Gaya, Kaimur and Arwal.

The campaign would last for 60 days.2. Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP).

Why in news - Bihar government launchedIntegrated Health Information Platform (IHIP)for real time monitoring of diseases in the state.

Key Points – It would monitor of about 33 types of diseases

on real time basis. Information about any disease would be given to

the head of the nearby government hospitalsimmediately.

ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) would be given‘Anmol tab’ to update the disease information onthe portal.

Acute Gastroenteritis, Acute EncephalitisSyndrome, Anthrax, Chicken Pox, Chikungunya,Dengue, Diphtheria, Thyroid, Human Rabies,Malaria, Measles, Meningitis, Mumps, Pertussis,Sari, Rubella, Hepatitis-A, Hepatitis-E, Influenza,Japanese Encephalitis, Sigalosis are some diseaseswhich would be monitored.

3. New linen policy for patients at IGIMS.Why in news – The Indira Gandhi Instituteof Medical Sciences (IGIMS) would introducedifferent coloured linens on different days of theweek.

Key Points – Bihar first introduced this system at its public

health facilities in 2008.

BIHAR SCHEMES MAY

2022

The IGIMS has entrusted the task to supply thebedsheets and pillow cover to the SparkleAssociates Enterprise Private Limited.

4. Ganges water to be used for drinking purposes.Why in news – CM Nitish Kumar assured thatno dirty water would be discharged in theGanges and work upon it is going expeditiously.

Key Points – During the Rainy season, Ganges water would

be stored at 4 places which would be purifiedand supplied as drinking water.

Work is being done at rapid pace to store Gangeswater at Bodhgaya, Gaya, Rajgir and Nawada.

This stored and purified water would besupplied to Patna as well for drinking purposes.

Namami Gange Programme Namami Gange Programme is an integrated

conservation mission launched in June 2014 toaccomplish the twin objectives of effectiveabatement of pollution and conservation andrejuvenation of National river Ganga.

Ministry - Department of Water Resources, RiverDevelopment and Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministryof Jal Shakti.

5. One +2 and high school of every panchayatwould be made ‘CRC’.

Why in news – The State Project Director ofBihar Education Project Council has ordered allthe District Education Officers to notify one highschool or plus two of the Panchayats of theirrespective districts as CRC.

Key Points – CRC stands for the Complex Resource Center. It would be set up under the Center’s New

Education Policy in all the panchayats of Bihar. School declared as CRC would coordinate with

its affiliated schools regarding education andother activities.

In Panchayats were there is more than oneSeconday/Higher school, the older one wouldbe designated as CRC.

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6. Rs 9184 crores approved for Bihar for bettereducation.Why in news – Rs 9184 crore would be availablein 2022-23 for the operation of centrally assistededucational schemes in the state.

Key Points – The Bihar education department had demanded

13983 crores. 3424 crores have been released for teachers’

salaries, 1938 crores for quality education, 1575crores for RTE, books and clothes etc.

A budget of 500 crores has also been given fromthe center to open computer labs at the blocklevel. The remaining amount has been given forthe repair of schools etc.

This time the budget is about 3000 crores morethan the last financial year.

7. Hooters to alert people about Thunderbolt.Why in news – Bihar State Disaster ManagementAuthority would install hoters to alert peopleabout thunderbolts.

Key Points – Hooter or Siren would be installed in the water

tower (Jal minar) built under the Nal Jal scheme. Hooters would be installed in 15 districts – Jamui,

Banka, Nawada, Gaya, Aurangabad, Baharaia,Purnea, Bhagalpur, Katihar, Patna, Nalanda,Rohtas, Saran, East Champaran and Bhojpur.

8. CM Nitish Kumar paid tribute to Dr. BR Ambedkar.Why in news – On the 131st birth anniversaryof BR Ambedkar CM paid floral tributed to him.

Key points – Provisions/Schemes run by State government for

the welfare of SCs/STs – On 20.03.2007, the Scheduled Caste and

Scheduled Tribe Welfare Department has beenmade the nodal department to implement andmonitor SCs/STs related schemes.

Bihar Mahadalit Vikas Mission - StateMahadalit Commission was constituted in theyear 2007 to identify the castes within ScheduledCastes that lagged behind in the developmentprocess.

Chief Minister Scheduled Castes and ScheduledTribes Civil Services Promotion Scheme Rs50,000 to SCs and STs who have passed the

preliminary examination (I) of the CombinedCompetitive Examination conducted by BPSC.Rs1,00,000 to SCs and STswho have passed theCivil services preliminary examination conductedby UPSC.

Chief Minister Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes Hostel Grant Scheme – SC/ST students studying in hostels are provided withthe facility of a cot, mattress, sheet, table-chairfor reading, utensils for cooking and cook etc.They are also given 1000/- (one thousand rupees)per month per student.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes(Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 - TheHon’ble High Court has approved theestablishment of Exclusive Special Courts inPatna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Begusarai, andBhagalpur for speedy execution of the numberof pending cases under the Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act1989.

9. Chahak 2.0 for class 1 students.Why in news – Chahak 2.0 campaign wouldrun for first-grade children across the state.

Key points – It is a special campaign by ‘School Readiness’. Decision was taken in state level steering

committee of Foundational Numeracy andLiteracy (FNL).

It would be conducted by Bihar EducationProject Council.

It is a 3-month program. Bal Bhavan Kilkari would help in implementation. The program aims to make newly admitted

children school friendly. Activities would beorganised to make school life joyful.

10. Cold storage for fishes.Why in news – Bihar’s first cold storage hasbeen opened in Bakhtiyarpur.

Key points – Storage capacity of 10 tons. Fishes can be preserved for at least a month. Total cost incurred – 48 lakh It has been built under PM Matsya Samapda

Yojana.

11



11. Bihar ranks second in the country in providingtelemedicine facility.Why in news - Health Minister Mangal Pandeysaid that Bihar stood second in the whole countryin the telemedicine facility provided to thegeneral public.

Key Points – 52779 people across the state availed of

telemedicine facilities through e-Sanjeevani. Bhagalpur topped by providing a telemedicine

facility to 3144 people. Apart from this, the performance of Saran,

Madhepura, Purnia and Muzaffarpur districtshas also been better.

12. Smart classes in Bihar government school.Why in news – 2.5 thousand schools would bemade digital by equipping them with computerlabs.

Key Points – Central government has given approval under

the ‘ICT at the school’ initiative. Rs 6.40 lakh are to be spent on the installation of

computers in a school. It aims to bridge the digital divide among

students backward due to socio-economic andgeographical reasons.

13. NAFED to launch pulse procurement in Bihar.Why in news - The National AgriculturalCooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd(NAFED) has decided to procure around 43,000(MTs) metric tonnes of pulses from farmers inBihar.

Key Points – NAFED has signed an agreement with the Bihar

State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation(BSFCSC).

FAFED has set a target of buying around 30,000MTs of masoor dal and 13,000 of gram dal atthe minimum support price (MSP).

Pulse cultivation coverage has significantly goneup to around 6 lakh hectares in 2021-22 ascompared to 4.39 lakh hectares in 2019-20.

14. Lohar (Blacksmith) excluded from the ST list.Why in news – As per Supreme Court ruling(Sunil Kumar Rai & others VS State government& others), the General Administration has issuedan order.

Key Points – Members of the Lohar community would

continue to be included in the list of EBC(Annexure I) as before.

The state government had included Lohar in thelist of STs on August 8, 2016.

15. Central devolutions to Bihar in 2021-22 up by52%.Why in news – Central devolutions to Bihar duringthe last financial year (FY 2021-22) jumped by awhopping 52.60 percent as compared to FY 2020-21.

Key Points – The state received Rs 91,352.62 crore from the

union government as its share in central taxesduring FY 2021-22. (In 2020-21 - Rs 59,861.41crore).

The state received Rs. 9,000 crores additionallyas GST compensation which is counted as grants.

On internal revenue collection, the state hascollected Rs. 38,780 crore which is Rs. 2,238crores higher than Rs. 36,542 crores in FY 2020-21.

The major contributor has been commercialtaxes, which have earned the state Rs. 26,900crores, followed by the registration department(Rs. 5,215 crore) and transport department (Rs.2,470 crores).

16. Bihar to check bullying in schools.Why in news – Bihar has started a program todevelop 'self-esteem-based life skills' amongstudents of standard VI to VIII in 13 districts.

Key Points – 13 districts are - Araria, Darbhanga, Saharsa,

Begusarai, Bhagalpur, Saran, Vaishali, Purnia,Sitamarhi, Sheikhpura, Gaya, Nalanda andPatna.

The program is titled 'Empowering adolescentsthrough positive self-esteem and body confidence'.

It is being run by Bihar Education Project Council(BEPC).

Technology support by UNICEF. Middle school teachers would be groomed as

'super master trainers' in self-esteem-based lifeskills program. These teachers would sensitisestudents on six topics.

UNICEF‘s Bihar chapter has also come up witha series of comic books 'AadhaFull' on these topics.

Bihar is the first state to start such a program.

12



17. KCC would be made for all the registeredfarmers of Bihar.Why in news – Bihar government is going tostart ‘Kisan Bhagidari Prathmikta Hamari’campaign from 24th April.

Key Points – Under this, KCC (Kisan Credit Card) would be

made for all the farmers who have taken benefitof Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi in thecampaign to be run from 24th April to 1st May.

In addition to traditional KCC, dairy andfisheries KCC have also been included.

(KCC) would be given to 49 lakh farmers. It present 88 lakh farmers are taking benefit of

the Prime Minister’s Samman Nidhi. In this, onlyabout 39 lakh have KCC.

Under KCC, Farmers would be given a loan ofup to 50 thousand rupees for farming at just fourpercent interest rate.

18. Effect of Jal Jeewan Hariyali mission.Why in news – The effect of Jal Jeevan HariyaliAbhiyan is visible. The forest area of Biharincreased by 1% in two years.

Key Points – According to the report of ISFR 2021, the area

under forest has increased by 1.03% in thelast two years.

The forest cover of Bihar is 7380.79 sq km. It is7.84% of the total geographical area of Bihar.

The total forest area of Bihar is 9722 km. Therehas been an increase of 413 km in two years.This has resulted in a greenery of 10.32 percent.

13 crores 44 lakh 61 thousand saplings wereplanted in five years.

19. Work station being built in districts underNAFIS.Why in news – Under the National AutomatedFingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)project, work is in progress in all 44 districtsincluding Rail District.

Key Points – Under this scheme, along with the fingers of the

accused, a database of their palm impressionswould also be created.

Regional Photo Unit is being set up in 9 rangesto assist in the research of serious cases.

It would be linked to the Crime and CriminalTracking Network (CCTNS) and wouldimmediately go into the database of the FingerPrint Bureau of the state.

20. Nirbhaya safety model ready in Bihar.Why in news – Vehicle location tracking devicewould protect women. Now there would be asafety device in public transport.

Key Points– The Transport Department has arranged for a

Vehicle Location Tracking Device andEmergency push button, the command of whichhas been given to the Control Room.

Transport Department minister Sheela Kumarihas launched the Command and Control Center.

This new system has been started in Patna as apilot project, after which this system would beinstalled in public transport vehicles (buses, taxis)operated in other cities.

21. Smart Performance Appraisal Report RecordingOnline Window (SPARROW) system.Why in news – The evaluation of the works ofofficers and employees of the Bihar governmentwould now be done online under the SPARROWsystem.

Key Points – SPARROW enables electronic filing of

performance appraisals by government officerswhich allows filing from anywhere, any time asper officer’s convenience.

It has been developed by National InformaticsCentre.

It was launched in 2019 at national level.22. River linking project in Bihar.

Why in news - The state government hasrequested the National Water DevelopmentAgency to prepare the working DPR of the Kosi-Mechi link project in the state.

Key Points – Possibilities of Bagmati-Buri Gandak Link

Scheme, Budhi Gandak Noon Via Ganga Linkand Kosi-Ganga Link Scheme are beingexamined again.

With this scheme, irrigation facilities would beavailable in 214812 area of Araria, Katihar,Kishanganj and Purnia districts.

13



23. Production of e-rickshaw started in Bettiah.Why in news - In Chanpatia Innovation StartupZone of Bettiah district, now a new dimensionhas been added in the form of e-rickshaw afterthe success of the production of goods like textile,footwear, bamboo and craft etc.

Key Points – Ajay, a laborer-turned-entrepreneur, prepared

garbage carrying e-rickshaw . In the field of innovation, the District Magistrate

Kundan Kumar has also been awarded in theyear 2021 for the upgradation work ofChanpatia Start-Up Zone.

24. FILO AppWhy in news– An instant tutor app founded bytwo students from Bihar has raised $260000.

Key Point– Founders–Imbeset Ahmed and Shadman Anwar It enabled JEE/NEET aspirants to get answers

in real time (less than 60 seconds) over a videocall for free.

Within five months of launch, FILO got 35000students and completed 1.5 million minutes ofclasses.

14



1. Darbhanga to get Prime Ministerial award.Why in news - Darbhanga district has been selected under One district- One product schemefor Makhana production and development.

Key points - National Makahana Research Center was estab

lished in Darbhanga in 2002. Mithila region of Bihar accounts for 84% of the

World's Makhana production. Mithila Makhana got GI tag in December 2021.2. Bihar Board President Anand Kishore to get

Prime Minister's Award for Excellence inPublic AdministrationWhy in news - The Prime Minister's award forExcellence in Public Administration to be givento Anand Kishore for the error-free issuance ofBihar Board results.

Key Points - It was given to him on the occasion of Civil

Service Day being celebrated in Delhi on 20thand 21st April 2022.

Earlier in 2021, he was honored with theOutstanding Educational Leader Award.

3. National award to seven Gram panchayats ofBihar.Why in News - 12 local bodies of Bihar wereawarded on National Panchayati Raj Day.

Key Points - It consists of one Zilla Parishad, four Panchayat

Samitis and seven Panchayats. The state level function was organized at Harnaut

in the Nalanda district. It was presided by Bihar'sPanchayati raj minister Samrat Choudhary.

Telihar Gram Panchayat of Khagaria has beengiven an award of Rs 15 lakh under DeendayalUpadhyay empowerment award. This amountis the highest among the awarding GramPanchayats.

Bal Mitra Gram Panchayat award has beenreceived by Sudhari Panchayat of Harnaut(Nalanda).

Mandil Gram Panchayat of Jehanabad districthas received two awards.

Nawada has received the Zilla Parishad Awardfor outstanding work. It is entitled to Rs 50 lakh.

4. Malaria eradication in BiharWhy in news - Union Health and Family WelfareMinister Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya has honouredBihar for its remarkable performance in malariaeradication.

Key Points - The state was given this honour for reaching the

prescribed malaria category from two to onebetween 2015 and 2021.

If less than one case of malaria is found per 1000population, it is included in category-I.

This honor was given on 25 April i.e., an WorldMalaria Day.

There has been a reduction in malaria cases by84% in the year 2021 in comparison to the year2015 in the state.

In six districts not a single person was foundsuffering from malaria in the year 2021. Itincludes Bhojpur, Darbhanga, Kishanganj,Madhepura, Sheikhpura and Siwan districts.

5. National recognition of Bihar teaWhy in news - Agriculture Minister AmarendraPratap Singh has said that a letter has been sentto the Tea Board of India to give a nationalidentity to Bihar tea.

Key Points - For the expansion of the tea area, 50%subsidy is

being given under the 'Special HorticultureProduct Scheme'.

Bihar ranks fifth in the country in tea production. There is an annual production of 75 lakh kg in

an area of about 10 thousand acres. Tea is being cultivated for about 20 years.

BIHAR AWARDS MAY

2022

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3. Three-time fluoride in Banka waterWhy in news - Public Health EngineeringDepartment team took water samples. It wasfound that the amount of fluoride in the villagewater is three times.

Key Points -

The executive engineer of the department hasclaimed that a fluoride removal plant would beinstalled in the village within three days.

Due to high fluoride content in water, people ofNirpadih village of Fullidumar block of Bankadistrict are becoming victims of disability.

4. Waste Processing Unit started in Kadamkuanvending zone.

Why in news - Waste Processing Unit has beeninaugurated at Patna Nagar Nigam ward 38 inthe vending zone near Kadamkuan vegetablemarket.

Key Points -

Organic waste composting machine would helpin preparing organic manure by processingrotten vegetable leaves and wet waste comingout of houses.

Subash Palekar is the father of Zero BudgetNatural Farming (Organic farming). Hedeveloped it in the mid-1990s as an alternativeto the Green Revolution methods.

PLACES IN BIHAR MAY

2022

1. Rajgir .Why in News - Bihar sends fresh proposalseeking UNESCO's heritage tag for 2,500-yr-old'Cyclopean wall' in Rajgir.

Key Points - The Cyclopean Wall of Rajgir is a 40 km long wall of

stone that encircled the ancient city of Rajgir toprotect it from external enemies and invaders.

It was built before the 3rd century BC. It has the status of national heritage. It is believed that the foundation of this great wall

was laid by King Brihadratha of Brihadrathapuri(present Rajgir) in the pre-Mahabharat periodfor the protection of the state. Later his sonEmperor Jarasandha completed it.

It is similar to 'Frontiers of the Roman Empire'that runs through Germany, the UK andNorthern Ireland, which was included onUNESCO's world heritage list in 1987.

Bihar is the home to two UNESCO WorldHeritage Sites - Nalanda Mahavihara (2002), andMahabodhi temple of Bodhgaya.

2. Water contamination in Banka.Why in news - People in Nipardih village, Bankaare severely affected by heavy metal pollution inWater. E.g., Teeth deformity, hardening of bones,stiff and painful joints etc.

Key points - Pollutants like fluorides, uranium, heavy metals

and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates arecommon in many parts of India.

Heavy metalpollutants Health ImpactsA. Nitrates Methemoglobinemia or

Blue Baby syndrome.B. Arsenic Black foot diseaseC. Fluoride Teeth deformity, hardening of

bones and stiff and painfuljoints (skletal fluorosis),Knock-Knee syndrome.

D. Mercury Minamata (neurologicalsyndrome) disease

E. Cadmium - Itai Itai disease, also calledouch-ouch disease.

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1. Supreme Court Strikes Down Vanniyar quota.Why in news – SC struck down the 10.5%internal reservation to the Vanniyakula Kshatriyacommunity in Tamil Nadu.

Imp points - Reservation in Tamil Nadu comprises 69% under

a 1994 Act protected under the Ninth Scheduleof the Constitution.

The Ninth Schedule was added by the firstamendment to the Indian Constitution.

It was introduced on 10th May 1951 by theJawaharlal Nehru Government to protect landreform laws from being challenged in the courtson the grounds of violation of fundamental rights.

2. Operation Upalabdh: RPF.Why in news - Railway Protection Force (RPF)conducted a pan India Drive against the allegedblack marketeers under Operation Upalabdh.

Imp points - To curb the activities of touts and make railway

tickets available to the common man. Earlier RPF had launched a nationwide operation

to curb human trafficking named Operation AAHT.3. Darlong Community.

Why in news - Darlong community was officiallyincluded in the list of Scheduled Tribes after theLok Sabha passed the Constitution (ScheduledTribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

Imp points - Darlong is one of the 19 tribal communities of

Tripura. The Darlongs adopt Jhum cultivation/ shifting

cultivators. But the Darlongs call it as 'Loi'.4. Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic

Records (FASTER).Why in news - Chief Justice of India NV Ramanahas launched 'Fast and Secure Transmission ofElectronic Records' (FASTER) software.

Imp points - It would act as a digital platform through which court

orders would be communicated securely andexpeditiously.

NATIONAL MAY

2022

Orders passed By High Courts And SupremeCourt would be transmitted securely throughFASTER software without any third partyinterference.

5. The Indian Antarctic Bill.Why in news - The Union government onintroduced the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 to laydown a set of rules to regulate a range of activitieson territories in Antarctica.

Antartic treaty– Antarctic Treaty came into force on June 23, 1961. The Treaty covers the area south of 60°S latitude. Its key objectives are to demilitarise Antarctica. India joined the Treaty System in 1983.

India in Antartica– India's first expedition to Antarctica - 1982. First Indian research station in Antarctic -

Dakshin Gangotri 1983. Today, India has established two standing

research stations, Bharati and Maitri, at Antarctica. China and Russia has five research station each. The major thrust areas are climate processes and

links to climate change, environmental processesand conservation and polar technology.

6. IT Rules, 2021.Why in news - Ministry of Information &Broadcasting (I&B) blocked 22 YouTube -basednews channels under IT Rules, 2021.

Imp points - Blocked channels used to spread fake news on

sensitive issues relating to national security andforeign relations.

Government notified the Information Technology(Intermediary Guidelines and Digital MediaEthics Code) Rules 2021 under the Section 79 ofthe Information Technology Act.

7. Bill to include some communities in JharkhandST list.Why in news - The Lok Sabha passed by a voicevote the Constitution (Scheduled Castes andScheduled Tribes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

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Imp points - Included certain communities - Deshwari,

Ganjhu, Dautalbandi (Dwalbandi), Patbandi,Raut, Maajhia, Khairi (Kheri), Tamaria (Tamadia),and Puran - in the list of STs in Jharkhand.

The Bhogta community is being moved from thelist of SCs in Jharkhand to the ST list.

8. Separate time zone for the Northeast.Why in news - Congress MP from Assam'sNagaon, Pradyut Bordoloi, has demanded aseparate time zone for the Northeast region.

Imp points - Countries across the world keep different times

because of Earth's rotation and revolutionaround the Sun.

The world is divided into 24 time zones shiftedby one hour each.

Indian Standard Time is 5 hours 30 minutesahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), nowcalled the Universal Coordinated Time (UTC).

IST is based on longitude 82.5° which passesthrough Mirzapur, near Allahabad in UttarPradesh.

In Northeast, the sun rises as early as 4 AM insummer and offices open at 10 AM.

Bagaan time or Tea time is a reference to aninformal practice followed in tea gardens inAssam which is an hour ahead of IST.

9. 'Untold Kashmir Files'.Why in news - J & K Police has posted a 57 secondvideo which aims to underline how all Kashmiris- cutting across faith - were victims of militancy.

Imp points -

J & K become an Union territory since 31stOctober 2019.

Special status under Article 370 was abrogatedon 5th August, 2019.

In March 2020, the Delimitation Commission wasconstituted for J&K to delimit(Delimitation is theact of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha andAssembly constituencies) the constituencies of theUnion Territory.

Current Delimitation Commission is headed byJustice (retired) Ranjana Desai.

India International Kashmir Saffron TradingCenter constructed at Pampore (Pulawama).

10. Air Force Commanders' Conference.Why in news - Defense Minister Rajnath Singhinaugurated the Air Force Commanders' conferenceAFCC at Air Headquarters in New Delhi.

Imp points - Defense Minister Rajnath Singh launched the

"MEHAR BABA COMPETITION - II" - to developtechnology for a "Swarm drone based system todetect foreign objects on Aircraft OperatingSurfaces".

The theme for this Conference is 'Optimizinghuman resources'.

11. China hackers targeted power grids.Why in news - Chinese hackers targeted powergrids a US-based private cybersecurity firm hasclaimed.

Imp points - Malware used for cyber attack - ShadowPad Hackers group name - Threat Activity Group (TAG) 38.12. Fortified rice.

Why in news - The Union Cabinet approved ascheme to distribute fortified rice under governmentprogrammes.

Key points-

Around 60 million children (50%) in India areunderweight, about 45% are stunted, 21% arewasted, 57% are vitamin A deficient and 75%areanemic.

Around 35 million tonne (mt) of fortified rice isrequired for supply grain to beneficiaries ofNFSA, ICDS, PM POSHAN and other schemesannually with an estimated cost of Rs 2,700 crore.

Fortified rice contain: iron, folic acid vitamin B-12,zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B-1, vitamin B-2,vitamin B and vitamin B-6.

NFSA 75% of the rural population and upto 50%of the urban population are receiving subsidizedfoodgrains. Overall, NFSA caters to 67% of thetotal population.

13. CMIE: Chhattisgarh tops states with lowestunemployment rate in country.Why in news - According to the latest data(5th April 2022) released by the Centre forMonitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), Chhattisgarhhas been ranked first among states with thelowest unemployment rate of 0.6% in the country.

18



Key points- Chhatisgarh has launched various schemes

including Suraji Gaon Yojana, Narva-Garva-Ghurva-Bari programme, Godhan Nyay Yojana,Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana etc. for boostingthe rural economy.

Haryana has the highest unemployment rate at26.7 per cent.

The overall Unemployment rate in India hasdecreased to 7.6% (March 2022) from 8.10%inFebruary 2022.Unemployment Rate (08th April 2022)India — 7.8%Urban — 8.7%Rural — 7.4%

14. Global network of silk cities.Why in news - Bangalore joined the globalnetwork of silk cities.

Key Points - Bengaluru has become the first Indian city to join

the global network of silk cities. Murshidabad district of West Bengal could also

join the global network of silk cities in comingyears.

The network has 9 countries and 13 cities in total. International Sericulture Commission (ISC) has

shifted its head office to Bangalore in 2013.Earlier, ISC headquarter was located in Lyon(France).

India has the distinction of producing all the fourtypes of silk i.e.Mulberry silk (91.7%), Tasar silk(1.4%), Eri silk (6.4%), and Muga silk (5%).

Karnataka is the largest producer of raw silk(65%) followed by Andhra Pradesh (17%) andWest Bengal (8%).

China is the largest producer of silk in the worldfollowed by India.

15. Anti-Human Trafficking Cell launched.Why in news - The National Commission forWomen (NCW) recently launched the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell.

Key Points - To deal with human trafficking cases, increase

awareness regarding trafficking among womenand girls, capacity building and training of anti-trafficking units and increase accountability oflaw enforcement agencies.

NCW is a statutory body. It was set up in 1992under the National Commission for Women Act,1990.

The first commission was constituted on 31stJanuary 1992 as Jayanti Patnaik as the chairperson.

Alok Rawat IAS is the first male member of theNational Commission for Women (NCW).

16 UP replaced West Bengal as India's TopVegetable Producer.Why in news - After two years, Uttar Pradesh hasreclaimed its status as the leading producer ofvegetables, relegating West Bengal to second place.

Key Points - Vegetable production in Uttar Pradesh is

expected to be 29.58 million tonnes (mt) in the2021-22 crop year (July-June). Madhya Pradesh(2.59 mt), Bihar (17.77 mt) and Maharashtra,(16.78 mt), are the other leading producers ofvegetables this year.

Andhra Pradesh is the leading fruit producerfollowed by Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh andKarnataka.

17. Himachal Pradesh's Kangra tea.Why in news - Kangra tea likely to get EuropeanUnion GI tag.

Key Points - Kangra tea received the Indian GI tag in 2005. The GI tag is an indication which is definite to a

geographical territory. The Geographical Indications of Goods

(Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 providesregistration and also protection of GI goods inIndia.

The Geographical Indications Registry for Indiais located in Chennai.

18. Health Benefit Package - 2022 Launched.Why in news - Health Benefit Package - 2022was launched by the National Health Authority(NHA) under Ayushman Bharat PradhanMantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

Key Points - It was launched at Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

on 7th of April 2022. Under the new version of Health Benefit Package

2022, the National Health Mission has added 265new procedures which now takes the total to 1,949.

19



Differential pricing is being introduced under theAB-PMJAY scheme based on the type of city andlevel of care.

A new initiative of the patient classificationsystem was also announced by the NHA.

19. 'Made in India' Dornier 228 passenger aircraft.Why in news - The first-ever 'Made in India'Dornier 228 passenger aircraft was flagged offby Union Civil Aviation Minister JyotiradityaScindia in Phasighat on 12th April 2022.

Key Points - Light transport aircraft would facilitate regional

connectivity in North-East India. The first flight of the passenger aircraft took off

from Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh toDibrugarh in Assam.

The aircraft is being operated by Alliance Air. It has been manufactured by Hindustan

Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It is a 17-seater aircraft capable of both day and

night operations. Under the second phase, the aircraft would

connect Mechuka, Vijaynagar and other places.20. Rise in Lemon prices.

Why in news - The price of lemon has touchedunprecedented highs, with a single lemonretailing between Rs 10 and Rs 15 in most markets.

Key points- Lemon is grown in orchards spanning a combined

3.17 lakh hectares across the country. Lemon trees flower and give fruit three times a

year (April, October, March.).

Andhra Pradesh is the largest lemon-growingstate. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha and TamilNadu are the other major lemon-growing states.

In India, Lemon is neither exported nor imported.

A warm, moderately dry and moist climate isthe most suitable for the fruit.

Nagpur-headquartered ICAR Central CitrusResearch Institute (CCRI) and various stateagricultural institutes maintain quality rootstocks.

Lemon growers take three bahars (harvest) in ayear - known as Ambe, Mrig and Hasta.

Karnataka may soon get a GI tag for 'Kagzilemon'. It would be second lemon to get GI tagafter Manipur's 'Kachai lemon'.

21. 'Statue of Knowledge'.Why in news - On the eve of the 131st birthanniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, a 72-feettall statue dedicated to him and named 'Statue ofKnowledge', was unveiled in Latur city of Maharashtra.

Key points- The statue has been built in the premises of Dr.

Babasaheb Ambedkar Park. The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu MK Stalin

announced that the 131st Birth Anniversary ofDr. B.R. Ambedkar would be celebrated as an'Equality Day' from this year.

A 125ft tall statue of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar wouldbe installed in Telangana by December 2022.

22. Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya.Why in news - Prime Minister Narendra Modihas inaugurated the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalayain New Delhi on 14th April.

Key points - The Sangrahalaya, located at the iconic Teen

Murti complex, was inaugurated as part of Azadika Amrit Mahotsav - a 75-week celebrationlaunched to mark 75 years of Independence.

There are 43 galleries in the Sangrahalaya. The logo of the Sangrahalaya shows hands

holding the dharma chakra, symbolizing thenation and democracy.

The Sangrahalaya would also include the NehruMuseum.

The Sangrahalaya covers the lives andcontributions of all the 14 former Prime Ministersof the country irrespective of their ideology ortenure in office.

PM Modi became the first official visitor as hepurchased the first ticket before the inauguration.

23. Militant declared a 'terrorist' under UAPA.Why in news - The Centre has designatedKashmir resident Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar as aterrorist under the UAPA act. He was releasedduring IC 814 hijacking incident in 1999.

Key points - Zargar is the founder and chief commander of

Al-Umar-Mujahideen, a proscribed organisationunder the UAPA.

The Centre had amended the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967, in August 2019, toinclude the provision of designating an individualas a terrorist.

20



Prior to this amendment, only organizations couldbe designated as terrorist organizations.

24. India's 1st Community Museum.Why in news - India's 1st Community MuseumInaugurated in Gya-Sasoma villages, Leh,Ladakh.

Key points - It aims to preserve and take forward the rich

cultural heritage of the region. Traditional utilitarian items, fabrics, clothing, and

artefacts from Gya-everyday Sasoma's life are themain attractions of the Museum.

25. Egypt to import wheat from India.Why in news - Egypt, one of the world's biggestimporters of wheat, has agreed to source wheatfrom India.

Key Points - Wheat supplies have been disrupted to Egypt

because of the Russia and Ukraine conflict. Top five wheat exporting countries - Russia >

United States > Canada > France > Ukraine. Egypt is the world's biggest importer of wheat. India is the second largest producer of wheat

after China. Wheat is a rabi crop. Top Wheat Producing States- Uttar Pradesh >

Punjab > Haryana>Madhya Pradesh > Rajasthan> Bihar > Gujarat.

26. Retirement of Supreme Court judges.Why in News - Retirement spree in SC may affectefforts to scale down pendency.

Key Points - The judges of the Supreme Court are appointed

by the President. In the Third Judges case (1998), the Court

Collegium requires 'consultation of pluralityjudges'(i.e., the collegium of four senior-mostjudges of the Supreme Court).

He holds office until he attains the age of 65 years.27. National Agriculture Market (e-NAM).

Why in News - e-NAM marked the sixthanniversary of the National Agriculture Market(e-NAM), a pan-India electronic trade network.

Key Points - It was launched on 14th April in 2016 by PM

Narendra Modi.

It is completely funded by the centralgovernment.

It connects the existing APMC mandis to form aunified national agricultural commoditiesmarket.

A total of 1000 mandis from 18 states and threeunion territories have joined the e-Nam platform.

Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium(SFAC)implements e-NAM.

28. 165ft tall Indian National Flag to be installed inManipur.Why in news - A 165 ft. tall Indian NationalFlag, the highest in the Northeast region, wouldbe installed at the Indian National Army (INA)headquarter complex at Moirang of Manipur.

Key points - Union Home Minister Amit Shah would unfurl

the Indian National Flag. INA's Subash Brigade and the Japanese army's

33 Division crossed the Indo-Burmese border toform the Imphal front.

On 14th April 1944, Lieutenant Colonel ShaukatAli of INA hoisted the Tricolor Flag of Free India,under the guidance of Netaji Subhas ChandraBose, for the first time on Indian soil.

29. PM unveils dairy complex in Gujarat.Why in news - PM Narendra Modi inaugurateddairy complex and potato processing facility inGujarat's Banaskantha district.

Key Points - It has the capacity to process about 30 lakh litres

of milk. Dr. Verghese Kurien is called the "Milkman of

India". Operation Flood was launched on 13th January

1970 as the world's largest dairy developmentprogram.

India surpassed the United States of America inmilk production in 1998.

India is the world's largest milk producer, with22% of global production.

Uttar Pradesh is the highest milk producing statein India contributing around 18% to the total milkproduction, followed by Rajasthan, AndhraPradesh, Gujarat and Punjab.

Bihar ranks 10th in milk production.

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He founded the town of Chak-Nanki in Punjab. He founded Anandpur Sahib. In the year 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur was

executed in Delhi under the orders of the Mughalemperor Aurangzeb.

In Delhi, the Gurudwaras Sis Ganj Sahib andRakab Ganj Sahib commemorate the locationsof his execution and cremation.

32. India's first pure green hydrogen plantcommissioned in Assam.Why in news - India's first 99.999% pure greenhydrogen pilot plant has been commissioned bythe Oil India Limited (OIL) at its Jorhat PumpStation in Assam.

Key Points - The plant has an installed capacity of 10 kg per

day. The plant produces green hydrogen from the

electricity generated by a 500kW Solar plantusing a 100 kW Anion Exchange Membrane(AEM) Electrolyser array.

The use of AEM technology is being used for thefirst time in India.

33. Expert committee for the Delhi-Dehraduncorridor project.Why in news - The Supreme Court reconstitutedthe oversight committee for the Delhi-Dehradunexpressway.

Key Points - The independent 12-member expert committee

was formed by the National Green Tribunal(NGT).

It be headed by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, ChiefSecretary, Uttarakhand.

The total length of the Delhi-DehradunExpressway would be 175 km.

It would be Asia's largest 12 km wildlife elevatedcorridor for uninterrupted movement of wildlife.

34. Telangana to get the world's largest electric 3-wheeler factory.Why in news - California-based Biliti Electric Inc(Biliti) announced that it intends to setup theworld's largest electric three-wheeler factory inTelangana.

30. WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine(GCTM) in Jamnagar.Why in news - PM Modi inaugurated the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine atJamnagar in Gujarat in the presence of WHODirector-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Key Points - GCTM would establish a "global repository" of

traditional medicine practices across the world. It is the first global center for traditional medicine The traditional Indian system of medicine

comprises Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy,Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy (AYUSH).

Autonomous bodies Center A. Morarji Desai National Institute of New Delhi

Yoga B. National Institutes for Ayurveda Jaipur C. National Institutes for Naturopathy Pune D. National Institutes for Unani Medicine Bengaluru E. National Institutes for Siddha Chennai F. National Institutes for Homoeopathy Kolkata G. National Institutes for Sowa Rigpa Leh

33. World's highest tunnel at Shinku La Pass.Why in news - BRO to build world's highesttunnel at 16580 feet to connect Himachal toLadakh through Shinku La Pass.

Key Points - It would connect Himachal Pradesh to Zanskar

Valley in Ladakh. The construction would start by July 2022 and

would be completed by 2025. Indian Govt has made 'Project Yojak' of BRO to

execute this ambitious project.31. Guru Teg Bahadur.

Why in news - To mark the 401st birthanniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur PM NarendraModi has given an address from the Red Fort.

Key Points - Tegh Bahadur was born in Amritsar on 21st April

1621, to Mata Nanki and Guru Hargobind, thesixth Sikh guru.

He was given the name Tyaga Mal at birth. He became the ninth Guru (term - 1665 to1675)

after succeeding Guru Har Krishan. He is revered as the 'Protector of Humanity'

(Srisht-di-Chadar).

22



It was brokered by the World Bank. The three 'western rivers' (Indus, Jhelum and

Chenab) went to Pakistan and the three 'easternrivers' (Sutlej, Ravi and Beas) were portioned toIndia.

India is allowed to use 20% water from thewestern rivers for irrigation, power generationand transport purposes.

37. First city in the country to get 100% digitalbuses.Why in News - Mumbai became the first city inthe country to get 100% digital buses with a 'Tapin and Tap out' facility.

Key Points - The passengers can either flash their smartcards

in front of a machine fixed at the bus' rearentrance or use the 'Chalo' mobile app.

The first bus in the city, run from CSMT to NCPA.38. Religious Freedom Violation in India.

Why in news - United States Commission forInternational Religious Freedom (USCIRF)recommends designating India as a 'country ofparticular concern.

Key Points - The latest report asks the US government to

include India in the category of governmentsperforming most poorly on religious freedomcriteria.

Other countries recommended for the CPCdesignation were: Afghanistan, Nigeria, Syriaand Vietnam.

USCIRF recommended that the US governmentto redesignate Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran,North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia,Tajikistan and Turkmenistan as CPCs.

USCIRF advisory body to the US Congress. It isHeadquartered in Washington DC.

39. Aahar 2022.Why in news - Asia's biggest international foodand hospitality fair - AAHAR 2022 held NewDelhi.

Key Points - Agricultural and Processed Food Products

Export Development Authority (APEDA) inassociation with the India Trade PromotionOrganization (ITPO) organized the event.

Theme - "Geographical Indication Products". This fair began on 26th April 2022.

Key Points - It is estimated to bring private investment of $150

million and is expected to create over 3,000 jobsin the State.

The facilities would be built in two phases overan area of 200 acres.

Production capacity. 1st phase - 18,000 vehiclesper year. 2nd phase - 240,000 vehicles per yearby 2024.

The announcement came shortly after anotherCalifornia-based company Fisker announced itssecond headquarters in Hyderabad.

35. PM Modi's infrastructure push in Jammu andKashmir.Why in News - PM Modi inaugurated and laidfoundation stones of several projects wortharound Rs 20,000 crore for the union territory ofJ&K.

Key Points - Projects were launched on National Panchayati

Raj Day (24th April). PM Modi inaugurated projects from village Palli

in the Samba district of J&K. Projects included -

A. 8.45-km-long Banihal-Qazigund road tunnel.B. A 500 KW solar power plant at Palli.C. Foundation stones were laid for the Rattle

and Kwar hydel projects on river Chenab.D. Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, etc.E. Hydel projects in Kishtwar (850 MW) and

Kwar (540 MW).F. Projects worth Rs 38,000 crore in the private

sector were also held on the occasion.36. Pakistan objects to PM Narendra Modi's visit

to Kashmir.Why in news - Pakistan has objected to theconstruction of the Ratle and Kwar hydroelectricprojects on the Chenab river, which it claimedwas a "direct contravention" of the Indus WatersTreaty (IWT).

Key Points - The Indus system comprises the main Indus,

Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. IWT is a water-distribution treaty between India

and Pakistan signed on 19th September 1960. It was signed between PM Nehru and Pakistan's

President Ayub Khan.

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This fair last till 30th April 2022. This was the 36th edition of this fair.40. Centre says Delhi should be under its control.

Why in News - The Central government inSupreme Court argued that Delhi, the nation'scapital and a sprawling metropolis, should beunder its control.

Key Points - In 1911, Delhi became the capital of India. Pattabhi Sitaramiyya Committee (1947)

suggested Delhi to function under a LieutenantGovernor, to be appointed by the President.

In 1952, the Legislative Assembly of Delhi cameinto existence.

Prabhu Committee (1975) recommendeddelegation of enhanced financial andadministrative powers to the Delhi administration.

Balakrishnan committee (1987) favouredgranting statehood to Delhi.

The recommendations of the BalakrishnanCommittee were given effect with the 69thConstitutional Amendment Act, 1991 throughwhich Articles 239AA and 239AB wereintroduced in the Constitution.

The 69th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1991redesignated the UT of Delhi as the NationalCapital Territory of Delhi (NCT).

Article 239AAA. It also creates a legislative assembly for Delhi

which can make laws on subjects under theState List and Concurrent List except on thesematters: public order, land, and police.

B. It also provides for a Council of Ministers forDelhi consisting of not more than 10% of thetotal number of members in the assembly.

Article 239AB - President may by order suspendthe operation of any provision of Article 239AAor of all or any of the provisions of any law made

in pursuance of that article.41. Remains of the 1857 rebellion found in Punjab well.

Why in news - Latest DNA-based evidenceconfirms the human remains found dumped inan abandoned well in the Ajnala town ofPunjab's Amritsar belonged to 246 young Indiansoldiers of the 1857 Indian uprising fromGangetic plains.

Key Points - The study was published in the 'Journal Frontiers'

in Genetics. The remains belong to the soldiers of the 26th

Native Bengal Infantry regiment of the BritishIndian Army.

Archaeologists have called the site the largestpossessing skeletal remains linked to any singleevent during the 1857 Indian rebellion.

In 2014, the government tasked a group led byanthropologist J S Sehrawat from PunjabUniversity to scientifically investigate the matter.

As many as 9,646 teeth samples-the world'slargest teeth remain from a single archaeologicalsite-were recovered.

Lead researcher of this study - Niraj Rai fromBirbal Sahni Institute of Palaeo-sciences, Lucknow.

42. 100% registration under ABPMJAY-SEHAT.Why is news – Jammu and Kashmir's Sambahas become the first district in the country tocover 100% of households under the ABPMJAY -SEHAT (Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri JanArogya Yojana) scheme.

Key Points - The Samba district has a total of 62,641 families

with 3,04,510 people eligible for ABPM-JAYSEHAT golden cards.

About AB PM-JAY– It offers a sum insured of Rs.5 lakh per family for

secondary care as well as tertiary care. It is an entitlement-based scheme that targets the

beneficiaries as identified by the latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.

Funding -A. 60:40 for all states and UTs with their

legislatureB. 90:10 in Northeast states and Jammu and

Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand.C. 100% Central funding for UTs without

legislature. The National Health Authority (NHA) has been

implementing the ABPM-JAY.

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1. Street in Newyork named after Hindu temple.Why in news - In the United States, a streetoutside a renowned and prominent temple inNew York has been named the Ganesh TempleStreet.

Key Points - Sri Maha Vallabha Ganapati Devasthanam,

popularly known as the Ganesh Temple isregarded as the first and oldest (1977)Hindutemple in North America.

2. Hungary and Serbian elections.Why in news - Pro-Putin leaders in Hungaryand Serbia won re-election

Key Points - Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban re-elected

again. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic won a second

term.3. India-Australia trade agreement.

Why in news - On 2ndApril India and Australiasigned an Economic Cooperation and TradeAgreement (ECTA).

Key Points - The landmark bilateral trade pact is the second

trade agreement India has signed this year afterinking a similar deal with the United ArabEmirates in February.

It is expected to increase trade between the twosides to $45-50 billion over five years from thecurrent estimate of $27 billion.

Australia would provide 'preferential access' to"all the labour-intensive sectors" of export itemsfrom India.

It would Create over 10 lakh additional jobopportunities.

This is the first trade deal signed by India thathas a compulsory review mechanism after 15years of implementation

India's Commerce Minister - Piyush Goyal. Australian Trade Minister - Dan Tehan.

4. India condemns Bucha killingsWhy in news - India condemned the killing ofcivilians in Bucha, Ukraine, at the United NationsSecurity Council (UNSC).

Key Points - Bucha, a town on the outskirts of the Ukrainian

capital Kyiv, was controlled by Russian soldiersfor about a month.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN(UNPR) - T.S. Tirumurti.

United Nations (UN) founded in 1945 at SanFrancisco.

UN is currently made up of 193 Member States.5. Russian darknet marketplace 'Hydra'.

Why in news - Germany shuts down Russian-language illegal darknet marketplace Hydra, thelargest such network in the world.

Key Points - A darknet is an overlay network within the

internet that can only be accessed with specificsoftware, configurations or authorization andoften uses a unique customized communicationprotocol.

Hydra was founded in 2015.6. Twitter to name Musk to firm's board.

Why in news - Twitter Inc. would name topshareholder and Tesla boss Elon Musk to its board.

Key Points - Musk owns 73,486,938 shares of Twitter, which

represents a 9.2% stake in the company.7. AUKUS Hypersonic deal

Why in news - The United States, UnitedKingdom and Australia have announced theywork together.to develop hypersonic missiles.

Key Points - AUKUS is a new trilateral security partnership

for the Indo-Pacific, between Australia, the UKand the US (AUKUS)

Hypersonic missile flies at least at the speed ofMach 5 i.e. five times the speed of sound and ismanoeuvrable.

INTERNATIONAL MAY

2022

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Most of the hypersonic vehicles primarily use thescramjet technology.

India operates approximately 12 hypersonicwind tunnels and is capable of testing speedsupto Mach 13.

In Hyderabad, the DRDO also established aHypersonic Wind Tunnel (HWT) test facility.

China launched hypersonic medium-rangemissile called 'DF-17' in the year 2019.

Russia also, launched a hypersonic missile calledthe 'Zircon.

8. Hong Kong's next leader

Why in news - John Lee, an ex-police officer tobecame Hong Kong's next leader.

Key Points - John Lee has served as Chief Secretary since June

2021. He would succeed current leader Carrie Lam.

9. Burkina Faso ex-President gets life term.

Why in news - A military court in Burkina Fasohanded down a life term to former president BlaiseCompaore over the 1987 assassination ofrevolutionary leader Thomas Sankara.

Key Points -

Burkina Faso is a former French colony.

In Jan 2022 the African Union (AU) had suspendedBurkina Faso's participation in the organization'sactivities for a week.

10. Russia suspended from rights council

Why in news - Russia was suspended fromHuman Rights Council after the United NationsGeneral Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolutionsuspending Moscow from the UNHRC.

Key Points - India abstained from voting. The U.S. had quit UNHRC under the Trump

administration but rejoined in 2021.

UNHRC - Created in 2006. Headquarter - Geneva, Switzerland. 47 Member body. Members are elected for a period of three years.

11. Nepal gets approval to export 364 MW of

electricity to India during rainy season.Why in news - Nepal received permission to sell39 MW of electricity generated from Devghatand Trishuli power projects to India November2021. It again plans to sell 325 MW of electricityto the energy market in India.

Key points- Power generated from Kali Gandaki, Marsyangdi,

Middle Marsyangdi and Likhu 4 would besupplied to India.

The surplus electricity would be exported to Indiavia 400 KV cross border transmission linessituated in Dhalkebar, Nepal.

Nepal is currently importing on an average 300MW of electricity from India to meet the domesticdemand as power generation decreases duringthe winter season.

12. "Going viral: Myanmar's wildlife trade escalatesonline 2021".Why in news - According to the new WorldWildlife Fund (WWF) online illegal wildlife tradein Myanmar increased by 74% from 2020 to 2021.

Key highlights of report- Sale of mammal species (live animals or body

parts) has increased by 241%. Species count rose from 143 in 2020 to 173 in

2021(i.e. 21 per cent increase over 2020 to 2021). Among these, 6 species are listed as "Critically

Endangered" on the IUCN Red list of threatenedspecies.

Headquarters of WWF - Gland, Switzerland.

13. Imran Khan removed as Pakistan PM.

Why in news - Imran Khan lost the no-confidence vote against him becoming the first PMof Pakistan to be removed through the process.

Key Points - Imran Khan was elected as Prime Minister

[Political Party - Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)]in2018.

No Pakistani prime minister has ever completeda full five-year term in office.

Nawaz Sharif has served as PM for the longestperiod (3,422 days) during his three terms ofoffice; Imran Khan - 1,335 days.

26



In 2022, both signed an MoU for collaborationbetween ISRO's 'NETRA' and the AmericanCombined Space Operation Center (CSpOC) toprotect satellites of both the nations from naturaland man-made threats.

India joined the Bahrain-based multilateralpartnership Combined Maritime Force (CMF) asan associate partner.

India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategicpartners: the US, Australia, Japan and Russia.

16. Sri Lanka defaults on external debts.Why in news - Sri Lanka announced $51-billiondebt default to combat crisis

Key Points - Sri Lanka's external debt servicing obligations

were thought to be over USD 6 billion. Over 16,000 MT of rice has been supplied by

India. India has supplied over 270,000 MT of fuel to Sri

Lanka. India has announced another USD 1 billion

(earlier - USD 1.5 billion) as a credit to help shoreup the sinking economy of the island nation.

17. Taiwan issued wartime survival handbook.Why in news - Taiwan's military published ahandbook advising civilians on how to preparefor a potential Chinese invasion, including whereto find bomb shelters and how to stockpileemergency supplies.

Key Points - It is the first time Taiwan's military has published

such a handbook. The guide is for the public to better prepare

themselves before a war or disaster happens.18. Indian Consulate in Shanghai.

Why in news - The Indian consulate in Shanghaihas announced the suspension of in-personconsular services due to mounting Covid-19cases.

Key Points- Shanghai continues to reel under the massive

spread of the Omicron variant. Indian consul General in Sanghai - D Nandakumar. India's ambassador to China - Pradeep Kumar

Rawat.

174 members in the 342-member House voted infavour of the No-confidence motion againstImran Khan.

Additional Facts- Benazir Bhutto, from Pakistan was the first

female Prime Minister of any Muslim nation. Gwadar port in Pakistan is the largest deep sea

port in the world. Tarbela dam in Pakistan on the Indus river is

the world's largest earth filled dam. Tharparkar Desert in Pakistan is the only fertile

desert in the world. The Changa Manga forest in Pakistan is the

world's largest man-made forest. Malala Yousafzai (Peace-2014) and Abdus Salam

(Physics-1979) are the two persons from Pakistanwho have won the Nobel Prize.

14. Shehbaz Sharif elected new Prime Minister ofPakistan.Why in news - Shehbaz Sharif has been electedunopposed as Prime Minister through voting inthe National Assembly.

Key Points - He became the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan. He belongs to Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N)

party. He succeeded Imran Khan. In the House of 342, Sharif has secured 174 votes

(Minimum 172 votes required).15. US-India 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.

Why in news - Fourth US-India 2+2 MinisterialDialogue held in Washington DC.

Key Points - India's External Affairs and Defence Ministers,

S. Jaishankar and Rajnath Singh met with theirAmerican counterparts, Anthony Blinken andLloyd Austin.

The first 2+2 dialogue was held in September 2018. India and the US have signed a Logistics

Exchange Memorandum of Agreement(LEMOA) in 2016, (b) the CommunicationsCompatibility and Security Agreement(COMCASA) in 2018 (c) the Basic Exchangeand Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020.

27



Chinese Ambassador to India - H.E. Sun Weidong19. China Security deal with the Solomon Islands.

Why in news - The Solomon Islands has signeda Security deal with China. A military base couldbe set up by China on the island which is locatedto the north of Australia.

Key points - The Solomon Islands is a nation in Melanesia,

east of Papua New Guinea, comprising morethan 990 islands. It is located in the South Pacificocean.

Its capital is Honiara, located on the island ofGuadalcanal.

The Solomon Islands switched diplomatic tiesfrom Taiwan to Beijing in 2019.

Australia is the biggest aid donor and chiefdefence partner of the Solomon islands.

20. UN ECOSOC.Why in news - India has been elected to fourbodies of the United Nations Economic and SocialCouncil (ECOSOC).

Key points - India gets elected to four UN ECOSOC Bodies:

A. Commission for Social DevelopmentB. Committee on NGOsC. Commission on Science & Technology for

DevelopmentD. Ambassador Preeti Saran gets re-elected to

Committee for Economic, Social and CulturalRights.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) isone of the six principal organs of the UN Systemestablished by the UN Charter in 1945.

It consists of 54 members of the United Nationselected by the General Assembly.

21. Russian warship Moskva sunk in the Black Sea.Why in news - Following a missile attacklaunched by Ukraine, Russia's Soviet-era missilecruiser Moskva sank in the Black sea.

Key Points - It was originally commissioned as the Slava in

1983 and it was recommissioned in 2000 as theMoskva.

Moskva was hit with Ukrainian-made Neptunemissiles.

Last month the Saratov landing ship wasdestroyed by a Ukrainian attack in the harbourof Berdyansk.

Black Sea - It is also known as the Euxine Sea. It is an inland sea. It is surrounded by the Pontic, Caucasus, and

Crimean Mountains in the south, east and northrespectively.

Bordering countries - Russia, Ukraine, Georgia,Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.

It is supplied by major rivers namely Danube,Dnieper, and Don.

Bosphorus strait connects the Black Sea to theSea of Marmara.

22. Israel successfully tested 'Iron Beam'.Why in news - Israel successfully tested a newlaser missile-defence system 'Iron Beam' whichcan destroy any airborne object including drones.

Key Points - Iron Beam is the world's first energy-based system

to shoot down incoming UAVs, rockets, mortars,long-range missiles, anti-tank missiles etc.

It is developed by the Rafael Advanced DefenseSystems.

It has 90% interception rate against incomingrocket fire.

23. U.K. plan to fly asylum-seekers to Rwanda.Why in News - Britain announced a deal withRwanda to send some asylum-seekers to Rwanda.

Key Points - It would stop people-smugglers sending desperate

migrants on treacherous journeys across theEnglish Channel.

About Rwanda- Rwanda is often referred to as the "land of a

thousand hills". The capital is Kigali, located on the Ruganwa

river. The Kigali amendment to the Montreal protocol

aims for the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs) by cutting their production andconsumption.

24. Clashes at Al-Aqsa mosque.Why in News - Israeli police entered the holysite's compound sparking a face-off leaving 17Palestinians injured.

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About Al-Aqsa mosque - It is known by Muslims as Haram al-Sharif or

the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the TempleMount.

UNESCO has classified the Old City of Jerusalemand its walls as a World Heritage Site.

"Al-Aqsa mosque" is Islam's 3rd holiest site afterMecca and Medina.

25. Indonesia lifts suspension of agriculturalimports from India.Why in news - Indonesia approved Indian labsto end stalemate on agriculture exports.

Key points - Indonesia has granted a blanket license to most

Indian food testing labs for three years. Indonesia is the second largest trading partner

of India in the ASEAN region. India is the second largest buyer of coal and crude

palm oil from Indonesia. Indonesia is shifting the country's capital to East

Kalimantan province on Borneo island fromJakarta.

26. Twitter adopts 'poison pill'.Why in news - It is a limited-duration shareholderrights plan to protect itself from Elon Musk's $43billion cash takeover offer.

Key points - Twitter's plan would take effect if Musk's roughly

9% stake grows to 15% or more. It would allow existing Twitter shareholders -

except for Musk - to buy additional shares at adiscount, thereby diluting Musk's stake in thecompany.

Twitter CEO - Parag Agrawal.27. Tropical Storm Megi.

Why in news - Tropical storm Megi hit thePhilippines, killing at least 167 people inlandslides and floods.

Key Points - Tropical Storm Megi is also known as Tropical

Storm Agaton in the Philippines. Megi made two landfalls, one at Guiuan's

Calicoan Island and the other in Samar's Basey. Tropical cyclones are called by different names

in different regions given below-

A. Hurricane - AtlanticB. Typhoon - Western Pacific and the South

China SeaC. Willy-Willies - Western AustraliaD. Cyclone - Indian Ocean

28. Sarmat ballistic missile.Why in news - Russia had conducted the firsttest launch of its Sarmat intercontinental ballisticmissile.

Key Points - The training warheads reached a given area at

the Kura test ground on the Kamchatkapeninsula.

It is colloquially known as Satan. Sarmat is a three-stage, liquid-fueled missile with

a range of 18,000 km and a launch weight of208 metric tons.

29. Maldives issues decree to ban anti-India protests.Why in news - President Ibrahim MohammedSolih issued a decree banning protests againstIndia.

Key Points - The decree was issued in the Dhivehi language. Former President Abdulla Yameen has become

the face of the 'India Out' campaign. India is helping to develop a coast guard base at

the Uthuru Thilafalhu atoll in the Maldives.About Maldives - Maldives gof its independence in 1965 from

Britain. India (Lakshadweep) is separated from the

Maldives by Eight Degree Channel. Operation Cactus (1988) - India launched

Operation Cactus to deploy its military and toavoid a coup d'état attempt.

'Ekuverin' is a joint military exercise betweenIndia and Maldives.

30. Kuril islands.Why in news - Japan said disputed islands are''illegally occupied by Russia''. It is disputedbetween Japan and Russia.

Key Points -About Kuril islands - The Kuril Islands stretch from the Japanese island

of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's theKamchatka Peninsula.

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It separates the Okhotsk Sea from the NorthPacific ocean.

It consists of 56 islands and minor rocks. Kuril islands were seized by the former Soviet

Union from Japan at the end of World War II.31. Pakistan to abolish CPEC Authority.

Why in news - Pakistan passes orders to scrapChina-Pak Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authoritysaying it was a "redundant organisation".

Key Points - CPEC Authority established in 2019 was aimed

at accelerating the pace of CPEC-related activities.CPEC - CPEC was launched in 2015. CPEC is a 3,000-km long route of infrastructure

projects connecting China's Xinjiang and theGwadar Port in Pakistan.

CPEC is a part of the Belt and Road Initiative.The BRI launched in 2013.

32. Tourist visas for Chinese citizens suspendedby India.Why in News - IAIA said that India has suspendedtourist visas for nationals of China in the aftermathof Beijing's reluctance to allow the return ofIndians stuck at home due to the COVID-19pandemic.

Key Points - Indian government is still giving business,

employment, diplomatic and official visas toChinese nationals.

International Air Transport Association (IATA) IATA is a trade association of the world's airlines. It was formed in April 1945, It consists of 290 airlines accounting for 82% of

total available air traffic. It is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada

with Executive Offices in Geneva Switzerland. SpiceJet is the first Indian low-cost carrier to be

an IATA member, and fifth member in India.33. Elon Musk acquires Twitter for $44 billion.

Why in news - In one of the world's biggest dealsin the tech world, billionaire Elon Musk has takencontrol of Twitter.

Key Points - Musk acquired Twitter for approximately $44

billion with shares valued at $54.20 each.

Musk is the world's richest person with a fortuneof $257 billion, according to the BloombergBillionaires Index.

34. To counter China's BRI, MEA launches agrowth model.Why in news - Ministry of External Affairs haslaunched the Trilateral Development Corporation(TDC) fund to provide an alternative to theChinese model that has pushed developingcountries into a debt trap.

Key Points - India's Global Innovation Partnership (GIP)

launched with the UK provide a template to usethe TDC fund for trilateral projects with othercountries like Japan, Germany, France and the EU.

Both India and the UK have agreed to co-finance£75million over 14 years to implement variouscomponents of GIP.

35. U.S. hosted weapons summit for Ukraine.Why in news - Top U.S. officials hostedemergency talks with allies in Germany onsupplying Kyiv with more weapons to fend offRussia's assault.

Key Points - The meeting was attended by 40 countries. The meeting was held at the U.S. Ramstein Air

base in Germany. They promised $700 million in new aid to

Ukraine. Russia invaded Ukraine on 24th February 2022. Important places in Ukraine under attack -

Donetsk, Luhansk, Mariupol (port city), Odesa,Kyiv (Ukraine capital), Barvinkove, Zaporizhia,Kreminna, Kharkiv, Bucha.

36. Indonesia's Palm Oil Export Ban.Why in News - Indonesia's ban on palm oilexports rattled Indian markets.

Key Points - Indonesia is the world's largest producer of palm

oil. India is the largest importer of palm oil in the

world. Indonesia is the second-largest exporter of Palm

oil to India after Malaysia. India imports over 13.5 million tonnes of edible

oil every year. Out of this, 8-8.5 million tonnes(around 63%) is palm oil.

30



India imports 90% of its sunflower oil needsfrom Russia and Ukraine.

National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) 2021 NMEO-OP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme to

have an additional 6.5 lakh hectares for palm oilby 2025-26.

Special emphasis would be on India's North-Eastern (NE) states and the Andaman andNicobar Islands.

It aims to raise the domestic production of palmoil by three times to 11 lakh MT by 2025-26.

It would get an investment of over Rs 11,000crore over five years.

37. Russia stops gas supply to two NATO nations.Why in News - Russia's oil firm Gazprom haltednatural gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

Key Points - It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin

ordered "unfriendly" countries to pay for gas inRoubles.

Supplies from Russia account for about 40% ofthe EU's natural gas imports.

Nord Stream is the 1,200 km subsea export gaspipeline that runs under the Baltic Sea carryinggas from Russia to Europe.

38. Myanmar Army court jails Suu Kyi for 5 yearsfor corruption.Why in News - A court in military-ruled Myanmarsentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to five years in jailafter finding her guilty a corruption case.

Key Points - Myanmar Army chief - Min Aung Hlaing. Aung San Suu Kyi received Nobel Peace Prize in

1991. She was awarded the Jawaharlal Nehru Peace

Prize in 1992. She is called the "Children of Gandhi". She became famous through the 8888 uprising.

The 8888 uprising is also called the 'People PowerUprising'.

She is the leader of the National League forDemocracy.

39. H3N8 Bird Flu.Why in News - China's Henan province reportedthe first human case of the H3N8 Bird Flu.

Key Points - The H3N8 variant has previously been detected

in horses, dogs, birds and seals but no humancases of H3N8 have been reported.

Last year China reported the first human case ofH10N3.

40. 'Global Security Initiative' (GSI).Why in news - A new stratery 'Global SecurityInitiative' by Chinese President Xi Jinping looksto counter the U.S. Indo-Pacific strategy and theQUAD.

Key Points - Mr. Xi proposed a 'Global Security Initiative'

speaking at the Boao Forum in China. GSI aims to stay committed to the vision of

common, comprehensive, cooperative andsustainable security," and "oppose unilateralism,group politics and bloc confrontation."

It is seen as counter to QUAD (India, U.S.,Australia, Japan) and AUKUS (Australia, U.K.,-U.S.).

41. Central African Republic (CAR) adopts bitcoinas legal currency.Why in news - The Central African Republic hasadopted bitcoin as legal tender becoming thesecond country in the world to do so after ElSalvador.

Key Points - CAR made bitcoin legal tender alongside the CFA

franc and legalised the use of cryptocurrencies. The CAR is the first country in Africa to adopt

bitcoin as legal tender.42. Russia withdraws from UN tourism body

UNWTO.Why in news - Russia withdraws from theUNWTO ahead of a vote by its executive councilto suspend Moscow's membership over itsinvasion of Ukraine.

Key Points - UNWTO is the United Nations specialized

agency entrusted with the promotion ofresponsible, sustainable and universallyaccessible tourism.

UNWTO Secretary General-Zurab Pololikashvili. This is the first time the UNWTO has met to

discuss the suspension of one of its member nations. UNWTO headquarters - Madrid, Spain.

31



43. Visit of the United Kingdom PM Boris Johnson

to India.

Why in news - The Prime Minister of the United

Kingdom (UK), Boris Johnson, was on an official

visit to India (Delhi & Gujarat) on April 21-22,

2022.

Key Points -

UK is creating an Open General Export Licence

(OGEL) for India to reduce bureaucracy and

delivery times for defence procurement.

Both agreed to complete the free trade agreement

(FTA) by the end of the year i.e., by October 2022.

British PM launches JCB India's new £100mn

factory for exports at Vadodara, Gujarat. It was

JCB's 6th factory in India.

32



1. India is biggest merger. Why in news - Mortgage firm HDFC Ltd

merged with HDFC Bank.Imp points - The combined market capitalisation would enable

HDFC Bank to overtake TCS and become No. 2in valuation after Reliance Industries Ltd (Rs18.01 lakh crore).

HDFC Bank is India's largest private sector bankby assets with a market cap of Rs 9.17 lakh crore.

HDFC Ltd is India's largest housing financecompany with total market cap of Rs 4.85 lakhcrore.

H T Parekh was the founder chairman of HDFC,the first retail housing finance company in thecountry set up in 1977.

Present HDFC chairman - Deepak Parekh.2. E-commerce firm Shopee exits Indian market.

Why in news - E-commerce firm Shopee, part ofthe Sea group, left the Indian market.

Imp points - It was a Singapore-based firm. Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said

that Shopee is operating in India against FEMArules and FDI press note of 2020, and that it is aChinese e-commerce company.

3. RBI Monetary Policy.Why in news - The Monetary Policy Committee(MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decidedunanimously to leave the key policy rateunchanged and to remain accommodative for theeleventh consecutive time.

Key points- Repo rate - 4% Reverse Repo rate - 3.35% Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate - 4.25% The RBI slashed the growth projection for the

current fiscal to 7.2% from 7.8% earlier. Inflation is now projected at 5.7% in

2022-23 From the earlier 4.5% .

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

MPC is a statutory body. It was established undersection 45ZB of the Reserve Bank of India Act 1934.

It was set up based on the recommendation ofthe Urjit Patel Committee.

MPC shall consist of 6 members. The MPC meets usually six times a year i.e., after

every two months.4. India's agriculture exports cross USD 50 billion

mark for first time.

Why in news - Ministry of Commerce &Industry has released the provisional figuresstating that agricultural exports rose to USD50.21 billion in 2021-22 which is 19.92%.

Key points-

The highest ever exports have been achieved forstaples like Rice (USD 9.65 billion), wheat (USD2.19 billion), Sugar (USD (4.6 billion) and othercereals (USD 1.08 billion).

Wheat has experienced a remarkable increase ofmore than 273%.

5. RBI imposes penalties of Rs 93 lakh each on

Axis and IDBI Bank.Why in news - A monetary penalty of Rs 93 lakhhas been imposed on Axis Bank for non-compliance of certain directions issued by RBI.

Key Points -

Axis bank had violated provisions on loans andadvances, Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelinesand 'levy of penal charges non-maintenance ofminimum balances in savings bank accounts.

IDBI Bank was fined for failing to followinstructions on 'fraud classification and reportingby commercial banks and select financialinstitutions.'

6. Global trade growth outlook.

Why in news - WTO slashed global trade growthoutlook amid war and Chinese lockdowns.

ECONOMY MAY

2022

33



Key Points - The World Trade Organization (WTO) cut its

forecast for global trade growth for the year 2022to 3%, from 4.7%.

The WTO forecast global trade growth in 2023would inch up to 3.4%.

WTO Director-General - Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. WTO Hq - Geneva, Switzerland. WTO releases World Trade Outlook Indicator

report.7. WhatsApp Pay.

Why in news - The National PaymentsCorporation of India (NPCI) approved anadditional 60 million users on UPI for WhatsApp.

Key Points- Now WhatsApp would be able to expand the

service to its 100 million users. The NPCI gave WhatsApp approval to launch

the payments service in 2020. WhatsApp competes with Alphabet Inc's Google

Pay, SoftBank- and Ant Group-backed Paytmand Walmart's PhonePe in India's crowdeddigital market.

8. India to grow at 8%: World Bank.Why in news - India is projected to grow at 8%over the current fiscal year (April 1- March 31),and 7.1% over the next (2023-24) fiscal year.

Key Points- World Bank said this in its bi-annual South Asia

Economic Focus Reshaping Norms: A New WayForward.

For the South Asia region, growth is expected tobe 6.6% in 2022 and 6.3% next calendar year.

9. OBC entrepreneurs in the MSME sector.Why in news - Entrepreneurs from OtherBackward Classes (OBC) own nearly 30% ofmicro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)in the country.

Key Points- The country has 80.16 lakh micro, small and

medium enterprises. OBCs was 23.31 lakh units (nearly 30%) out of a

total of about 80.16 lakh units in the country. Of the OBC- owned units, around 41% are

located in three States - Tamil Nadu (14.5%),Maharashtra (14.4%) and Rajasthan (12.4%).

The fourth, fifth and sixth slots go to UttarPradesh (apx 2.38 lakh units); Bihar (1.71 lakhs);and Madhya Pradesh (1.56 lakhs) respectively.

General Category accounts for the highest shareof the MSME units with 61.8%. (49.56 lakh units).

MSMEs contribute around 6.11% of themanufacturing GDP and 24.63% of the GDP fromservice activities as well as 33.4% of India'smanufacturing output.

Definition of MSMEs -

10. Kotak FYN.

Why in news - Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL)has launched Kotak FYN designed specificallyfor Business Banking and Corporate clients.

Key Points -

Customers of the bank can utilise the portal toconduct all trade and service transactions.

11. Extreme poverty in India fell sharply in 2011-19.

Why in news - Extreme poverty in India declinedby 12.3% points to 10.2% in 2019, from 22.5% in2011, according to the World Bank.

Key points -

The paper was authored by economists SutirthaSinha Roy and van der Weide.

Extreme poverty has been measured in terms ofthe number of people living on less than $1.90 aday (roughly Rs 145).

Reduction in abject poverty in rural areas wasmore pronounced than in urban areas.

It eased to 11.6% in rural areas in 2019 and theurban poverty level stood at 6.3%.

According to an IMF working paper extremepoverty in India was as low as 0.8% in 2019.

David R. Malpass is the present and13thPresident of the World Bank Group.

34



12. Wholesale inflation rose up to 14.55%.Why in news - WPI-based inflation surged to14.55% in March 2022 after a 13.11% readingin February 2022.

Key points - It measures the changes in the prices of goods

sold and traded in bulk by wholesale businessesto other businesses.

It is published by the Office of Economic Adviser,Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The base year of All-India WPI is 2011-12. The amended RBI Act, 1934 provides for the

inflation target (4% +-2%) to be set by theGovernment of India, in consultation with theReserve Bank once every five years.

13. Tata Steel halted business with Russia.Why in news - Tata Steel said it would stop doingbusiness with Russia amid the conflict withUkraine.

Key Points - China is the world's largest crude steel producer

followed by India, Japan and the USA. India is the largest producer of sponge iron in

the world and the 3rd largest finished steelconsumer in the world after China & USA.

In India, the steel production industry requiresthe import of coking coal.

14. SBI raises $500 mn via IFSC Gift City branch.Why in news - SBI said that it has raised 3-yearfunds of $500 million (over Rs 3,800 crore)through its IFSC Gift City branch.

Key Points - This is the first offshore USD Secured Overnight

Financing Rate (SOFR) linked syndicated loanraised by SBI through its Gift City branch.

The Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFTCity) is India's first and only InternationalFinancial Services Centre (IFSC).

It is located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

The GIFT City project was conceptualised in 2007.

15. IMF cuts India's GDP growth forecast for FY23to 8.2%.

Why in news - IMF has slashed the GDP growthforecast for India in FY23 to 8.2% in its latestWorld Economic Outlook report.

Key Points - IMF has also cut India's FY24 GDP growth

forecast to 6.9%. In the case of the global economy, IMF has cut

the growth forecast for the calendar year 2022to 3.6%from 4.4%.

IMF estimated India's current account deficit towiden to 3.1% in FY23.

India is projected to remain the world's fastest-growing major economy, with China's GDPgrowth estimated to slow to 4.4% in 2022 from8.1% in 2021.

16. Reserve Bank of India capped lending limitsof NBFCs.Why in news - RBI has mandated exposure limitsto the non-banking finance companies, in linewith commercial banks.

Key Points - RBI capped aggregate exposure of NBFCs which

are in the upper layer toward one entity at 20%of the capital base.

The limit can only be extended by another 5%with the board's approval.

These norms would come into effect from 1stOctober 2022.

About NBFCs - NBFC is a company registered under the

Companies Act, 1956. NBFC cannot accept demand deposits. NBFCs do not form part of the payment and

settlement system. NBFCs cannot issue cheques drawn on themselves.

17. Manappuram Finance fined Rs 17.63 lakh bythe RBI.Why in news - Manappuram Finance Limitedwas fined Rs 17.63 lakh by (RBI) for failing tocomply with (KYC) and Prepaid PPIs norms.

Key Points - The penalty has been imposed by RBI under

Section 30 of the Payment and SettlementSystems Act, 2007.

18. Adani Ports bought 100% stake in marine servicesfirm Ocean Sparkle.Why in news - Adani Ports and Special EconomicZone Ltd (APSEZ) agreed to buy Ocean SparkleLtd (OSL) for `1,530 crores.

35



Key Points -

APSEZ aspires to become the world's largest portoperator by 2030.

APSEZ would undertake the acquisition throughits unit The Adani Harbour Services Ltd (TAHSL).

APSEZ, the flagship transportation arm of Adanigroup, is India's largest private ports and logisticscompany.

19. SEBI's advisory committee for ALeRTS.

Why in news - Sebi has reconstituted AdvisoryCommittee for Leveraging Regulatory andTechnology Solutions (ALeRTS).

Key Points - It is a seven-member committee set-up by SEBI

in December 2021. It would now be headed by Sunil Bajpai. It was earlier chaired by Madhabi Puri Buch. Committee was set to guide on enhancing SEBI's

technological capabilities and exploringappropriate technological solutions for the earlydetection of market anomalies.

20. Production of Steel: India's Sterling Performance.Why in news - According to World SteelAssociation data, India is the only country amongthe top 10 steel producing nations of the worldthat has registered a growth in steel productionfrom January to March 2022 period.

Key Points - India has produced 31.9 million tonnes of steel

from January to March this year with a growthof 5.9%.

Such momentum of production will help Indiareach the targeted level of 500 million tonneproduction capacity in the next 25 years.

About Steel production -

The National Steel Policy was released in May,2017.

India is the world's second-largest producerof crude steel after China.

World Steel Association was established in 1967. WSA is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Sajjan Jindal is the first representative from India

to serve as Chairman of the WSA.

21. Reliance Industries crossed Rs 19-Lakh crore

Market Cap.

Why in news - Reliance Industries Limited

became the first Indian company to hit the Rs 19

lakh crore market valuation mark in intra-day

trade.

Key Points -

Shares of RIL surged nearly 2% or intraday trade

to hit a 52-week high of Rs 2,827.10 per share on

the BSE.

Reliance Industries Ltd has signed a formal

shareholder agreement for the USD 2 billion

with TA'ZIZ chemical joint venture in the UAE

and inked a pact to collaborate with ADNOC in

finding and producing conventional and

unconventional resources.

36



1. Human Genome.Why in news - Scientists had published the mapof the human genome for the first time nearlytwo decades ago which was hailed as abreakthrough.

Important points - In 2020, the department of Science and Technology

had approved an ambitious gene-mappingproject called the Genome India Project (GIP).

Every organism's genetic code is contained in itsDeoxyribose Nucleic Acid (DNA), the buildingblocks of life.

The discovery that DNA is structured as a "doublehelix" by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953.

2. Microsoft's 'Startup Founders Hub' Platform.Why in news - Microsoft has launched 'StartupFounders Hub' platform in India.

Important points - This platform would provide all kinds of support

to startup founders in India.The Hub offers benefits and credits of over US$3,00,000

3. Project Kuiper.Why in news - Amazon.com has secured rocketlaunches with three companies as it spendsbillions on putting together a satellite constellationto beam broadband internet.

Important points - It is a project of Amazon announced in 2019. To provide space internet to users through Low

Earth Orbit (LEO) Geostationary Satellites.Similar Initiatives- 'Five to 50' service by OneWeb. Starlink by SpaceX. Loon Project by Google4. Covid XE variant of coronavirus.

Why in news - Suspected to have infected apatient in Mumbai, it is a sub-variant of Omicron.

Important points - The has two prominent sub-variants, called BA.1

and BA.2.

The XE variant is called a 'Omicron variantrecombinant'. This means it contains themutations found in BA.1 as well as BA.2 varietiesof Omicron.

XE variant was first discovered in the UnitedKingdom.

5. 'Super app' Tata Neu.Why in news - Tata Group unveils 'super app'Tata Neu

Imp points - Possibly India's first super app Tata Neu brings together grocery--to--hotel--to-

-airline ticket booking and medicine buying on asingle platform.

6. First all private mission to International SpaceStation.Why in news - SpaceX successfully launched"Axiom-1(Ax-1)" to the International SpaceStation (ISS).

Key Points - It is a joint mission of NASA (National

Aeronautics and Space Administration) andAxiom Space.

The mission is the first-ever all-private spaceflightthat transported astronauts to the ISS.

This is also the first commercial mission to theISS.

It carried four astronauts to the space station afterlifting off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center,in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The crew included three paying customers- LarryConnor, Eytan Stibbe and Mark Pathy along withex-NASA astronaut and Axiom Vice PresidentMichael Lopez-Alegria.

7. IIT-Madras launches prosthetic knee KADAM.Why in news - Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) Madras has launched India's firstindigenously developed polycentric prostheticknee called Kadam.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY MAY

2022

37



Key Points - This product is a polycentric knee for above-knee

prosthesis. Kadam makes it possible for above-knee

amputees to walk with a comfortable gait. It was created by a team at IIT Madras' TTK

Center for Rehabilitation Research and DeviceDevelopment (R2D2) which also created andcommercialized the country's first standingwheelchair, 'Arise

It has been developed in association with theSociety for Biomedical Technology and MobilityIndia.

8. India's space debris.Why in news - According to Orbital DebrisQuarterly News, published by NASA's there are25,182 pieces of space debris, of sizes larger than10 cm in the lower earth orbits which are within2,000 km of earth's surface.

Key Points- The debris from Indian space assets is only 114,

the lowest among major space-faring nations. India has 103 active and defunct spacecraft that

are also in orbit. The United States has 5,126 space debris objects

in Earth's orbit and China has 3,854 space debrisobjects in Earth's orbit.

On 27th March 2019, India performed MissionShakti by destroying a defunct 740-kg Microsat-R Indian satellite orbiting at 300 kilometers.

India became only the fourth countryin the world to possess such technology, afterthe United States, China, and Russia.

9. First breath test for Covid-19 infection.Why in news - The US Food and DrugAdministration issued an emergency useauthorization for first device that can detectCOVID-19 in breath samples.

Key Points - Device name - InspectIR Covid-19 Breathalyzer. The test can provide results in less than three

minutes.10. India's 1st Internet Radio "Radio Aksh".

Why in news - India's first-ever radio channelfor the visually impaired, named 'Radio Aksh'has been launched in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

Key points -

The Blind Relief Association Nagpur (TBRAN)and Samdrushti Kshamata Vikas AvamAnusandhan Mandal (Saksham) are theorganisations behind this idea.

The channel would be available for free onvarious internet radio platforms.

11. Nation's first portable solar rooftop system.

Why in news - India's first portable solar rooftopsystem has been inaugurated at SwaminarayanAkshardham temple complex in Gandhinagar,Gujarat.

Key Points -

The 10 PV Port system has been designed by theGerman development agency DeutscheGesellschaft fur Internationale Zusammenarbeit(GIZ).

The PV Ports have been manufactured by NewDelhi-based Servotech Power Systems Ltd (SPSL).

Each system results in a median annual financialsavings of Rs 24,000 on electrical energy payments.

12. Indo-Finnish Virtual Network Centre on

Quantum Computing.

Why in news - Recently, a MoU was signedbetween India and Finland to establish an Indo-Finnish Virtual Network Centre on QuantumComputing.

Key Points -

It would help to initiate cooperation in newemerging areas like 5G, Quantum Computing andSustainability.

The Indian side has identified three premierinstitutes viz IIT Madras, IISER Pune and C-DACPune for Virtual Network Centre on QuantumComputing.

13. World's 1st crypto-backed payment card "Nexo

Card".

Why in news - Nexo has joined hands with globalpayments company Mastercard to launch theworld's first "crypto-backed" payment card.

Key Points -

Electronic money firm DiPocket is Nexo's cardissuer.

38



GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO AugmentedNavigation) based Localizer Performance withVertical Guidance LPV approach procedures wasconducted at the airport.

About GAGAN–

GAGAN is an Indian Space-based AugmentedNavigation System.

It is jointly developed by AAI and ISRO.

The GAGAN Signal-In-Space (SIS) is availablethrough GSAT-8 and GSAT-10.

With this, India has become the fourth nationafter the US, Europe and Japan to have an inter-operable Satellite Based Augmentation System(SBAS).

GAGAN is the first SBAS system in the world toserve the equatorial region.

Cryptocurrency– Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple are a few notable

examples of cryptocurrencies. UNICEF is the first UN organization to accept

cryptocurrency. World Bank launched World's first blockchain

bond called "Bond-i" in Australian Dollars. Venezuela's President Nicholas Maduro

launched "Petro"- a cryptocurrency whose priceis linked with the market price of 1 oil barrel.

Marshall Islands became the first country tolaunch a sovereign cryptocurrency named"Sovereign" (SOV).

14. Space bricks.Why in news - Buildings can be constructed onMars with 'Space bricks'.

Key Points - Researchers from ISRO and IISc have developed

a way to make bricks from Martian soil with thehelp of bacteria and urea.

The team first made the slurry by mixing Martiansoil with guar gum, a bacterium called Sporosarcinapasteurii, urea and nickel chloride (NiCl2).

15. BHIM UPI goes live at NeoPay terminals in UAE.Why in news - NPCI International Payments Ltd(NIPL), has announced that BHIM UPI is nowlive at NEOPAY terminals across the UAE.

Key Points -

NIPL and NEOPAY, the payment subsidiary ofMashreq Bank, partnered to create theacceptance infrastructure in the UAE.

In the Financial Year 2022, UPI enabled 45.6billion transactions worth $1 trillion making itthe best performing real-time payment eco-systemin the world.

16. IndiGo used new Indian navigation tech to landpassenger aircraft.Why in news - Airports Authority of India (AAI)conducted a successful landing of aircraft usingGAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation).

Key Points - The IndiGo flight (ATR 72-600 aircraft) landed

at the Kishangarh airport (Ajmer) in Rajasthan. India is the first country in Asia Pacific Region

to achieve this.

39



1. "Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet" (SFDR) technology.Why in news - DRDO successfully flight tested"Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet" (SFDR) booster at theIntegrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off thecoast of Odisha.

Key points- The SFDR-based propulsion enables the missile

to intercept aerial threats at very long range atsupersonic speeds.

It has a projected range of 350 km. DRDO Headquarters– New Delhi.2. 57th CRPF Valour Day 2022 observed.

Why in news - The Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) Valour Day (Shaurya Diwas) is observedon 9th April every year.

Key points- It was on this day in 1965, a small contingent of

CRPF created history by defeating an invadingPakistani army.

The year 2022 marks the 57th CRPF Valour Day.3. Anti-tank guided missile 'Helina'.

Why in news - DRDO, Indian Army, and IndianAir Force (IAF) jointly conducted the successfulflight test of the indigenously developedhelicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile'HELINA' at high-altitude ranges.

Key Points - The flight trials were conducted from Advanced

Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv and the missilewas fired successfully in the Pokhran desertranges, Rajasthan.

The missile has a maximum range of 7 kilometers. It has been developed by Defence Research and

Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad.4. Exercise Kripan Shakti.

Why in news - The Trishakti Corps of the IndiaArmy conducted Ex Kripan Shakti at Teesta FieldFiring Ranges (TFFR) near Siliguri (WB).

Key Points - It was an Integrated Fire Power Exercise. The Army, Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra

Seema Bal (SSB) and the civil administrationparticipated in the exercise.

Trishakti Corps is headquartered at Sukna nearSiliguri.

The BSF manages the border with Bangladesh &Pakistan.

SSB is in charge of affairs along the country'sboundaries with Nepal and Bhutan.

5. Vagsheer Submarine.Why in news - Vagsheer, the last Scorpene-classsubmarine launched on 20th April.

Key Points - These submarines are built under Project-75(I)

approved in 2007. Under this, six diesel-electric submarines have

been built. 5 earlier submarines are- INS Kalvari, INS

Khanderi, INS Karanj, INS Vela and INS Vagir. They can reach a top speed of 20 knots when

submerged and a top speed of 11 knots whenshe surfaces.

The Mazgaon Dock had been entrusted with thetask of building six submarines.

6. 'NATPOLREX-VIII'.Why in news - The Indian Coast Guard (ICG)kicked off the 8th edition of Pollution ResponseExercise, 'NATPOLREX-VIII' off Mormugaoharbour, Goa.

Key Points - It was inaugurated by Defence Secretary Dr Ajay

Kumar. Two Coast Guard ships from Sri Lanka and

Bangladesh were also present. The objective of NATPOLREX-VIII is to enhance

the preparedness and response capability of allthe stakeholders in combating marine spills.

7. 'Live-Fire' Cyber Drills.Why in News - A cyber organisation recognisedby the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation(NATO) undertrok the world's largest andmost complicated "live-fire" cyber defence drills.

SECURITY MAY

2022

40



Key Points - The biennial Locked Shields event is designed to

improve the skills of cybersecurity expertsprotecting vital infrastructure against real-timeattacks.

Exercise was conducted by NATO in Estonia.8. India is 3rd the largest military spender.

Why in news - At $76.6 billion, India is the thirdhighest military spender in the world, saysStockholm International Peace Research Institute(SIPRI) report.

Key Points - The top five military spenders are the United

States, China, India, the United Kingdom andRussia accounting for 62% of the global militaryexpenditure.

The global defence expenditure reached an all-time high of $2.1 trillion in 2021.

India's military spending amounting to $76.6billion(Rs 5.87 lakh crore) in 2021, grew by 0.9%from 2020 and by 33% from 2012.

Roughly 50 % of India's defence exports from2017 to 2021 were to Myanmar followed by SriLanka (25%) and Armenia (11%).

China is the second largest spender, allocatingUSD 293 billion to its military in 2021.

The USA far outspent any other nation with$ 801bn but decreased its spending by 1.4% in 2021.

9. New vessel 'Urja Pravaha' inducted into theIndian Coast Guard.Why in news - The Indian Coast Guard Shipnamed Urja Pravaha has been inducted into theIndian Coast Guard at Gujarat's Bharuch.

Key Points - It is a cargo ship that would function under the

operational command of Coast Guard DistrictHeadquarters-4 (Kerala and Mahe).

Urja Pravaha is 36 metres long. The ship give wouldadditional support to the

auxiliary barge Urja Shrota.

41



1. Tamil Nadu forms panel to frame its owneducation policy.Why in news - The Tamil Nadu governmentformed a 13-member panel to frame the stateeducation policy.

Imp points - Panel is headed by D Murugesan. Panel members include Viswanathan Anand and

T M Krishna, among others. Separate panel formed in response of Tamil

Nadu's opposition to the Union's New EducationPolicy.

2. Virtual e-museum.Why in news - Kashmir gets its first virtual e--museum.

Imp points - Location - Sopore(Kashmir) It showcases the lifetime collection of a woman

Kashmiri educationist, Atiqa Bano, who hascreated a huge repository of artefacts throughdoor-to-door collections.

3. 'School Chalo Abhiyan' initiative.Why in news - UP CM Yogi Adityanath haslaunched 'School Chalo Abhiyan' initiative in the state.

Imp points -o Objective- to ensure 100% enrollment in primary

and upper primary schools in the state.o It is to support 'Operation Kayakalp' whose

objective is to give a facelift to government schools.4. Business incubation lab.

Why in news - Delhi government to set up state-of- the -art incubation centre at Delhi Skill andEntrepreneurship University (DSEU)

Key points- Aim - to mentor school students who came up

with exceptional business plans under the'Business Blasters' programme.

Business Blasters is the Delhi government's start-up programme where students of Classes 11 and12 propose business ideas and the governmenthelps them in giving these ideas a shape.

5. 'One Health Pilot' Project in Uttarakhand.Why in news - Ministry Of Fisheries, AnimalHusbandry & Dairying (MoFAHD) has launchedthe One Health Pilot project in Uttarakhand.

Key points- Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary DAHD launched the

project. Objective: To develop a national One Health

roadmap based on the learnings of the pilotproject implementation.

It would work with the stakeholders fromvarious sectors with an aim to improve livestockhealth, human health, wildlife health, andenvironmental health through technology andfinance.

6. Mukhyamantri Udyam Kranti Yojana : MP.Why in news - Chief Minister of MadhyaPradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan launched theUdyam Kranti Yojana.

Key Points -

Loans ranging from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 50 lakhwould be offered to youth for self-employment.

State government would provide a 3% interestsubsidy as well as a bank guarantee.

7. Cooperative bank for milk producers.Why in news - Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommaihas set up a cooperative bank 'Nandini KsheeraSamridhi Sahakari Bank' for milk producers.

Key Points - Karnataka has become the only state in the country

to set up an exclusive bank for milk producers. The logo of 'Nandini Ksheera Samridhi Sahakari

Bank' was launched by Union Home MinisterAmit Shah.

Additional facts- Operation flood the White Revolution (13th Jan

1970) bumper production of milk in India. "Milkman of India"- Dr.Verghese Kurien. Every year 26 November is observed as the

National Milk Day across the country. November26 2021 was Dr. Verghese Kurien's 100th birthanniversary.

STATES/UTs MAY

2022

42



India ranks first in milk production, accountingfor 18.5 percent of world production,

Uttar Pradesh is the highest milk producing statein India followed by Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh,Gujarat and Punjab.

8. KVGB Launches 'Vikas Siri Sampat-1111'Deposit Scheme.Why in news - Chairman of Karnataka VikasGrameena Bank (KVGB), P. Gopi Krishnalaunched 'Vikas Siri Sampat-1111', a new depositscheme of the bank.

Key Points - The scheme is of limited tenure of only 1,111 days,

which provides an interest rate of 5.70% for thegeneral public and 6.20 % for senior citizens.

It also offers the highest rate of annualized returnof 6.03% for the general public and 6.60% forsenior citizens.

Customers can deposit a minimum of Rs.10,000and a maximum of Rs.2 crore under this scheme.

9. Discovery of Megalithic Stone Jars in Assam.Why in news - In the Dima Hasao district ofAssam, several megalithic stone jars have beendiscovered This discovery has highlighted thepossible links between Southeast Asia and theNortheast region of India.

Key Points- In a site named Nuchubunglo, 546 jars were

discovered making it the largest such site acrossthe planet.

Indonesia and Laos are the only two other sitesfrom where such similar jars have beendiscovered.

The jars that were discovered in Assam were firstsighted in the year 1929 by John Henry Huttonand James Philip Mills.

10. "Him Prahari" Scheme.

Why in news - Uttarakhand set to implementthe 'Him Prahari' Scheme which is meant for ex-servicemen and youngsters.

Key Points - The scheme is aimed at stopping the migration

of people from Uttarakhand. The scheme also prioritize settling ex-servicemen

in areas bordering the state.

11. Specialised School to be named after Ambedkar.Why in news - The Delhi government'sSpecialised School of Excellence now be knownas 'B.R. Ambedkar School of Specialised Excellence.

Key Points - There are over 30 such schools with 4,600 seats

so far. They have been set up by the city government in

partnership with International Baccalaureate, aglobally renowned school education board.

These schools have four domains of specialisation:A. Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics (STEM)B. HumanitiesC. Performing and Visual artsD. High-end 21st century skills

12. App to map workers' migration.Why in news - Maharashtra has developed awebsite-based migration tracking system (MTS)application to map the movement of vulnerableseasonal migrant workers.

Key Points - It aims to maintain the continuity of the

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)like nutrition supply, immunisation and healthcheck-up etc. to migrant beneficiaries includingchildren aged up to 18 years, lactating mothersand pregnant women.

ICDS– ICDS is a centrally sponsored scheme implemented

by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It was launched in 1975. It is an umbrella scheme. It provides a package

of six services.

13. Tamil Nadu to celebrate 14th April as 'EqualityDay'.Why in news - CM MK Stalin announced thatthe birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar (14thApril) would be commemorated as 'SamathuvaNaal' (Equality Day).

Key Points - The TN government plans to publish a few of

Ambedkar's books in Tamil. TN had earlier declared Periyar's birth anniversary

(17th September) as Social Justice day. TN is the most industrialised state in the country.

43



14. Odisha plans steps against snakebites.Why in news - Odisha has decided to come upwith standard operating procedures (SOP) andinstitutional capacity -building to deal with snakebites.

Key Points - Snakebites kill more people than natural disasters

in Odisha. In 2015, Odisha was the first in the country to

declare snakebite a State- specific disaster.15. Brain Health Initiative.

Why in news - Indian cricketer Robin Uthappahas been recently appointed as the brandambassador for Karnataka- Brain HealthInitiative (Ka-BHI).

Key Points - Karnataka has launched the Karnataka Brain

Health Initiative (Ka-BHI) with the help ofNIMHANS and NITI Ayog.

NIMHANS, Bengaluru is the apex centre formental health and neuroscience education in thecountry.

It is an Institute of National Importance thatoperates autonomously under the Ministry ofHealth and Family Welfare.

16. Rajasthan becomes first state to install anL-Route server.Why in news - Rajasthan has become the firststate in the country to install an L-Route serverfor uninterrupted internet services.

Key Points - This server has been installed at Bhamashah State

Data Center. It has been installed in association with the

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names andNumbers (ICANN).

17. 'Jan Nigrani' App.Why in news - The Department of RuralDevelopment and Panchayati Raj, Jammu andKashmir, under the e-governance initiative haslaunched an app 'Jan Nigrani'.

Key Points - It is a 24×7 internet-based platform aimed at

reporting and resolving the grievances of theresidents of J&K related to various schemesonline.

The application has been set at the block levelwith a seven-day time slot to redress anyparticular grievance.

18. Seaweed Park in Tamil Nadu.Why in news - A seaweed park would be set upin Tamil Nadu for the first time in the country toimprove the livelihood of fishers.

Key Points - The project would be implemented under the

Prime Minister's Matsya Sampada Yojana toincrease fish stocks in Rameswaram andMandapam areas.

Seaweed - They are primitive, non-flowering marine algae

without roots, stems and leaves. Large seaweeds form dense underwater forests

known as kelp forests. The southern Gulf of Mannar's rocky intertidal

and lower intertidal regions have rich populationsof several seaweed species.

19. Delhi's education song "Irada kar liya hai humne".Why in news - The city government launchedDelhi's education song, "Irada kar liya haihumne" as a tribute to the vision of the state'seducation revolution.

Key Points - Deputy CM Manish Sisodia released the song at

Thyagraj Stadium. Delhi became the first state in the world to have

a song that clearly defines its aspirations anddedication toward the cause of education for all.

The song lyrics have been written by AlokSrivastava.

The song has been sung by famous singers, Shanand Sneha Shankar and music has been givenby Dushyant.

20. SAANS Campaign.Why in news - Health and Medical EducationMinister of Karnataka launched the 'SocialAwareness and Action to Neutralise PneumoniaSuccessfully' (SAANS).

Key Points - To ensure early detection and greater awareness

of pneumonia in children under the age of five. Pneumonia is a lung infection that is caused due

to viral, bacterial or fungal infection.

44



By 2025, the state's goal is to reduce the under-five mortality to 23 per 1,000 lives.

As per National Health Policy, pneumoniamortality has to be reduced to less than 3 deathsper 1,000 live births.

21. Telangana launches SpaceTech Framework.Why in news - Telangana launched its SpaceTechFramework to help the state emerge as acommercial hub for all space-related productsand services.

Key Points - It aims at promoting domestic production of

launch vehicles, satellite systems and subsystems,ground equipment manufacturing and otherfacilities.

It was the first-ever official government event tobe hosted on Metaverse.

Space industry is expected to grow to $558 billionby 2026.

22. Andhra government to conserve Red Sanders.Why in news - The State government would takestringent steps to control the illegal transportationof Red Sanders.

About Red Sanders - Scientific name - Pterocarpus santalinus It is an Indian endemic tree species. It is grown

only in the Kadapa, Chittoor, Kurnool, Nelloreand Prakasam districts of AP. (in the Eastern Ghats.).

They are high in demand particularly in Chinaand Japan, for use in cosmetics and medicinalproducts as well as for making furniture,woodcraft and musical instruments.

IUCN Red List– Endangered. CITES - Appendix II Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972– Schedule II Sandalwood Spike Disease is an infectious

disease that is caused by phytoplasma, firstreported in Kodagu, Karnataka in 1899.

23. India's first Amrit Sarovar prepared in UP'sRampur.Why in news - India's first 'Amrit Sarovar' has beencompleted in Rampur's Gram Panchayat Patwai.

Key Points - Under the Amrit Sarovar initiative, 75 water

bodies would be developed and rejuvenated ineach district as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

In Rampur, 75 ponds were chosen to bedeveloped as Amrit Sarovar.

Work on the pond having the largest area (1.67hectares) in Gram Panchayat Singan Kheda hasalso started.

24. Cosmos Malabaricus project.Why in news - Kerala signs MoU with theNetherlands for Cosmos Malabaricus project.

Key Points - It would help illustrate the history of Kerala in

the 18th century. 18th-century Dutch documents on Malabar are

regarded as the most comprehensive source ofinformation on the period in Kerala from 1643to 1852.

The Kerala Council for Historical Research(KCHR) is carrying out this project.

This project would take six years to complete. The agreement also aims to establish paint

academics at Kollam and Malappuram.25. Minorities Rights Day to be observed annually

on Dec 18.Why in news - Tamil Nadu government wouldobserve 18th December every year, as MinoritiesRights Day at the state level.

Key Points - A sum of Rs 2.50 lakh would be provided for the

purpose for 2022 for event The government would provide education aid

to minority girl students in rural areas of Rs 500to the students of Classes 3 to 5 and Rs 1,000 tothe wards of Class 6.

26. UP's Agra became the first city to have vacuum-based sewer systems.Why in news - Agra became the first city in thecountry to have vacuum-based sewers. Thesevacuums would be used in public places.

Key Points - 240 such houses near the Taj Mahal have been

connected with vacuum-based sewers. The estimated cost for the work of sewer

connection is Rs 100 crore. The Maintenance and complete care will be done

by the Netherlands company for up to five years. If successful, then the vacuum sewer would be

used in Kochi Municipal Corporation as well.

45



27. Jamtara became country's first district withlibrary in every village.Why in news - Jamtara in Jharkhand has becomethe only district in the country where all grampanchayats have community libraries.

Key Points - Most of these libraries were set up around two

years ago with the assistance of DeputyCommissioner Faiz Aq Ahmed Mumtaz.

On 13th November 2020, the district's first evercommunity library was inaugurated.

Jamtara has been the workplace of IshwarChandra Vidyasagar. He spent the last twodecades of his life in Karmatand, Jamtara,awakening the light of education.

28. Malcha Mahal to be restored.Why in news - Delhi government is consideringbringing this 14th-century monument for tourists,after renovating it.

Key Points - It was built in 1325 by Sultan Firoz Shah Tughlaq

and was used as a hunting lodge. It later became the residence of the descendants

of the Nawab of Awadh. It is said that it came to be known as 'Wilayat

Mahal' after Begum Wilayat Mahal of Awadh. The monument is not ASI-protected. The British called Firoz Shah Tughlaq the 'father

of the irrigation department'. Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq was the founder of the

dynasty.

46



Important points - IUCN - critically endangered Also known as "the panda of the sea". Reside in the northern Gulf of California only Threatened primarily by gillnet fishing for the

totoaba fish. "Operation Miracle" - launched by Sea Shepherd

in 2015 to try to save the vaquita4. Andhra to turn beach waste into value-added

products.Why in news - Andhra govt and Global Alliancefor Sustainable Planet to launch a pilot project thatwould see the garbage turned into things such asbuilding construction material, furniture, clothesand shoes.

Important points - Andhra has the second longest coastline with a

length of 975 km (606 mi), next to Gujarat. Global Alliance for Sustainable Planet (GASP) is

a US based NPO headquartered in Newyork.5. Coastline erosion.

Why in news - As much as 32% of India'scoastline underwent sea erosion and 27% of itexpanded between 1990 and 2018.

Key Points -

The National Centre for Coastal Research(NCCR) Chennai monitors shoreline erosion since1990.

India has a coastline of 7516.6 Km (6100 km ofmainland coastline + coastline of 1197 Indianislands) touching 13 States and Union Territories(UTs).

In percentage terms, West Bengal suffers the mostcoastal erosion followed by Kerala and TamilNadu.

Among UTs, Puducherry coastline tops in erosion. National Centre for Ocean Information Services

(INCOIS) has prepared and published an atlasof Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) maps forthe entire coastline of India.

ENVIRONMENT MAY

2022

1. Running out of time : says IPCC.Why in news - IPCC has provided an assessmentof actions that are being taken, and where theywould take us in the fight against climate change.

Important points - IPCC said that global greenhouse emissions

needed to peak by 2025 "at the latest" if the worldwanted to restrict temperature rise to within1.5oC from pre-industrial times.

Global emissions would have to be reduced by43% from current levels by the year 2030 in orderto meet the 1.5oC target.

Paris agreement 2015 aims to limit globalwarming to well below 2° Celsius and preferablylimit it to 1.5° Celsius, compared to pre-industriallevels.

About IPCC– Full form - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Change It was set up in 1988 by WMO and UNEP. So far, five assessment reports have been

produced, the first one being released in 1990(5th report - 2014).

2. UNEP Report on Noise Pollution.Why in news - United Nations EnvironmentProgramme report titled Annual Frontiers Report2022 released.

Important points - This is the 4th edition of the Frontiers Report,

first published in 2016. Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Asansol and Moradabad

are the five Indian cities mentioned in this list. At a maximum value of 114, Moradabad was

the second most noisiest city in the list. The first was Dhaka, Bangladesh at a maximum

value of 119 dB. In India, Noise pollution is regulated separately

under the Noise Pollution (Regulation andControl) Rules, 2000.

3. Near-extinct vaquita porpoise.Why in news - Mexico seeks 'miracle' to savenear-extinct vaquita porpoise.

47



Additional facts-

The 1214.7 kilometers long coastline of Gujarat

is the longest among states. Smallest (131 km) - Goa.

India has the 18th longest total coastal length

among all world countries.

6. Kadaknath chicken.

Why in news - India-Japan implementing joint

project for the preservation of Kadaknath

chicken.

Key Points -

It is native to the Jhabua district of Madhya

Pradesh, India.

It was granted a Geographical Indication (GI)

tag in 2017.

It is popular for its black meat.

It can survive temperatures between 15-35oC.

Other black meat chickens in world - Ayam

Cemani (Indonesia), Silkie (China).

It is also bred in Bihar's Gaya and tribal regions

of Jharkhand.

7. Rare butterfly Palmking.

Why in news - The rare woody butterfly

Palmking has been sighted for the first time in

Tamil Nadu. It was earlier seen only in Kerala.

Key Points -

Palmking was first recorded in South India by

British scientist H.S.Ferguson in 1891. It was

rediscovered in 2007 in Thenmala by C. Susanth.

State Recognised state butterfly

Maharashtra Blue Mormon

Karnataka Southern Bird Wing

Uttarakhand Common Peacock

Tamil Nadu Tamil Yeoman

Arunachal Pradesh Kaiser-i-Hind

Kerala Budha Mayoori

8. Climate Action for Innovators.

Why in news - The UNDP and partners of the

Adaptation Innovation Marketplace (AIM) have

announced $2.2 million in climate action funding

for 22 local innovators from 19 countries,

including India.

Key Points -

AIM is a strategic platform that supports scaled-

up adaptation at the local level.

AIM was launched by Achim Steiner at the

Climate Adaptation Summit in January 2021.

The money comes from the Adaptation Fund

Climate Innovation Accelerator.

Grants were distributed to 19 nations with seven

from Africa, eleven from Asia and four from

Latin America and the Caribbean.

9. Resilience and Sustainability Trust.

Why in news - The IMF has decided to create a new

facility named the Resilience and Sustainability Trust

(RST) to help vulnerable countries.

Key Points -

To help low-income and most middle-income

countries deal with longer-term challenges such

as climate change and pandemics.

It would come into effect on 1st May 2022.

It aims to establish a trust with at least USD 45

billion in resources to balance the demands of

potential contributors and borrowers.

10. Palli becomes India's first 'carbon neutral

panchayat'.

Why in news - PM Modi dedicated to the nation

500 KV solar plant in Palli, installed in a record

time of nearly three weeks.

Key Points -

Hamlet of Palli is located in J&K's border district

of Samba.

1,500 solar panels put up on a total area of 6,408

square metres provide clean electricity to 340

houses in Palli under Gram Urja Swaraj' program.

48



1. Vijay Mohan Kwatra.Why in news - Vinay Mohan Kwatra appointedas new Foreign Secretary

Imp points - He is currently India's ambassador to Nepal. He succeed of the incumbent Harsh Vardhan

Shringla.2. Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Why in news - USA confirmed Ketanji BrownJackson as the first black woman Judge inAmerican Supreme Court.

Imp points - Judge Jackson would be just the third Black

justice, after Thurgood Marshall and ClarenceThomas.

She would is sixth woman Judge.3. Murali M. Natrajan.

Why in news - Reserve Bank of India (RBI) re-appointed Murali M. Natrajan as ManagingDirector (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of DCB Bank for a further period of two yearsfrom 29 April 2022 to 28 April 2024.

Key points- RBI has capped the tenure of bank chief

executives at 15 years and Natrajan will complete15 years at the helm of the bank in 2024.

4. Manoj Soni.Why in news - Dr Manoj Soni has been appointedthe chairman of the Union Public ServiceCommission (UPSC). He replaced the previousUPSC chairman Pradip Kumar Joshi.

5. Harsh Vardhan Shringla.Why in news - Foreign Secy Harsh VardhanShringla to be G20 coordinator.

Key Points- It would be hosted by India in 2023. India would assume the G20 presidency on

1st December 2022, from Indonesia, and willconvene the G20 Leaders Summit for the first timein India in 2023.

The G20 sherpa Piyush Goyal.

6. BCCI secretary Jay Shah.Why in news - Jay Shah appointed as MemberBoard Representative of ICC Cricket Committee.

Key Points- Mahela Jayawardene was reappointed as the

'Past Player' representative. Among other decisions, the ICC Board confirmed

that South Africa wouldhost the inaugural ICCU-19 Women's T20 World Cup.

7. Ian Fry.Why in news - UN Human Rights Councilappoints Tuvalu negotiator Ian Fry as climatechange expert for 1st Time.

Key Points- Ian Fry is the world's 1st independent expert on

human rights and climate change. He has been appointed for a period of three years. Ian Fry would be the first to hold the post. He has negotiated on behalf of least developed

countries including at the 2015 Paris climateconference.

Tuvalu is an island country in the Pacific Ocean.Its islands are situated about midway betweenHawaii and Australia.

8. Iqbal Singh Lalpura.

Why in news - The central government has re-appointed Iqbal Singh Lalpura as the chairpersonof the National Commission for Minorities.

9. Anbdul Qayyum Niazi resigns.

Why in news - Pakistan-occupied Kashmirpremier Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi hasresigned following a revolt in the ruling PakistanTehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party against him.

Key Points -

PoK president - Sultan Mahmood Chaudhry.

In 1975, PoK got its own Constitution, making itan ostensibly self-governed autonomous territory.

10. Manoj Pande.Why in news - Lt Gen Manoj Pande named newArmy chief.

APPOINTMENT & RESIGNATIONS MAY

2022

49



Key points - He succeeded General M M Naravane on 1st May. He became the first officer from the Corps of

Engineers to become the COAS. He was appointed as the 29th Chief of the Army

Staff.11. Abed Rabbo Mansur Hadi resigns as President

of Yemen.Why in news - Hadi had announced hisretirement, handing his powers to an eight-member council made up of various Yemenigroups.

Key Points - The Bab-el-Mandeb is a strait between Yemen

on the Arabian Peninsula. The Bab-el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the

Gulf of Aden. Yemen is bordered by Red Sea to the west, the

Gulf of Aden and the Guardafui Channel to thesouth.

Operation Rahat: It was launched by India toevacuate more than 4,000 Indian citizens fromYemen during the 2015 military intervention bySaudi Arabia and its allies.

12. Shanti Sethi.Why in news - Shanti Sethi has joined US VicePresident Kamala Harris's office as her executivesecretary and defence advisor.

13. A.K. Sood.Why in news - Ajay Kumar Sood has beenappointed as Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA)to the Union government. He succeeded K. VijayRaghavan.

14. Satya Easwaran.Why in news - Wipro has announced theappointment of Satya Easwaran as the Countryhead for India.

15. Jasleen Kohli.Why in news - Digit Insurance has appointedJasleen Kohli as the company's new managingdirector (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO).She succeeded Vijay Kumar.

16. L. V. Vaidyanathan.Why in news - Procter & Gamble India appointedL. V. Vaidyanathan as the new chief executiveofficer.

17. Suman K Bery.Why in news - Suman K Bery to be new NITIvice chairman (VC).

Key Points - Rajiv Kumar who became vice-chairman of NITI

Aayog in August 2017 resigned. Bery is a former Director-General of the National

Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). VC is appointed by the Prime Minister of India.18. Patrick Achi.

Why in News - Patrick Achi re-appointed asPrime Minister of Ivory Coast.

Key Points - He is the third prime minister in the West African

state in the last three years. Tiemoko Meyliet Kone, the Governor of the

Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO)has been appointed as Vice President.

19. Babita Singh.Why in News - Social entrepreneur Babita Singhhas been conferred as a Global Peace Ambassadorfor promoting Peace through Education, Sports,Art, Culture & Diplomacy.

Key Points - The function held at India International Conclave

2022 in collaboration with Asia AfricaConsortium (AAC) in Shangrila, New Delhi.

20. José Ramos-Horta.Why in News - Nobel Peace Prize laureate JoséRamos-Horta declared victory in East Timor'spresidential election.

Key Points - Timor-Leste or East Timor is a former Portuguese

colony. He succeeded Francisco Guterres, popularly

known as Lú-Olo. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996.21. Macron re-elected as French President.

Why in news - Macron won in the second roundof the presidential election with 58.55% of thevotes (rival Marine Le Pen 41.45%).

Key Points - He became the first President of France to have

won a re-election bid since Jacques Chirac in 2002. He is the leader of the independent party called

En Marche! (Onwards).

50



22. AP Abdullahkutty.Why in news - AP Abdullahkutty has beenelected as the chairperson of the Haj Committeeof India.

Key Points - For the first time, two women have been chosen

as its vice-chairpersons- Munnawari Begum andMafuja Khatun.

The Ministry of Minority Affairs is the nodalministry to conduct the Haj pilgrimage in India.

23. Robert Golob.Why in news - Robert Golob elected as PrimeMinister of Slovenia.

Key Points - Robert Golob has defeated Janez Jansa. Golob belongs to Freedom Movement (GS) party.24. IAS officer Shah Faesal reinstated.

Why in news - Shah Faesal, who resigned fromthe IAS in 2019, has been reinstated in service bythe Centre. He is a 2010 UPSC examination topper.

25. Krishnan Ramanujam.Why in news - The National Association ofSoftware and Services Companies (NASSCOM)announced Krishnan Ramanujam as its Chairpersonfor 2022-23.

Key Points - Ramanujam succeeded Rekha M. Menon. NASSCOM also announced the appointment of

Anant Maheshwari as its Vice-Chairperson for2022-23.

NASSCOM, a not-for-profit industry association,is the apex body for the IT industry in India.

NASSCOM was established in 1988.26. Bruce de Broize.

Why in news - Generali Asia has appointed Brucede Broize as MD and CEO of Future GeneraliIndia Life Insurance (FGILI). He takes over fromMiranjit Mukherjee.

51



1. ISRO Tie up with UIDAI For technicalcollaboration.Why in news - The Unique IdentificationAuthority of India (UIDAI) and MeitY hassigned a with the National Remote Sensing Centre(NRSC), ISRO, Hyderabad.

Key Points - NRSC would create a Bhuvan-Aadhar webpage

to provide information and locations forAadhaar centers across India.

2. Microsoft and BPCL collaboration.Why in news - Bharat Petroleum CorporationLtd. (BPCL) has teamed with Microsoft toimprove its customer experience. It would alsointegrate cloud computing and artificialintelligence (AI).

Key Points - Both aim to develop Urja, a conversational AI

platform that would provide 24/7 customer care.3. Green hydrogen plant.

Why in news - Odisha and Bharat PetroleumCorporation Limited (BPCL) signed an MoU forfive years to set up a renewable energy plant andgreen hydrogen plant.

Key Points - BPCL also plans to spend Rs 25,000 crore to build

a renewable energy capacity of 10 gigawattscomprising a mix of solar, wind, small hydro andbiomass by 2040.

4. IAF ties up with IIT Madras to develop solutionsto maintain weapon systems.Why in news - The IAF and IIT Madras signed aMoU for technology development and findingindigenous solutions towards the sustenance ofvarious weapon systems.

5. Technology to capture CO2.Why in news - IIT Guwahati has teamed up withthe National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC)to design and construct a highly energy-efficientCO2 collection system from power plants.

Key Points - This indigenous technology was developed by a

research team led by Professor BishnupadaMandal, Department of Chemical Engineering,IIT Guwahati.

This technology works on flue gas using a newlyactivated amine solvent (IITGS) which consumesup to 11% less energy compared to commercialactivated MDEA (Monoethanolamine) solvent.

6. International Data Centre.Why in news - NIXI-CSC and Tripura signedMOU to set up International Data Centre inTripura.

Key Points - Investment Rs 150 crore in the Data Centre. The international standard Data Centre would

be located at Indranagar, the headquarters ofTripura's IT Bhavan.

7. POSCO ties up with IIT Delhi for research.Why in news - IIT Delhi has partnered withPower System Operation Corporation Limited(POSOCO)-NRLDC to encourage research onissues related to India's power sector.

Key Points - Indian government aims for net-zero carbon

emissions by 2070 and intermediate goalsthrough 2030.

POSOCO is a wholly owned Government of IndiaEnterprise under the Union Ministry of Power.

It is responsible for ensuring the integratedoperation of the national electricity grid in a safemanner.

8. Prasar Bharati signed MoU with Public Broadcasterof Argentina.Why in news - Prasar Bharati has signed an MoUwith Radio Television Argentina (RTA) forcollaboration in the field of broadcasting.

Key Points - Prasar Bharati was founded on 23 November

1997 in New Delhi. Prasar Bharati Headquarters: New Delhi.

AGREEMENT MAY

2022

52



9. 'Women Change-makers' video series.Why in news - Information and Broadcasting(I&B) Ministry to collaborate with Netflix tolaunch a short video series documenting the livesof "women change-makers" who have "brokenthe glass ceiling".

Key Points - By 15th August, Netflix would release around

30 videos for the I&B Ministry. It is an initiative under 'Azadi Ki Amrit Kahaniya',

an extension of the ongoing "Azadi Ka AmritMahotsav" celebrations,

Three short videos were released at the launchthat demonstrated the achievements of BasantiDevi (known for her efforts to save the Kosi river),Anshu Jamsenpa (who scaled Mount Everesttwice) and Harshini Kanhekar (India's firstfemale firefighter).

10. L&T tie-up with IIT Bombay.

Why in news - Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signedan agreement with the IIT Bombay to jointlypursue research and development work in theGreen Hydrogen value chain.

Green Hydrogen Policy 2022– Green hydrogen is produced by electrolysis of

water using renewable energy (like Solar, Wind)and has a lower carbon footprint.

Green hydrogen and Green ammonia policyaimed at boosting the domestic production ofgreen hydrogen to 5 million tonnes by 2030.

11. SBI Cards tie-up with TCS.Why in news - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)has announced the expansion of its strategicpartnership with SBI Card to revamp its digitalexperience.

12. SIDBI signs MoU with WBSIDCLWhy in news - SIDBI signs MoU with WestBengal Small Industries Development CorporationLimited (WBSIDCL) to develop the MSMEecosystem in West Bengal.

Key Points - MoU was signed during the MSME sectoral

session of the Bengal Global Business Summit(BGBS) held in Kolkata.

SIDBI is a statutory body established on 2nd April1990. It is headquartered in Lucknow.

13. HAL in tie-up with IAI to convert aircraft into

mid-air refuellers.

Why in news - Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.(HAL) and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) haveentered into a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to convert civil passenger aircraft to multimission tanker transport (MMTT) aircraft inIndia.

Key Points - The aircraft likely to be converted was a Boeing

767 passenger jet. The IAF at present has six Russian IL-78 tankers. Mid--air refuelling significantly enhances the

range and payload of fighter jets.

53



He has become the richest billionaire in thehealthcare sector in 2022. Poonawalla is thefourth richest Indian.

He is followed by Thomas Frist Jr & Family,Li Xiting and Xu Hang.

China (34) has the most healthcare industrybillionaires, followed by the United States ofAmerica (16), Switzerland (15), Germany (11),and India (9).

INDEX & RANKING MAY

2022

1. State Energy and Climate Index.

Why in news – The NITI Aayog launched theState Energy and Climate Index (SECI). It is thefirst index that aims to track the efforts made bystates and UTs in the climate and energy sector.

Key Points -

It ranks the states' performance on 6 parameters,namely - DISCOM's Performance, Access,Affordability and Reliability of Energy, CleanEnergy Initiatives, Energy Efficiency, Environ-mental Sustainability and New Initiatives.

These parameters are further divided into 27indicators.

States and UTs are categorized into three groups:Front Runners, Achievers and Aspirants.

Top Three States among Larger States Category

Gujarat (1st), Kerala (2nd), Punjab (3rd).

Top Three States among Smaller States Category

Goa(1st), Tripura (2nd), Manipur(3rd).

Top Three UTs - Chandigarh(1st), Delhi(2nd),Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli(3rd).

Bottom three States in Larger States Category -Chhattisgarh(20th), Madhya Pradesh(19th) andJharkhand(18th).

Bottom three States among Smaller StatesCategory - Arunachal Pradesh(8th), Nagaland(7th), Meghalaya(6th).

Top Three UTs - Lakshadweep(7th), J&K(6th),A&N(5th).

Bihar ranks 15th among the larger statescategory.

2. Hurun Global healthcare Rich List 2022.

Why in news - Cyrus S. Poonawalla topped thelist for 2022.

Key Points -

He is the Chairman and Managing Director ofSerum Institute of India (SII).

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1. Waterways Conclave 2022 3. 'Smart Cities, Smart Urbanization' conference.

SUMMIT & CONFERENCES MAY

2022

55



6. Raisina Dialogue 2022.

Why in news - On 25th April 2022, the Raisina

Dialogue was inaugurated by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi.

Key Points -

The chief guest of the event was European

Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen.

Theme 2022 "Terranova- Impassioned, Impatient,

Imperilled" and it was be modelled along six

thematic pillars.

Raisina Dialogue is India's premier conference

on geopolitics and geo-economics which started

in 2016.

It was organised by MEA in partnership with

the Observer Research Foundation (ORF).

7. World Congress of Accountants.

Why in news - Institute of Chartered Accountants

of India (ICAI) is set to host the 21st World

Congress of Accountants (WCOA) for the first

time in 118 years of its existence.

Key Points -

The event would be held from November 18 to

21 after outbidding France.

About 6000 top accountants from 130 countries

would participate in the program physically.

The event would take place in Jio World

Convention Centre in Mumbai.

The WCOA is held every four years since it

started in 1904.

Theme - 'Building Trust Enabling Sustainability'.

56



1. Electoral Bond scheme.Why in news - SC agrees to list plea againstelectoral bonds for hearing

Imp points -

The bonds are issued in multiples of Rs. 1,000,Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 1 crorewithout any maximum limit.

State Bank of India is authorised to issue andencash these bonds, which are valid for fifteendays from the date of issuance.

The bonds are available for purchase by anyperson (who is a citizen of India or incorporatedor established in India) for a period of ten dayseach in the months of January, April, July andOctober as may be specified by the CentralGovernment.

2. International Air Connectivity Scheme (IACS).

Why in news - IACS launched by the Ministryof Civil Aviation with the objective of enhancingair connectivity from India's certain states withsome selected international destinations.

Imp points -

Imphal Guwahati and Agartala to be connectedwith Dhaka, Bangkok, Yangon, Kathmandu,Mandalay, Hanoi, Chittagong, and Kunming.

Two international airports in the Northeast -Guwahati and Imphal.

IACS is an extension of UDAN scheme.

Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN)–

21st October is celebrated as UDAN Day. UDAN was launched by the Ministry of Civil

Aviation in 2016. The scheme is operational for a period of 10 years.

3. Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).Why in news - Emphasis was laid at a regionalconference on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)onevolving the community ownership of watersupply infrastructure.

Key points- JJM aims to ensure assured tap water supply or

'Har Ghar Jal' to all rural households by 2024. JJM was launched in 2019. It envisages supply of 55 litres of water per

person per day to every rural household throughFunctional Household Tap Connections (FHTC)by 2024.

It comes under Jal Shakti Ministry.4. AVSAR' Scheme.

Why in news - The Airport Authority of India(AAI) has launched an initiative "AVSAR" toencourage the talent of women, artisans andcraftsmen and provide them with the rightopportunities.

Key Points - AVSAR stands for 'Airport as Venue for Skilled

Artisans of the Region'. An area of 100-200 square feet would be earmarked

at each AAI-operated airport to self-help groupsfor a duration of 15 days.

5. National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP).Why in news - Assets worth Rs 96,000 croremonetized in 2021-22 surpassing the target ofRs 88,000 crore.

Key Points - The coal and mining sectors, roads, and power

assets were key to the monetization target beingsurpassed last fiscal year.

The NMP estimates an aggregate monetizationpotential of Rs 6 lakh crores through core assetsof the Central Government, over four years(FY 2022 to FY 2025).

The pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog. The top 5 sectors capture about 83% of the

aggregate pipeline value. These top 5 sectorsinclude- Roads (27%), Railways (25%), Power(15%), oil & gas pipelines (8%) and Telecom (6%).

The NMP would run co-terminus with the Rs 100lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP).

UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEMES MAY

2022

57



6. Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme.Why in news - 61 applications for projectsentailing an investment of `19,077 crores, havebeen approved under the Production LinkedIncentive (PLI) Scheme for textiles.

Key Points -Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme To boost domestic manufacturing and cut down

on import bills, the union government in March2020 introduced a PLI scheme. It aims to givecompanies incentives for incremental sales fromproducts manufactured in domestic units.

The Scheme has also been approved for sectorssuch as automobiles, pharmaceuticals, IThardware including laptops, mobile phones &telecom equipment, white goods, chemical cells,food processing, etc.

7. Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.Why in news - Central government has approvedthe continuation of Rashtriya Gram SwarajAbhiyan (RGSA) from 1st April 2022 to 31stMarch 2026.

Key Points - The scheme aims to develop the governance

capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs). The scheme was first approved in 2018 for

implementation from 2018-19 to 2021-22. Implementing Agency– Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It is an effort in the direction of achieving "Sabka

Sath, Sabka Gaon, Sabka Vikas".8. 'SVANidhi se Samriddhi' program.

Why in news - Ministry of Housing and UrbanAffairs (MoHUA) launched the SVANidhi seSamriddhi programme in additional 126 citiesacross 14 States/UTs.

Key Points - It provides affordable working capital loans to

street vendors to resume their livelihoods thathave been adversely affected due to Covid-19lockdowns.

They could avail a working capital loan of up toRs. 10,000, which is repayable in monthlyinstallments in the tenure of one year.

On timely/early repayment of the loan, aninterest subsidy of 7% per annum would becredited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries.

9. National Agriculture Market (e-NAM).Why in news - 2022 marks the sixth anniversaryof the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), apan-India electronic trade network.

Key Points - It was launched on April 14th in 2016 by Prime

Minister Narendra Modi. It is completely funded by the Central

Government. It connects the existing APMC mandis to form a

unified national agricultural commoditiesmarket.

A total of 1000 mandis from 18 states and threeunion territories have joined the e-Nam platform.

Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC)implements e-NAM.

10. 40th 'Hunar Haat'.Why in news - Union Minister Shri AnuragThakur inaugurated the 40th edition of the'Hunar Haat' in Mumbai.

Key Points - Tejas - A skilling program has been launched by

Govt. of India. Under this initiative, India wouldsend skilled manpower to UAE.

About Hunar Haat - Hunar Haat is an exhibition of handicrafts and

traditional products made by artisans fromminority communities.

It was organized by the Ministry of MinorityAffairs under USTTAD (Upgrading the Skills &Training in Traditional Arts/Crafts forDevelopment) scheme.

Target - to provide employment opportunitiesto 7 lakh 50 thousand artisans, craftsmenthrough 75 "Hunar Haat".

11. India's First Skill India International Centre.Why in news - Union Minister DharmendraPradhan inaugurated India's First Skill IndiaInternational Centre at SDI Bhubaneswar.

Key Points - It would be set up in collaboration between Skill

Development Institute (SDI), Bhubaneswar andNSDC international (NSDCI).

A National Academy for Skill Teachers wouldbe set up at the SDI campus for skill training ofteachers and assessors.

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12. Ayushman Bharat- Health and Wellness Centres(AB-HWC) 4th anniversary.Why in news - The Union Health ministerMansukh Mandaviya organised a week-longcelebration under the "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav".

Key Points - The celebration went go on from 16th April to 22th

April. First AB-HWC was inaugurated on 14th April

2018 at Jangla village in the Bijapur District ofChhattisgarh.

The Government of India is committed toestablishing 1,50,000 AB-HWCs by December2022 of which 1,17,400 HWCs have been alreadyestablished.

More than 1 Lakh Centres have registered forthe e-Sanjeevani HWCs portal.

13. State of India's Children: Status and Trends inMultidimensional Child Development.Why in news - NITI Aayog and UNICEF Indiasigned a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop andlaunch the first report on the 'State of India'sChildren: Status and Trends in MultidimensionalChild Development.'

Key Points -

The NITI Aayog and UNICEF India collaborationwould develop the methods, technical analysis,reporting and action planning health, nutrition,education, water and sanitation, protection etc.

The report would be built on the ethos of SDGattainments for children and ensuring that nochild is left behind

Hyun Hee Ban is UNICEF India's Chief of SocialPolicy.

14. PMGKP for health workers fighting COVID-19extended.Why in news - The Pradhan Mantri Garib KalyanPackage (PMGKP) has been extended for another180 days.

Key Points - The PMGKP was launched on 30th March 2020. A sum of INR 50 lakhs would be given to the insured

person's claimant in the event of an occurrence. So far, 1905 requests of health workers who

perished while performing Covid-related taskshave been settled since the program's inception.

15. Dr. Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE)Scheme.Why in news - The Union Minister for SocialJustice and Empowerment launched the Dr.Ambedkar Centres of Excellence (DACE) Schemefrom Varanasi.

Key Points - Dr. Ambedkar Foundation (DAF) under M/O

Social Justice & Empowerment has started theDACE scheme in 31 Central Universities acrossthe country.

It aims to provide high quality free coachingfacilities to the Scheduled Caste students for theCivil Services examinations conducted by UPSC.

A total of 100 seats would be sanctioned forcoaching per centre.

33% of seats would be given to the eligible femalecandidates of Scheduled Castes.

At present, there are 24 Dr. Ambedkar Chairsacross the country.

16. NITI Aayog draft Battery Swapping Policy 2022.Why in news - To expedite large-scale adoptionof EVs, NITI Aayog released the draft battery-swapping policy targeted at electric two-wheelersand three-wheelers.

Key Points - It involves exchanging discharged batteries for

charged ones, delinking the vehicle. All metropolitan cities with a population above

40 lakh would be prioritized for the developmentof a battery swapping network under the firstphase.

All major cities such as state capitals, UTheadquarters, and cities with populations above5 lakhs would be covered under the second phase.

India's Greenhouse gas emission - India is the fourth-largest greenhouse gas emitter

and third-largest CO2 emitter in the world. Among sectors, transportation stands as the third

biggest contributor to CO2 emissions. More than 50% of this sector's emissions come

from 2 & 3-wheelers and cars alone. India had pledged to become net-zero by 2070. India adopted the National Electric Mobility

Mission Plan (NEMMP), 2020, which aimed toincrease the fleet of electric/hybrid vehicles toaround 7 million by the year 2020.

59



1. "Tiger of Drass: Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, KargilHero".Why in news - A new book titled "Tiger of Drass:Capt. Anuj Nayyar, 23, Kargil Hero" authoredby Meena Nayyar & Himmat Singh Shekhawatlaunched.

Key Points - Book was published by HarperCollins Publishers

India. Capt. Anuj Nayyar (23 years old) was martyred

during the 1999 Kargil War. He was honoured with the Maha Vir Chakra

(posthumously), the second-highest gallantryaward in 2000.

2. "Crunch Time: Narendra Modi's NationalSecurity Crises".Why in news - Dr Sreeram Chauliahas authoreda new book titled "Crunch Time: NarendraModi's National Security Crises". The book wasreleased by Meenakshi Lekhi.

3. 'The Maverick Effect'.Why in news - A new book 'The Maverick Effect'launched by Harish Mehta.

Key Points - The Maverick Effect" tells the untold story of

how in the 1970s and 80s a 'band of dreamers'joined hands to create NASSCOM and pave theway for the IT revolution in India.

4. Book 'Hear Yourself'.Why in news - Indian author Prem Rawat haslaunched his book 'Hear Yourself' for the Indiansubcontinent in Mumbai.

5. Book titled "The Boy Who Wrote a Constitution".Why in news - A new book titled "The Boy WhoWrote a Constitution: A play for Children onHuman Rights" authored by Rajesh Talwar wasreleased.

Key points - Talwar authored books title "The Vanishing

of Subhash Bose", "Gandhi, Ambedkar, and theFour-Legged Scorpion", and "Aurangzeb".

6. Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik released 2 books.Why in News - Odisha CM Naveen Patnaikreleased 2 books: "The Magic of Mangalajodi" &"The Sikh History of East India".

Key Points - "The Magic of Mangalajodi" is written by

Avinash Khemka. "Sikh History of Eastern India" is written by

Abinash Mohapatra.7.' Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping'.

Why in News - A new book titled "Chinese Spies:From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping" authored byFrench journalist Roger Faligot published.

Key Points - The book has been published by HarperCollins

India. It has been translated by Natasha Lehrer. The foreword of the book is written by Vikram

Sood, the former head of the Research andAnalysis Wing (R&AW).

BOOKS MAY

2022

60



1. 64th Grammy Awards.Why in news - Two Indians - Falguni Shah andRicky Kej won big at the 64th Grammy Awards

Important points - Ricky Kej received the Grammy for Divine Tides

(Lahiri Music) for the Best New Age Album. Thisis the second Grammy for the Indian musician.His first had come at the 57th Grammy ceremonyin 2015 for Winds of Samsara.

Falguni Shah aka Falu won the 'Best Children'salbum' for A Colourful World (El CerritoRecords). The album stemmed from her strugglesto explain racial equity to her child.

Sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar became thefirst Indian to win a Grammy in 1968.

The Grammy Awards presented by theRecording Academy at the MGM Grand GardenArena in Las Vegas

2. Saraswati Samman 2021.Why in news - Ramdarash Mishra selected forSaraswati Samman 2021 (In Hindi language).

Important points - He would be awarded the prestigious Saraswati

Samman for his collection of poems 'Mein toYahan Hun'

He was born in Dumri village in Uttar Pradesh'sGorakhpur district on 15th August 1924.

His collection 'Mein to Yahan Hun' was publishedin 2015.

Instituted in 1991, Saraswati Samman is one ofthe most prestigious literary awards in thecountry.

3. O. Henry Award.Why in news - Veteran Bengali writer Amar Mitrawon O. Henry Award.

Imp points - Amar Mitra wrote short story titled 'Gaonburo'

in Bangla in 1977. It was translated by Anish Gupta in 1990 as The

Old Man of Kusumpur in English.

Mr. Mitra is also a recipient of the SahityaAkademi Award.

Past winners of O. Henry Award includeWilliam Faulkner, Saul Bellow and Raymond Carve.

4. Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World UniversityRankings by Subject (12th edition).Why in news - Over 35 programmes offered byIndian institutes make it to top-100 list.

Imp points - Engineering courses account for the maximum

number of programmes offered in India thatmade it to the top 100 list.

IIT Bombay leads the pack with as many as eightof its engineering programmes finding a place inthe top 100.

Saveetha Institute of Medical and TechnicalSciences(Rank 18)( dentistry programme) andIndian School of Mines (Rank 26) (ISM) Dhanbad,two institutes that broke into the top 100 categoryfor the first time.

The only private higher educational institute thatmade it to the top 100 is the OP Jindal GlobalUniversity,(Rank 70) with its law programme.

5. International Booker Prize.Why in news - Geetanjali Shree's Hindi novel'Tomb of Sand' makes Booker shortlist.

Imp points - It became the first Hindi language work of fiction

to be shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. Shree's book was translated into English by Daisy

Rockwell.6. World Press Photo of the Year 2022.

Why in news - A photograph by Amber Brackentitled "Kamloops Residential School" has won the2022 World Press Photo of the Year award.

Key Points- The photo shows children's clothing hung on

crosses commemorating the more than 200children who died of maltreatment, neglect anddisease at the Kamloops Indian ResidentialSchool in British Columbia.

AWARDS & HONOURS MAY

2022

61



7. 56th Jnanpith Award.

Why in news - Assamese poet Nilamani Phookanwas conferred with 56th Jnanpith Award.

Key Points -

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarmahanded over the trophy, cheque and othermementos to the poet.

Jnanpith Award ceremony held for the first timein Assam.

Poet Phookan is also a recipient of the SahityaAkademi and Padma Shri awards.

Phookan is the third Assamese to receive theJnanpith Award after novelist Birendra KumarBhattacharya (1979) and Mamoni RaisomGoswami (2000).

The notable works of Phukan are 'Xurjya HenuNaami Aahe Ei Nodiyedi', 'Kabita' and 'GulapiJamur Lagna.

8. Malcolm Adiseshiah Award.

Why in news - Renowned Indian economist andpolitical commentator Prabhat Patnaik has beennamed the recipient of the Malcolm AdiseshiahAward 2022.

Key Points-

The award is annually given by the Malcolm andElizabeth Adiseshiah Trust to an outstandingsocial scientist.

9. EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2021.

Why in news - Founder and CEO of Nykaa,Falguni Nayar has been named the EYEntrepreneur of the Year 2021.

Key Points-

She would now represent India at the EY WorldEntrepreneur of the Year Award (WEOY) onJune 9, 2022, in Monaco.

In 2019, she was the recipient of the EYEntrepreneur of The Year Award in the Start-upcategory.

Recently, She was also announced as thewealthiest new entrant in the Hurun Global RichList 2022.

The Lifetime Achievement was given to A. M.Naik, Group Chairman of Larsen & Toubro.

10. 2021 Tree City of the World.Why in news - Mumbai and Hyderabad havebeen jointly recognized as '2021 Tree City of theWorld' by the United Nations Food andAgriculture Organisation (UN-FAO) and ArborDay Foundation.

Key Points- They have won the recognition for their

"commitment to growing and maintaining urbantrees and greenery in building healthy, resilientand happy cities".

Mumbai has made the list for the first time,Hyderabad has featured on it for the secondconsecutive year.

Hyderabad planted more than 3.5 crore trees in500 volunteer hours and Mumbai planted 42,5000trees in 25,000 volunteer hours.

Apart from Hyderabad and Mumbai, 136 othercities from 21 countries have been recognized inthe third edition of the Tree City of the World list.

Food and Agriculture Organisation Headquarters:Rome, Italy

FAO founded in 16th October 1945.11. International Gandhi Award for Leprosy, 2021.

Why in news - M. Venkaiah Naidu has presentedthe International Gandhi Awards for Leprosy,2021.

Key Points - The International Gandhi Award for Leprosy

2021 was conferred to Dr. Bhushan Kumar underthe individual category and Sahyog KushthaYagna Trust, Gujarat, under the institutionalcategory.

India accounts for 51% of the new cases detectedglobally (2020-2021).

Hansen's disease (also known as leprosy) iscaused by bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae.

Mode of Transmission - breathing airbornedroplets from the affected individuals.

In 2017, the SPARSH Leprosy AwarenessCampaign was launched to promote awarenessand address the issues of stigma and discrimination.

12. PM Award for Excellence in Public Administration.Why in news - UDAN Scheme Selected for PMAward For Excellence in Public Administration2020 under the category "Innovation (General) -Central".

62



About UDAN– Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN) was

launched as a Regional Connectivity Scheme(RCS) under the Ministry of Civil Aviation in 2016.

The scheme is operational for 10 years. KRISHI UDAN was launched in August 2020 to

assist farmers in transporting agriculturalproducts.

Under International UDAN, the plan is toconnect India's smaller cities directly to some keyforeign destinations in the neighbourhood.

13. Director of the Year Award.Why in news - Nitin Gadkari presented the 2021AIMA Managing India Awards (AIMA) toShoojit Sircar.

Key Points - For movie Sardar Udham. This is the 12th edition of the AIMA Managing

India Awards.14. 'Celent Model Bank' Award.

Why in news - IndusInd Bank has been awardedthe global 'Celent Model Bank' award under thecategory of 'Payments System Transformation'for building a best-in-class Enterprise PaymentsHub (EPH).

Key Points - The 'Celent Model Bank' is awarded for best

practices of technology usage in different areasthat are critical to success in banking.

15. Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2022.Why in news - Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrahnamed among Wisden's 5 'Cricketers of the Year'.

Key Points - It also features England pacer Ollie Robinson,

New Zealand batter Devon Conway and Proteaswomen star Dan Van Niekerk.

'Leading Cricketer in the World' - England's JoeRoot.

'Leading Woman Cricketer in the World' - SouthAfrican batter Lizelle Lee.

'Leading T20 Cricketer in the World' - Pakistan'swicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan.

16. Champion of the Earth award 2021.Why in news - UNEP named Sir DavidAttenborough as recipient of Champions of theEarth Lifetime Achievement Award 2021.

Key Points - His well-known documentaries include 'The

Green Planet and A Plastic Ocean'. His works - Life on Earth (1979), The Living

Planet (1984), The Trials of Life (1990). Sir Attenborough was awarded the prestigious

Indira Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2019. PM Narendra Modi received the Champions of

the Earth award in 2018.17. PRSI Awards 2022.

Why in news - The National Mineral DevelopmentCorporation Ltd. (NMDC) swept the PublicRelations Society of India's (PRSI) Awards 2022,taking first place in four categories.

Key Points - NDMC was conferred with PR award 2022 for

their Corporate Website, Annual Report, Layoutand Design of Newsletter, and CSR CorporateVideo.

18. 6th Entrepreneur Leadership Award 2022.Why in news - Vivek Lall would get theprestigious Entrepreneur Leadership Awards.

Key Points - Lall has been selected for the "Global Leader in

Defence & Aviation Sector" award category. Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya

Scindia would be the Chief Guest of the event.19. India Pavilion at Paris Book Festival 2022.

Why in news - India was designated as the Guestof Honour Country at the Paris Book Festival2022 being organized from 21st to 24th April 2022.

Key Points - The inauguration was followed by a Rajasthani

folk music program, "Sounds of India". The National Institute of Design (NID) developed

the India Pavilion, which comprises over 15digital and physical exhibitions showing over 400books published in various Indian languages.

20. John F. Kennedy Award.Why in news - Ukrainian President Zelenskyygots John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Awardfor protecting democracy.

Key Points - The award is named after Kennedy's 1957

Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Profiles inCourage."

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The awards would be presented on 22nd Maythe John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston.

21. UNESCO's World Book Capital 2022.Why in news - Guadalajara, Mexico was namedWorld Book Capital for the year 2022 by theDirector-General of UNESCO Audrey Azoulay.

Key Points - Guadalajara is the twenty-second city to hold the

title since 2001, following Tbilisi (2021) andKuala Lumpur (2020).

New Delhi has been declared the World BookCapital for the year 2003.

22. Commonwealth Points of Light Award.Why in news - The founder of educationalcharity 'Bidyanando' Kishore Kumar Das fromBangladesh has been chosen for theCommonwealth Points of Light Award.

Key Points - He has been chosen for his exceptional work in

improving access to education for children frommarginalised backgrounds.

Kishore Das setup Bidyanando in 2013 with just22 Students. It now runs five primary schoolswhich provide free education.

Kishore has also started a meal program, 'Ektakay aahar' (Meal for one Taka).

23. World Summit on the Information Society Forum(WSIS) Prizes 2022.Why in news - Meghalaya E-proposal Systemgrabbed a prestigious UN Award.

Key Points - e-Proposal System, which is part of Meghalaya

Enterprise Architecture (MeghEA), has beenawarded the prestigious UN Award.

MeghEA was launched by CM Conrad KSangma in 2019 and is being executed by thePlanning Department of the Government ofMeghalaya.

MeghEA has been backed by National e-GovDivision (NeGD).

24. 'Freedom of City' honour.Why in news - The council in the northern cityof York voted unanimously to with draw princeAndrew's "freedom of the city honour.

Key Points - The honour was awarded to Andrew in 1987

after Queen Elizabeth II made him the Duke ofYork.

Andrew is the first person to be stripped of thestatus.

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1. Chithirai festival.Why in news - The Chithirai festival commencedfrom April 5 with the traditional temple flaghoisting .

Key points - The Chithirai festival is celebrated every year at

the Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. It symbolizes the unity of saivism and

Vaishnavism. It re-enact the wedding of Lord Sundareswarar

(Lord Shiva) and Goddess Meenakshi (LordVishnu's sister).

2. Sarhul Festival 2022.Why in news - Sarhul is the festival of the NewYear celebrated in the state of Jharkhand by thetribal communities as part of the local Sarnareligion.

Key points - It is also a celebration of the beginning of spring. Sarhul is celebrated by many tribes in Jharkhand,

but most notably the Munda, Ho, and Oraon tribes. Among these many cultural events is "Baa

Porob", the festival of flowers and the worshipof the Sal Tree as well as a special Sarhul dance.

3. Madhavpur Ghed Fair.Why in news - Shri Ram Nath Kovindinaugurated the five-day long Madhavpur Ghedfair in Porbandar, Gujarat.

Key points - It celebrates the sacred union of Lord Krishna

and Rukmini.4. Chennakeshava temple.

Why in news - Moulvi reads excerpts from theKoran to mark the beginning of the rathotsava(chariot or car festival) at the historic Chennakeshavatemple in Belur, Karnataka. The temple was builtby Hoysala rulers.

Key points - Hoysalas were feudatories of chalukyas of Kalyana. Dwarasamudra(HalebId) was their capital. Sala was the founder of this dynasty.

Vishnuvardhana(Bittideva) was the greatest rulerof the Hoysala dynasty. He got the title Talkadugonda.

Vishnuvardhana built the kirtinarayana templeat Talakadu and Chennakesavar temple at Belurto commemorate his victory over Cholas.

5. Baisakhi, Bohag Bihu, Puthandu, Odia New Year.Why in news - PM Narendra Modi Nationon Baisakhi, Bohag Bihu, Puthandu, Odia NewYear which marks arrival of spring season andNew year in respective areas.

Key points - Baisakhi - Punjab & Haryana. Bohag Bihu or Rongali Bihu or Xaat Bihu - Assam Puthandu or Varsha Pirappu - Tamil Nadu

FESTIVALS MAY

2022

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1. World Health day 2022.Why in news - World Health Day is celebratedon 7th April every year.

Imp points - On this day, WHO was established in 1948. Theme 2022 is "Our Planet, Our Health".2. International Day of Sport for Development

and Peace 2022.Why in news - The International Day of Sportfor Development and Peace (IDSDP) is observedglobally on 16th April.

Key points - Theme - "Securing a Sustainable and Peaceful

Future for All: The Contribution of Sport".3. World Parkinson's Day 2022.

Why in news - 11th April is observed as WorldParkinson's Day to raise awareness of Parkinson'sdisease.

Key points - It is a progressive nervous system disorder. 11th April marks the birthday of Dr James

Parkinson who was the first to describe anddiagnose the disease.

Theme for 2022 - Integrated Healthcare. Also, April is observed as Parkinson's Awareness

month.4. National Safe Motherhood Day 2022.

Why in news - National Safe Motherhood Dayis observed every year on 11th April. The dayaims to work towards providing better medicalfacilities to pregnant or new mothers to reducethe maternal mortality rate.

Key points - It is an initiative of the White Ribbon Alliance

India (WRAI). The Government of India declared 11th April as

National Safe Motherhood Day at the request ofWRAI in 2003.

The day coincides with the birth anniversary ofKasturba Gandhi.

National Safe Motherhood Day aims to bring theglobal mortality rate down to 70 per 1000 birthsas part of SDG.

5. World Homeopathy Day 2022.Why in news - World Homeopathy Day isobserved every year on 10th April to spread awarenessabout homeopathy and its contribution to the worldof medicine.

Key points - To commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr.

Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann. Hahnemann is considered the father of

Homeopathy. Theme 2022 in India is- 'People's Choice For

Wellness.'6. International Turban Day.

Why in news - International Turban Day iscelebrated every year on 13th April since 2004.

Key points - To create awareness of the strict requirement on

Sikhs to put the turban as a mandatory part oftheir religion.

The 2022 Turban Day also marks the 553rd birthanniversary of Guru Nanak Dev and the Baisakhifestival.

7. International Day of Human Space Flight.Why in news - It is Celebrated annually on 12thApril to mark the anniversary of the first humanspace flight by Yuri Gagarin on 12th April 1961.

Key points - On 12th April 2011, a resolution was passed by

the United Nations General Assembly to celebratethe International Day of Human Spaceflightevery year.

America has been celebrating this day as theWorld Space Party since 2001.

United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs(UNOOSA) promotes international cooperationfor the peaceful uses of outer space.

IMPORTANT DAY MAY

2022

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Yuri Gagarin became the first person tosuccessfully orbit the Earth on 12th April 1961in Vostok 1 capsule.

The world's first man-made earth satellite'Sputnik I' was launched into outer space in theyear 1957.

8. Ambedkar Jayanti 2022.Why in news - Ambedkar Jayanti ( also knownas Bhim Jayanti) is celebrated on 14th April tocommemorate the birth anniversary of Dr BhimRao Ambedkar. In 2022 It markted the 131st birthanniversary of Babasaheb.

Key Points- B R Ambedkar was born on 14th April 1891. It is

observed as Equality Day throughout the country. Bhim Jayanti was first observed in 1928 by

Janardan Sadashiv Ranapisay. He led the committee that drafted India's

constitution. He was India's first Law Minister. He has been bestowed with the highest

civilian honour, Bharat Ratna in 1990 posthumously. In 1923, he set up the 'Bahishkrit Hitkarini Sabha

(Outcastes Welfare Association)'. In 1936, B R Ambedkar founded the Independent

Labour Party. On 14th October 1956, he embraced Buddhism.

The same year he completed his last writing'Buddha and His Dharma'.

Few important works of Dr. Ambedkar: MookNayak (weekly) 1920 Janta (weekly) 1930, TheAnnihilation of Caste 1936, The Untouchables1948 Buddha Or Karl Marx 1956, etc.

9. World Chagas Disease Day : 14th April.Why in news - World Chagas Disease Day isobserved on 14th April to raise public awarenessand visibility among people about Chagas Disease.

Key Points- Chagas disease, also known as "silent or silenced

disease". It is also called American trypanosomiasis. The day was observed for the first time in 2020. Theme 2022 - finding and reporting every case

to defeat Chagas disease.

The day has been named after Carlos RibeiroJustiniano Chagas, the Brazilian doctor whodiagnosed the first case on 14th April 1909.

10. 103rd Anniversary of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre- 13th April 2022.Why in news - The Jallianwala Bagh massacretook place on 13th April 1919. This year wecommemorated its 103rd anniversary.

Key points - On 13th April 1919, more than hundreds of

people were protesting peacefully against theRowlatt Acts were gunned down by the Britishforces led by British Indian Army officerBrigadier-General Reginald Edward Harry Dyer.

A 7-member Disorders Inquiry Committee'Hunter Committee' headed by Lord WilliamHunter was established to investigate theJallianwala Bagh tragedy.

11. World Hemophilia Day.Why in news - World Hemophilia Day isobserved globally on 17th April every year.

Key points -

Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which the bloodof the patient does not clot properly due to a lackof blood-clotting proteins.

Theme 2022 - 'Access for All: Partnership. Policy.Progress. Engaging your government, integratinginherited bleeding disorders into national policy.'

12. World Heritage Day 2022.

Why in news - World Heritage Day is celebratedevery year around the world on 18th April. Theday is also referred to as International Day forMonuments and Sites.

Key points - A photo exhibition and a cultural festival organized

by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI),Aurangabad circle at the Ellora Caves.

A cultural music festival, titled 'TRIKAAL', organizedby ASI.

India has 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites - 32Cultural, 7 Natural and one Mixed UNESCOWorld Heritage Site.

In August 2021, UNESCO declared theHarappan city of Dholavira (the first site of IndusValley Civilisation in India) situated in Gujaratas India's 40th world heritage site.

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13. World Liver Day 2022.Why in news - World Liver Day is observed on19th April annually to spread awareness aboutthe causes of liver disease and tips for its prevention.

Key points - The liver is the second largest and the second

most complex organ in the body, after the brain. The liver regulates blood sugar, removes toxic

substances from the body, helps blood clot, andcontrols cholesterol levels.

The most common causes of liver disease are viralhepatitis i.e. hepatitis B and hepatitis C, excessiveconsumption of alcohol, and unhealthy lifestylesleading to obesity.

A patient who drinks alcohol for prolongedperiods of time in substantial quantities ultimatelydevelops cirrhosis.

14. National civil services day 2022.Why in news - India observes National CivilServices Day on 21st April every year toacknowledge the works of officers engaged inseveral public service departments in the country.

Key points - 21st April marks the anniversary of the historic

address given by the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patelto the newly appointed administrative servicesofficers at Delhi's Metcalf House in 1947.

The country's first National Civil Service Dayevent was observed on 21st April 2006 in NewDelhi's Vigyan Bhawan.

15. World Earth Day 2022Why in news - World Earth Day, also known asInternational Mother Earth Day, is celebratedevery year on 22nd April.

Key points - In 1969, John Mc Connell proposed to honour

Mother Earth and the concept of peace during aUNESCO conference in San Francisco.

Earth Day was first celebrated on 22nd April 1970. Theme - 2022 'Invest in our planet'.16. Khongjom Day 2022.

Why in news - Manipur CM N. Biren Singh andGovernor La Ganesan paid their rich tributes tothe martyrs of the 1891 Anglo-Manipur War.

Key points - Khongjom Day is celebrated on 23rd April every

year in Manipur. The war was fought at the Kheba hills of

Khongjom of Manipur in 1891. Manipuri warriors were headed by Paona

Brajabashi. The war lasted from 31st March to 27th April

1891 and ended with a British triumph.17. National Panchayati Raj Day 2022.

Why in news - National Panchayati Raj Day iscelebrated every year on 24th April to raiseawareness about local self-governments in ruralIndia.

Key points - The 73rd Amendment Act 1992 took effect on

24th April 1993. The first National Panchayati Raj Day was

celebrated in 2010. Article 40 made a mention of panchayats and

Article 246 empowers the state legislature tolegislate with respect to any subject relating tolocal self-government.

Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) was constitutiona-lized through the 73rd Constitutional AmendmentAct, 1992.

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment added PartIX titled "The Panchayats" to the Constitution.

Balwant Rai Mehta is known as the Father ofPanchayati Raj.

Evolution of Panchayati Raj - Balwant Rai MehtaCommittee (1957),Ashok Mehta Committee(1977), GVK Rao committee (1985),LM Singhvicommittee (1986).

Rajasthan was the first state to establishPanchayati Raj. It was inaugurated in 1959 inNagaur district.

18. World Book and Copyright Day.Why in news - Every year on 23rd April WorldBook and Copyright Day is observed to promotethe love of reading.

Key points - The World Book Day was first observed by

UNESCO on 23rd April, 1995.

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23rd April is also the day legendary writers- IncaGarcilaso de la Vega and William Shakespearedied.

Theme - 2022 'Read…So you never feel alone.'19. World Malaria Day 2022.

Why in news - To raise awareness about thislife-threatening disease, citizens all across theworld observed World Malaria Day on 25th Aprilevery year.

Key points - Malaria is spread through the female Anopheles

mosquito's bite (which is infected with themalaria-causing plasmodium parasite).

In 2008, the first World Malaria Day was observed. Theme 2022 - is "Harness innovation to reduce

the malaria disease burden and save lives". On 30th June 2021, People's Republic of China

was certified malaria-free. India aims to eliminate Malaria by 2030. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said 124

districts in the country have reported "zero"malaria cases.

20. International Day of Multilateralism andDiplomacy for Peace 2022.Why in news - It is celebrated on 24th April topromote and maintain the UN's three pillars ofpeace and security, development, and humanrights.

Key points - UN General Assembly adopted the resolution

"International Day of Multilateralism andDiplomacy for Peace" on 12th December 2018.

21. WHO's World Immunization Week.Why in news - WHO is celebrating WorldImmunization week from 24th April to 30th April.

Key points - World Immunization Week is celebrated

worldwide in the last week of April. Theme 2022 "Long Life for All". The world's first "World Immunization Week"

was observed in 2012.22. World Intellectual Property Day.

Why in news - World Intellectual Property Daywas celebrated on 26th April to learn about therole that intellectual property (IP) rights play inencouraging innovation and creativity.

Key Points - Theme 2022 - "IP and Youth: Innovating for a

Better Future". The event was established by the World

Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2000. World Intellectual Property Organization

HQ: Geneva, Switzerland) is the InternationalNodal agency for IP.

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1. Henry Patterson.Why in news - The novelist who wrote 'The EagleHas Landed', died at the age of 92. He was widelyknown by the pseudonym Jack Higgins.

2. Shiv Kumar Subramaniam.Why in news - Actor-screenwriter Shiv KumarSubramaniam has passed away

Key Points - He started his career by writing a screenplay for

the 1989 film 'Parinda'. He won the Filmfare Award for Best Story for

Hazaron Khawaishein Aisi. He has worked in films like 2 States, Hichki, Nail

Polish, Rocky Handsome.3. Mimi Reinhard.

Why in news - Mimi Reinhard has died in Israelat the age of 107. She was one of 1,200 Jews savedby German businessman Schindler.

4. Bilquis Bano Edhi.Why in news - Famed Pakistani philanthropistBilquis Bano Edhi died 74.

Key Points - Bilquis started a programme of placing 'jhoolas'

(cradles) at Edhi homes where unwanted babiescould be left by their mothers or families insteadof abandoning them anywhere.

She is called 'Mother of Pakistan'. Last year, she was also named the 'Person of the

Decade' She received Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public

Service in 1986.5. Prafulla Kar.

Why in news - Popular Odia singer and musicdirector Prafulla Kar passed away followingbreathing difficulties.

6. Jose Santiago.Why in news - The Philippine envoy to ChinaJose Santiago Sta. Romana passed away whilein mandatory quarantine in eastern Anhui province.

7. M. Vijayan.Why in News - Molecular bio-physicist andstructural biologist professor MamannamanaVijayan passed away.

Key Points - Vijayan had recently written an autobiography

'A Life among Men, Women and Molecules'. He was recipient of the Padma Shri (2004) and

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize.8. Mwai Kibaki.

Why in news - Former president of Kenya, MwaiKibaki passed away at the age of 90. He led thecountry from 2002 to 2013.

9. Ken Tanaka.Why in news - The world's oldest woman(Japanese) Ken Tanaka died at the age of 119.

Key Points - She was born on 2nd January 1903. Tanaka passed away on 19th April 2022. She was certified as the oldest living person by

Guinness World Records in 2019 when she was116 years old.

After her death, the oldest person is a Frenchwoman, Sister Andre, who was born on February11th 1904.

10. Salim Ghouse.Why in news - Actor Salim Ghouse died due tocardiac arrest. He was known for starring inShyam Benegal's TV Series 'Bharat Ek Khoj'.

11. Elvera Britto.Why in news - Former Indian women's hockeyteam captain, Elvera Britto has passed away dueto old-age-related problems. She is the secondwomen hockey player to be conferred with theArjuna Award (1965) after Anne Lumsden.

12. J. D. Rymbai.Why in news - The former Chief Minister ofMeghalaya, James Dringwell Rymbai, died at theage of 88.

OBITUARIES MAY

2022

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1. India wins bid to host Asian Junior & CadetFencing Championships 2023.Why in news - India made the bid during theAnnual General Body Meeting of the FencingConfederation of Asia at Hamdan SportsComplex, Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Key points- This would be the first time for India to host a

fencing event of this magnitude. India would host the Asian Junior Under 20(U-20)

Men & Women and Cadet Under-17(U-17) Boys& Girls Fencing Championships 2023 in Ahmedabad(Host City), Gujarat.

2. Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2022.Why in news - Max Verstappen (Red Bull -Netherlands) has won the Formula One 2022Saudi Arabian Grand Prix at Jeddah CornicheCircuit, Saudi Arabia.

Key Points - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari- Monaco) came second

and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari - Spain) came third. Lewis Hamilton managed to get a point on the

board after coming 10th.3. F1 Australian Grand Prix 2022.

Why in news - Charles Leclerc (Ferrari- Monaco)has won the Formula One (F1) 2022 AustralianGrand Prix held in Melbourne, Victoria.

Key Points - Sergio Pérez (Red Bull Racing-RBPT - Mexico)

came second while George Russell (Mercedes -Britain) came third.

4. Praggnanandhaa triumphs.Why in news - GM R. Praggnanandhaa won theReykjavik Open chess tournament with 7.5points from nine rounds.

Key Points - The 16 year old beat compatriot GM D. Gukesh

in the final round to emerge as winner. He also scored four other wins including one

over USA's Abhimanyu Mishra, who last yearbecame the then youngest GM.

SPORTS MAY

2022

5. Ravichandran Ashwin.Why in news - Ravichandran Ashwin became thefirst cricketer in Indian Premier League (IPL) historyto be retired out during the match betweenRajasthan Royals and Lucknow Super Giants.

Key Points - Overall, Ashwin is the fourth batsman to be

dismissed in this manner in T20s with Pakistan'sShahid Afridi, Bhutan's Sonam Tobgay andBangladesh's Sunzamul Islam being the otherthree cricketers.

6. Thailand Open Boxing Tournament - 2022.Why in news - The Thailand Open InternationalBoxing Tournament was held in Phuket,Thailand from 1st to 10th April.

Key Points - A 15-member Indian boxing contingent from

India participated in this tournament. India won a total of 10 medals including three

gold, four silver and three bronze in thiscompetition.

Names of Indian Medal Winners:

A. Gold - Govind Sawhney (48kg), AnantPralhad Chopde (54kg), Sumit (75 kg).

B. Silver - Amit Panghal (52kg), Amit Panghal(52kg), Varinder Singh (60kg),Ashish Kumar (81kg).

C. Bronze- Manisha (57kg), Pooja (69kg), BhagyabatiKachari (75kg).

7. First Khelo India National Ranking WomenArchery Tournament.Why in news - The first Khelo India NationalRanking Women Archery would be held in TataArchery Academy, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand.

Key Points- The Sports Authority of India has approved Rs

75 lakh to host the event. The Archery Association of India (AAI), in

collaboration with the Jharkhand ArcheryAssociation and TATA Steel would be organizingthe tournament.

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8. Junior Women's Hockey World Cup 2022.Why in news - The Netherlands has lifted theirfourth title of FIH Junior Women's Hockey WorldCup 2022 after beating Germany at Potchefstroom,South Africa.

Key points - England claimed the bronze medal in the third-

place match after defeating India by 3-0 in theshoot-out.

The 2023 Women's FIH Hockey Junior World Cupwould be the tenth edition and would be held inSantiago, Chile.

9. Commonwealth Games 2026.Why in news - Australia's Victoria state wouldthe host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG).

Key points - The 2026 Games would be held in four

towns of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo andGippsland of Australia.

The opening ceremony would be held atAustralia's largest cricket stadium - theMelbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Australia is hosting the CWG for the sixthtime and the second time in Victoria (1st -2006). The CWG is held every four years.

10. Orleans Masters 2022.

Why in news - Indian shuttler Mithun Manjunathhas won silver in Men's Singles at the OrléansMasters badminton tournament in France 2022.

Key points -

He had to settle for a silver medal after losing toToma Junior Popov in the men's singles final.

11. Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023.

Why in news - India is ready to host the StreetChild Cricket World Cup in 2023.

Key Points -

It would be organized by Street Child United andSave the Children India.

22 teams from 16 countries would participate.

It would see street-connected children and youngpeople take part in a mixed-gender crickettournament.

In 2019, it was held in London and team IndiaSouth emerged victorious after beating hostsEngland.

12. Rohit Sharma scores 10,000 T20 runs.Why in news - Rohit Sharma has become thesecond Indian and seventh batter overall to cross10,000 runs in men's T20 cricket.

Key Points - Rohit reached the milestone in Mumbai Indians'

IPL match against Punjab Kings in his 362nd innings. Virat Kohli had become the first Indian to reach

10,000 T20 runs during the 2021 IPL. West Indies great Chris Gayle was the first player

to reach the five-figure mark in T20 cricket. Heremains the highest run scorer having scored awhopping 14,562 runs in 463 games.

13. Men's Hockey World Cup 2023.Why in News - Odisha Chief Minister NaveenPatnaik has unveiled the logo of the 2023 FIHMen's Hockey World Cup.

Key Points - The 15th edition of the showpiece would be staged

in Bhubaneswar and Rourkela, where the country'slargest hockey stadium is being constructed.

Hockey India and its official partner Odishawould host the marquee event for the secondconsecutive time in the country after 2018.

International Hockey Federation (FIH) president- Narinder Batra.

14. Senior Men's National Hockey Championship.Why in news - Haryana wins 12th Senior Men'sNational Hockey Championship.

Key points - Defeated Tamil Nadu 3-1 in the shootout after

the final ended 1-1 in the regulation time. Haryana has won the trophy for the first time

since 2011. The tournament was held in Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh.

15. Danish Open swimming.Why in news - Sajan Prakash won the men's200m butterfly gold at the Danish Openswimming meet in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Key points - 16-year-old Vedaant Madhavan bagged the silver

medal in the men's 1500m freestyle event. He won a bronze medal at the Latvia Open in

March 2021.

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16. Indian GM D Gukesh.Why in news - Indian Grandmaster DommarajuGukesh has clinched the 48th La RodaInternational Open chess tournament title inCastile-La Mancha, Spain.

Key Points - He defeated Israel's Victor Mikhalevski in the

final round. GM Haik M. Martirosyan from Armenia placed

second with 7.5 points. Indian GM RameshbabuPraggnanandhaa finished third followed byRaunak Sadhwani (India).

17. Invictus Games 2022.Why in news - The 2022 edition of the InvictusGames opened in the Hague, Netherlands.

Key Points - The Invictus Games are an international sporting

competition similar to the Paralympics but meantfor wounded, injured, and sick military servicepersonnel and war veterans.

The word 'Invictus' means 'unconquered'

The first edition of the Games was held in Londonin 2014.

The 2023 edition will be held in Dusseldorf, Germany.

The Invictus Games are the brainchild of Harry,Duke of Sussex.

18. Kieron Pollard announces retirement.

Why in News - West Indies all-rounder KieronPollard has announced his retirement frominternational cricket.

Key Points -

He played a total of 123 ODIs and 101 T20Is forthe Caribbean team.

He was part of the West Indies team that wonthe 2012 ICC WT20.

He made his ODI debut in April 2007 againstSouth Africa and his T20I debut the followingyear opposite Australia in Bridgetown.

He never played a Test for West Indies.19. Khelo India University Games 2022.

Why in news - Vice President M. Venkaiah Naiduinaugurated the Khelo India University Gamesat the Sree Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru.

Key Points - The Games hosted about 4,500 athletes

representing nearly 200 universities in 20 sportsvying for top honors.

Indigenous sports - Mallakhamb and Yogasana -have been added as special attractions this year.

VP Venkaiah Naidu gave a call "to return to our roots".20. Serbia Open title.

Why in news - Andrey Rublev (Russian) hasdefeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic (Serbia)to win his third title in the Serbia Open.

Key Points - Rublev has now equaled Rafael Nadal (Spain)

for the most tour-level titles in 2022. Djokovic was competing in his third event of the

season as he aimed to clinch his maiden title of the year.21. F-1 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix 2022.

Why in news - Formula One champion MaxVerstappen (Red Bull-Netherlands) won theEmilia-Romagna Grand Prix in Italy.

Key Points - Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Mexico) finished second

and Lando Norris (McLaren-UK) finished third. It was Verstappen's second win this season after

Saudi Arabia.22. Asian Wrestling Championships 2022.

Why in news - The 35th edition of AsianWrestling Championships 2022 was held inUlaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Key Points - The 30-member Indian contingent participated

in the event. Indian wrestlers secured a total of 17 medals, that

included (1-Gold, 5-Silver, and 11-Bronze medals). Gold medalist Ravi Kumar Dahiya is the only Gold

medalist representing India, beating Kazakhstan'sRakhat Kalzhan on technical superiority.

Ravi Kumar became the first Indian to win 3 Goldmedals in Asian Wrestling Championships whichincludes 2020 in New Delhi, India, 2021 inAlmaty, Kazakhstan and 2022 in Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia.

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An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan on Fridaysentenced Mumbai attack mastermind andJamaat ud Dawa (JuD) chief - Hafiz Saeed to32 years in jail in terror financing case.

In an attempt to gain full control over the Covid-19 epidemic, China has imposed a hardlockdown in Shanghai, its financial capital anda global hub for - International finance and trade.

The Nepal government suspended the country'scentral bank governor, Maha Prasad Adhikari,amid his purported disagreements with FinanceMinister - Janardan Sharma.

Arya.ag, an integrated grain commerce platform,has joined the United Nations Global CompactIndia, voluntarily adhering to universalsustainability principles and taking actions tosupport the - UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,Government of India, has contributed an amountof - USD 72,124 towards the UNESCO Fund forElimination of Doping in Sport 2022.

China successfully launched a new Earthobservation satellite Gaofen-3 03 on April 07,2022, from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre onboard a Long March - 4C Rocket.

ICICI direct (a financial products distributor)Partners Cover Stack (a digital B2B platform forinsurance services) to offer insurance on - ICICIdirect platform.

Politician re-elected general secretary of theCPI(M) for 3rd time at the close of the 23rd partycongress - Sitaram Yechury.

The Qutub Minar complex was designated as aWorld Heritage Site by UNESCO in - 1993.

Country banned the import of luxury items tothwart the decline of the foreign exchange (forex)reserves of the country. The forex reserves arenow only enough to sustain the import of goodsand services for 6.7 months, below the centralbank's target for at least seven months - Nepal.

Application launched by Flipkart to provideaccess to medicines and health services –FlipkartHealth+

Name of the caretaker prime minister of Pakistan– Gulzar Ahmed.

District from which the Chief Minister of UttarPradesh started the School Chalo campaign- Shravasti.

Chameli Devi Jain Award 2021 - Arifa Johri. First state to include e-bicycles in Electric Vehicle

Policy - Delhi. India's tallest medical tower established at - Jaipur. Wipro appointed CEO of Asia Pacific Middle

East Asia (APMEA) - Anees Chencha. Scheme to be launched by the Uttar Pradesh

government for stray animals - Cow sanctuaryscheme.

A 50-year-old iron bridge constructed over AraMain Canal at Amiyawar village uin 1972 wasdismantled and stolen in - Nasariganj policestation of Rohtas district.

State that got e-Market award for COMFED- Bihar.

The State that "unanimously" adopted a resolutionurging the Union government to withdraw aproposal to conduct a Common UniversityEntrance Test (CUET) - Tamil Nadu.

Apple Inc. has started making the iPhone in Indiaat - the Foxconn plant, Sriperumbudur (TamilNadu).

Railway division which launched the 'Onestation One Product' initiative at six main stationsacross its six divisions - South-Central Railway(Headquarters: Secunderabad).

According to a report by crypto exchangeGemini, the country which ranks first in termsof new investors worldwide - India.

The country which has become the first countryin the world to give legal rights to wild animals- Ecuador.

PRELIMS POINTER MAY

2022

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Which bank's "Indus Merchant Solutions" apphas won the Digital CX Awards 2022 - IndusIndBank.

Union Minister who has inaugurated Indo-Pakborder viewpoint in Banaskantha district ofGujarat - Amit Shah.

The totalal number of medals India won inThailand Open Boxing Tournament 2022 - 10medals.

Which city will get Rs 3000 crore loan from WorldBank under Gujarat Resilient City DevelopmentProgram - Ahmedabad.

The company that has partnered with "CommonService Centers" - TATA CIA.

The person who has appointed to the UnitedNations High-Level Expert Group recently -Dr. Arunabh Ghosh.

The organization who has recently unveiled the"Manthan" to promote innovation - SEBI.

State who has topped the State Energy andClimate Index of NITI Aayog recently - Gujarat.

The state government that has increased theold age pension from 1200 to 1400 rupees- Uttarakhand.

The country that has successfully test-firedShaheen 3 missile recently - Pakistan.

Who has been announced to be honored withthe first Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Award- Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Australia's Rachel Haynes and which playerhave been named ICC Men's and Women'sPlayers of the Month for March 2022 by ICC- Babar Azam.

The 20th meeting of the National TigerConservation Authority (NTCA) was held inwhich state's Pucca Tiger Reserve - ArunachalPradesh.

Security force that commissioned the advancedlight helicopter Mk III Squadron - Indian CoastGuard.

The two-day National Conference onCooperation Policy began in - New Delhi.

Agreement reached between MongolianFinancial Regulatory Commission and - SEBI.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas'sPetroleum Conservation Research Associationlaunches annual people-centric mega campaign- 'Saksham'.

The Government of India extended the schemeto provide Rs 40cr relief to Dalai Lama's CentralTibetan Relief Committee (CTRC) from 2021-22to - 2025-26.

Life insurance company that has recentlypartnered with Common Services Centers (CSC)to boost insurance penetration in rural India- Tata AIA Life Insurance.

In April 2022, the Bank of Maharashtra (BoM)divested its entire stake of how much percent inIndia SME Asset Reconstruction Company(ISARC) for a cash consideration of Rs 3.92 crore- 4%.

In April 2022, who along with Saurav Ghosal,won India's first gold medal in the mixed doublescategory at the World Doubles SquashChampionships 2022 in Glasgow, UK - DipikaPallikal.

According to the El Dorado weather, which cityfrom India was the third hottest city (as of April22) in the world - Chandrapur, Maharashtra.

State which inaugurated the Periyar MemorialSamathuvpuram - Tamil Nadu.

Peter Neville announced his retirement fromcricket belongs to which country – Australia.

WHO suspended the supply of which Kovidvaccine – Covaxin.

Who has been appointed as the chairman of theNational Accreditation Board for Hospitals andHealthcare (NABH) – Mahesh Verma.

In which firing range did India successfully test-fire Pinaka Rocket System Mk-1 (Advanced)– Pokhran.

Venkaiah Naidu presented the Lalit KalaAkademi National Awards for the year 2021 tohow many people – 23

How many million dollars did India contributefor UN Women – 5 lakh dollars.

Who inaugurated the India Alumni Portal– Meenakshi Lekhi

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Ruchi Soya Company was renamed as – PatanjaliFoods.

Where did the Indian Coast Guard commissionthe squadron of Mk-III light helicopter – Kochi.

Who has recently become the official digitalpayment partner for "Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya"- Paytm.

Recently who has written the book "The Boy WhoRotate a Constitution" - Rajesh Talwar.

Who has recently taken over as the chairman of"Tata Digital" - N Chandrasekaran.

Where was the 20th India France Joint Staff Talksheld recently - Paris.

Which state's Chief Minister has recently unveiledthe logo of 2023 Men's Hockey World Cup- Odisha.

Which state has won the 71st Senior NationalBasketball Championship in men's category- Tamil Nadu.

Elon Musk has offered to buy Twitter for howmuch billion - In $41.39 billion.

According to a UN report, more than how manymillion people worldwide have gone into povertyin 2021 - 77 million.

PM Modi will unveil 108 feet tall statue ofHanuman ji in Morbi of which state - Gujarat.

Who has become the first batsman to hit 1000fours in T20 cricket for India - Shikhar Dhawan.

Recently the Australian wicket-keeper batsmanwho has announced his retirement from allforms of cricket - Peter Neville.

The fastest Indian player to hit 100 sixes in thehistory of IPL - Hardik Pandya.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signeda loan agreement of USD 2 million with India tosupport development projects in which state- Nagaland.

Who is the author of the book Birsa Munda-Janjatiya Nayak - Alok Chakrawal.

Researchers of which country discovered thegalaxy named 'HD 1', the most distant celestialbody - Japan.

Which country will host the T20 Men's WorldCup 2024 - West Indies and America.

Asia's largest teak and Sal's "Barbara" forest is indiscussion in which state - Odisha.

Who was selected as T20 International Player ofthe Year in New Zealand Cricket Awards 2022- Trent Boult.

Where will NHPC develop Green HydrogenProject recently - Himachal Pradesh.

Recently who has allowed the students of thecountry to do two degrees simultaneously - UGC.

Rachna Sachdeva has been appointed as theAmbassador of India to which country recently- Mali.

Which country will host the National DelphicGames for Arts and Culture in 2023 - India.

Which country will host the G20 summit in 2022- Indonesia.

HDFC Bank has announced to raise how muchrupees through bonds in the next year - Rs 50,000crore.

Which state government has launched the'Mission School of Excellence Project' to promoteinfrastructure in government and aided schools- Gujarat.

The Union Cabinet has approved the continuationof the Atal Innovation Mission until - March 2023

To which country India has assured help inspace, telecommunication and energy sectors- Mongolia.

Who has set up its first IT training and servicecenter in Leh - Ethosh Digital.

Who has inaugurated the 10-day National CyberSecurity Incident Response Exercise in New Delhi- National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.

Who has been appointed by Lloyd's as its brandambassador - Sourav Ganguly.

Who has inaugurated the Diamond Jubileecelebrations of India International Center (IIC)in New Delhi - President Ram Nath Kovind.

Which new app from Google allows Apple usersto transfer their data from iPhone to Androidvery easily - 'Switch to Android'.

The Chief Minister of which state has announcedfree electricity for up to 125 units - Jai RamThakur, the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh.

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Which state has announced to celebrate the birthanniversary of Siddalinga Swami as 'IntegrationDay' - Karnataka.

Who has been appointed as the CMD of Air IndiaAsset Holding - Vikram Dev Dutt.

What was the name given to the mission run tosettle a particular community in the Nepaleseregion adjoining India from Uttarakhand toSikkim - Mission Abad.

Where did the country's cultural and tourismministers' summit "Amrit Samagam" 2022 begin- New Delhi.

Who became the fastest Indian player to hit 100sixes in IPL history - Hardik Pandya.

Where was the Global AYUSH Investment andInnovation Summit 2022 held - Gandhinagar.

Which state celebrated its foundation day on15th April - Himachal Pradesh.

Which state government has announced toprovide 300 units of electricity free of cost todomestic consumers from July 1, 2022 - Punjab.

By which organisation the world's tallest tunnelconnecting Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh will beconstructed - BRO.

Which bank has signed a USD 150 million PartialGuarantee Facility Agreement (PGFA) with theAsian Development Bank (ADB) to supportsupply chain financing for impact sectors - Axis Bank.

The government of India has signed a USD 2 mnProject Readiness Financing Loan with theAsian Development Bank (ADB) for which stateof India - Nagaland.

What is the announced foodgrain productiontarget for the crop year 2022-23 - 328 milliontonnes.

Under which mission the 'National Apprentice-ship Mela' has been organized- Skill India.

Who has been appointed as the next Director-General of Military Operations - LieutenantGeneral Manoj Kumar Katiyar.

Which ministry will organize the "NationalMetallurgist Award"- Union Ministry of Steel.

Which state launched its 'Space Tech' frameworkand hosted this launch event on Metaverse- Telangana.

Cryptocurrency lender, Nexo has joined handswith whom to launch the world's first "crypto-backed" payment card - With Master Card.

Which medals have been won by three Greco-Roman Indian wrestlers at the Asian WrestlingChampionship in Mongolia - Bronze Medal.

IFSCA has signed MoU with whom to buildcapacity and provide a skilled talent pool in theinsurance sector - With National InsuranceAcademy.

Who has been appointed as the ambassador ofthe UN Committee on Economic, Social andCultural Rights - Preeti Saran.

Who has been honoured with the Director of theYear Award by AIMA - Shoojit Sircar.

Who has won the "71st Senior NationalBasketball Championship" recently - Tamil Nadu.

Where has the Karja Mandir Festival beencelebrated recently- Karnataka.

Where has the Senior Asia Wrestling Champion-ship started recently - Mongolia.

Who has been appointed as Director and CFOby ONGC recently - Pomila Jaspal.

Which missile has been successfully test fired bythe Indian Air Force from Sukhoi fighter aircraftrecently - Brahmos.

Where has Guruji Student Credit Card Schemebeen started recently - Jharkhand.

Where has the "E-Books Fund" been launchedrecently - Jammu and Kashmir.

Recently the cricketer "Kieron Pollard" retiredfrom international cricket, he is a cricketer fromwhich country- West Indies.

Who has recently appointed "Smriti Handa" asthe Chief Resource Officer - Bharat Pe.

After whom will the Shivamogga airport,recently under construction in Karnataka benamed - BS Yediyurappa.

The International Dairy Federation (IDF) willorganize the World Dairy Summit 2022 in whichcountry in September - India.

Who has been honored with the "Young GlobalLeader Award 2022" recently - Raghav Chadha.

Who has recently launched 53 more Starlinksatellites into low-Earth orbit from Florida- SpaceX.

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With whom has Dhanlaxmi Bank tied up for taxcollection - With CBDT and CBIC.

Which medal has been won by Indian femalewrestler Anshu Malik in the 57kg category at theAsian Wrestling Championships in Ulaanbaatar,Mongolia - Silver Medal.

APEDA has signed MoU with whom to boostthe export value chain :- NRDC (NationalResearch Development Corporation).

Which has become the first country in the worldto ban destructive satellite - USA.

With whom has the Indian Navy's NIETT inKochi signed an MoU to exchange best practices- With IIM Kozhikode.

Which tennis tournament has banned theparticipation of players from Russia and Belarus- Wimbledon Tennis Tournament.

New Space India Limited, the commercial armof ISRO and who has signed agreement forsatellite launch - OneWeb.

On which river in Kishtwar district thefoundation stone of 540 MW Kwar hydroelectricproject was laid - Chenab river.

Which country closed its airspace for Russiancivilian and military flying ships - Turkey.

Colombo Defense Conclave Virtual Conferencewas organized by the National InvestigationAgency of which country - India.

Who has been included in UNICEF Youth Board- Ashwin Yardi.

Who won the Formula One Emilia RomagnaGrand Prix race in Italy - Max Verstappen.

Which country celebrated Anzac Day on 25 April- Australia and New Zealand.

Who was appointed by Aditya Birla Capital asits CEO - Visakha Mulay.

In which state DefConnect2.0 was organized- New Delhi.

Which became the first district in the country tohave a library in every village - Jamtara.

In which state did PM Modi inauguratecommunity radio station "Doodh Vani" - Gujarat.

Recently in which country has it been announcedto organize the G20 Summit 2022 - Indonesia.

In which city the annual summit of India GlobalForum has been organized recently - Bangalore.

In which state did Rajnath Singh honor theveterans of the 1971 war - Assam.

Binapani Mohanty passed away at the age of 85.What was she famous for - Writer.

Which became the first vaccine to get emergencyuse authorization in India at the age of 5 to 12years - Corbevax.

Who became the fifth richest person in the world- Gautam Adani.

Who won the title of "Best Green BuildingProject" in Smart Cities India Expo 2022- Faridabad Smart City Limited.

Which ministry organized the yoga practiceprogram 'Yoga Prabha'- Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Who was honored by Indo American Chamberof Commerce - Dr. Bina Modi.

Which IIT institute has set up India's first bio-brick based building - IIT Hyderabad.

Recently in which city the 24th NationalConference on e-Governance has been inaugurated- Hyderabad.

Which leading private company has launched'Care4 Hockey' campaign - Bajaj Allianz.

Which social media company has launchednewsletter platform 'Bulletin' - Facebook.

Which social media company has recentlylaunched 'Aware Voter' campaign - Twitter.

Which ministry has recently launched 'Donate-a-Pension' initiative - Ministry of Labour.

Which country has hosted the World SustainableDevelopment Summit 2022 - India.

Which Indian city has been selected as the hostof FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 - Chennai.

In which state 'Bonalu' festival is celebrated- Telangana.

Who has recently released the book 'Golden BoyNeeraj Chopra' written by - Navdeep Singh Gill.

Recently, who has been appointed by the SportsMinistry as the director of the first HighPerformance of Weightlifting - Avinash Pandu.

Which player has been made the captain of theIndian women's hockey team recently- SavitaPunia.

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Who has been nominated as a full-time memberof the Economic Advisory Council to the PM- Sanjeev Sanyal.

In which state will the first caravan park be setup in Vagamon? - Kerala.

Recently became the first state to introducecarbon-neutral farming methods - Kerala.

In which city 'Vijay Cultural Festival' has beenorganized by the Indian Army - Kolkata.

Who has been appointed as the chairman of theFinancial Action Task Force- T Raja Kumar.

Recently, it has been announced to host the 5thedition of Asian Youth Para Games 2025- Uzbekistan.

Who has been awarded the Governor of the YearAward at the Central Banking Awards 2022- Mario Marcel.

In which Indian city the 7th India InternationalScience Festival will be held - Panaji.

Who has recently become Miss World 2021- Karolina Bilawska.

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1. Broadcast Seva Portal.Why in news - I&B Minister launched BroadcastSeva Portal.

Imp points - Anurag Singh Thakur launched Broadcast Seva

Portal as part of the "ease -of -doing business"initiative for the broadcasting sector.

It is an online portal solution for speedy filingand processing of applications by thebroadcasters for various kinds of licences,permissions and registrations.

2. '1064 Anti-Corruption Mobile App'.Why in news - Uttarakhand Chief MinisterPushkar Singh Dhami has launched an anti-corruption mobile app named 1064 Anti-Corruption Mobile App.

Key Points - It as been developed by the vigilance department,

Uttarakhand. It will help citizens to lodge corruption-related

complaints directly with the authorities.3. e-DAR Portal.

Why in news - Ministry of Roads, Transport andHighways (MoRTH) has developed a web portalnamed 'e-DAR' (e-Detailed Accident Report).

Key points - To provide instant information on road accidents,

and help accelerate accident compensation claims. Details like photos, video of the accident spot,

damaged vehicles, injured victims, eye-witnesses,etc would be uploaded immediately on the portal.

The web portal will be linked to the IntegratedRoad Accident Database (IRAD).

APPS AND PORTALS MAY

2022

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1. Recently launched 'Radio Aksh' is a radiochannel for-(a) Student exam preparation(b) MSME guidance(c) Visually impaired(d) Workers in Gulf countries(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)2. North-East India's tallest Indian National Flag

will be installed at?(a) Manipur(b) Assam(c) Arunachal Pradesh(d) Sikkim(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)3. India's first skill India international Center

will be opened at -(a) Haryana (b) Karnataka(c) West Bengal (d) Odisha(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)4. Which Country recently revoked its suspension

on agricultural imports from India?(a) Mexico (b) Egypt(c) Indonesia (d) Pakistan(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)5. Which Company came up with the 'Poison Pill'

strategy to prevent its takeover?(a) Twitter (b) Intel(c) Microsoft (d) Jaguar(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)6. Which ministry releases the Wholesale Price Index?

(a) M/o Labour Employment(b) M/o Commerce & Industry(c) M/o Finance(d) M/o & Farmers welfare(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)

7. Who is the newly appointed Chief of Army Staffof the Indian Army?

(a) MM Naravane (b) Ajay Singh(c) Yogendra Dimri (d) Manoj Pande(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)8. Recently launched e-DAR Portal is dedicated to-

(a) Road accident victims

(b) Acid attack victims(c) Child rehabilitation(d) Communal riot victims

(e) None of these/more than one of the aboveAns- (a)9. Which district of Bihar has been selected for

Prime Minister award for Makhana production?(a) Bhagalpur (b) Muzaffarpur(c) Darbhanga (d) Kisanganj

(e) None of these/more than one of the aboveAns- (c)10. Teeth deformity, hardening of bones, twisting

of legs recently observed in some villages inBanka district of Bihar is caused mainly due to(a) Arsenic (b) Cadmium

(c) Mercury (d) Fluoride(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)

11. WHO- Global Centre for Traditional Medicine(GCTM) recently inaugurated by PM Modi at-(a) New Delhi (b) Dehradun

(c) Bengaluru (d) Jamnagar(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)

12. The Construction of the world's highest tunnelat Shinku la pass will be completed by the year?(a) 2024 (b) 2025

(c) 2028 (d) 2030(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION MAY

2022

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13. India's first portable solar rooftop systeminaugurated at?(a) Gandhinagar (b) Mumbai(c) Visakhapatnam (d) Jaipur(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)14. Tropical storm Megi recently hit which of the

following country?(a) China (b) Philippines(c) Indonesia (d) Japan(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)15. India has signed a MoU with which country to

establish a virtual network center on quantumcomputing?(a) Russia (b) Israel(c) France (d) Finland(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)16. Which Indian American recently appointed as

defence adviser to the US Vice-President KamlaHarris?(a) Shanti Sethi (b) Bobby Jindal(c) Karna Brar (d) Mindy Kaling(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)17. Who has been appointed as brand ambassador

for Karnataka Brain Health Initiative?(a) Virat Kohli (b) Faf Du Plesis(c) Robin Uthappa (d) Dinesh Kartik(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)18. What is the rank of Bihar in new HIV infections?

(a) 1st (b) 2nd(c) 3rd (d) 4th(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)19. Recently a Fluoride removal plant has been

proposed to be installed in which district ofBihar?(a) Patna (b) Nawada(c) Begusarai (d) Banka(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)

20. National institute of Ayurveda is situated at?(a) Jaipur (b) Pune(c) Kolkata (d) Leh(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)21. Guru Teg Bahadur came at which position in

the lineage of Sikh saints?(a) 1st (b) 5th(c) 7th (d) 9th(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)22. Recently which Indian company decided to halt

its business with Russia amid the Ukraine crisis?(a) Reliance (b) Tata Steel(c) Infosys (d) Jindal Steel(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)23. India's first pure green Hydrogen plant has been

commissioned at-(a) New Delhi (b) Chandigarh(c) Assam (d) Bengaluru(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)24. 'Sarmat' Missile was launched recently by which

Country?(a) Russia (b) Ukraine(c) USA (d) Japan(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)25. What is the name of world's first Crypto-backed

payment card?(a) Crypto card (b) Dogecoin(c) Nexo card (d) Petro card(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)26. Who has topped the Hurun Global Healthcare

Rich list 2022?(a) Dilip Sanghvi (b) Cyrus Poonawalla(c) Pankaj Patel (d) PV Reddy(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)27. National Civil Service day is celebrated every

year on -(a) 21st April (b) 24th April(c) 8th March (d) 25th September(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)

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28. Which has become the first Indian State to install

an L-Route server?

(a) Haryana (b) Karnataka

(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Rajasthan

(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)

29. A Commemorative Stamp to honour 1857 hero

Veer Kunwar Singh was released in the year-

(a) 1966 (b) 1948

(c) 1972 (d) 1999


Ans- (a)

30. NAFED has decided to procure how much

metrietonnes of pulses from farmers in Bihar?

(a) 55000 (b) 60000

(c) 43000 (d) 52000


Ans- (c)

31. National Conference on Agriculture recently

held at-

(a) Amritsar (b) New Delhi

(c) Kanpur (d) Bhopal

(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)

32. Recently, which country decided to ban 'India-

out' campaign on its territory?

(a) Maldives (b) Nepal

(c) Sri Lanka (d) Myanmar


Ans- (a)

33. What is the theme of 'WorldEarth day' 2022?

(a) Save our Planet

(b) Earth and climate change

(c) Limit Global warming

(d) Invest in our Planet


Ans- (d)

34. Invictus games 2022 are beingorganised at?

(a) Denmark (b) Sweden

(c) Norway (d) Netherlands


Ans- (d)

35. 'Jan Nigrani' app to redress grievances of citizensis launched by which State/UT?(a) Maharashtra(b) Chandigarh(c) Jammu & Kashmir(d) Telangana(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)36. A Seaweed park is proposed to be set up in

which state?(a) Goa (b) Tamil Nadu(c) Karnataka (d) Gujarat(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)37. How much rupees (in crores) Bihar has received

as GST compensation in FY 2021-22?(a) 9000 Cr (b) 12000 Cr(c) 8000 Cr (d) 10000 Cr(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)38. To check bullying in school, Bihar government

has started 'self-eastern based life skills' in howmany districts?(a) 20 (b) 13(c) 38 (d) 25(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)39. Which state is suffering from the biggest shortage

of IAS officers in India?(a) Jharkhand (b) West Bengal(c) Uttar Pradesh (d) Bihar(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)40. Which ministry will orgnise the 'National

Metallugist Award?(a) M/o Heavy Industries(b) M/o Coal(c) M/o Steel(d) M/o Mines(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)41. Which aircraft carrier company recently conducted

a successful landing using GAGAN technology?(a) SpiceJet (b) Air India(c) IndiGo (d) Kingfisher(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)

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42. Which district has become the first district in thecountry to achieve 100% coverage underABPMJAY-SEHAT?(a) Bhopal (b) Buxar(c) Samba (d) Pulwama(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)43. Which City has become the first city in India to

have vacuum based sewers?(a) New Delhi (b) Agra(c) Kolkata (d) Mumbai(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)44. A new strategy called 'Global Security Initiative'

has been proposed by which country?(a) China (b) India(c) Russia (d) Australia(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)45. Which country has become the only second

country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender money?(a) Botswana(b) Solomon Islands(c) El Salvador(d) Central African Republic (CAR)(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)46. Who has been appointed as chairperson of

NASSCOM for the year 2022-23?(a) Krishnan Ramanujan(b) Rekha M. Menon(c) Anand Maheshwari(d) Bruce de Broize(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)47. Which individual has recently been stripped of

'Freedom of city'honour'?(a) Joe Biden (b) Edward Antony(c) Prince Andrew (d) Philip Louis(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (c)48. What is the rank of India in the recently conducted

35th Asian Wrestling championship 2022?(a) 5th (b) 3rd(c) 8th (d) 15th(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)

49. In Bihar production and packaging of Palm Juicehave been started at?(a) Bhagalpur (b) Hajipur(c) Darbhanga (d) Gaya(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)50. At which of the following place/sRing road will

be made in Bihar?(a) Gaya (b) Muzaffarpur(c) Darbhanga (d) Bhagalpur(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (e)51. Helicopter Service company 'Pawan Hans' has

been sold to which company?(a) Tata Group (b) Adani ports(c) Star 9 Mobility (d) Air India(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. C52. Recently which country offered its main sea-port

Chittagong for use by India?(a) Bangladesh (b) Myanmar(c) Sri Lanka (d) Maldivas(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. A53. Who has been appointed as chairperson of the

National Commission for Scheduled Castes(NCSC)?(a) Suraj Bhan (b) Vijay Sampla(c) P.L. Punia (d) Iqbal Singh(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. B54. Who has authored the book 'Not just a Night

watch : My innings in the BCCI?(a) Vinod Rai (b) Boria Mazumdar(c) Kadambari Murali (d) Ayaz Memon(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. A55. Which Indian Celebrity has been appointed

tothe jury in the 75th Cannes film festival?(a) Alia Bhatt(b) Kriti Sanon(c) Priyanka Chopra(d) Deepika Padukone(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. D

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56. Which tunnel has been awarded the 'BestInfrastructure Project' award by IBC?(a) Atal tunnel (b) Shinku La tunnel(c) Pir Panjal Railway tunnel(d) Chennai-Nashri tunnel(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. A57. India has proposed to establish 'Transmission

Interconnection' with which country?(a) Afganistan (b) Bangladesh(c) Srilanka (d) Maldives(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. D58. 12th Ministerial Conference of WTO held in-

(a) New York (b) Shanghai(c) Geneva (d) Davos(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. C59. Which institute is going to set up Model physics

and chemistry labs in 50 schools in Bihar?(a) IIT Patna (b) NIT Patna(c) IIIT Bhagalpur (d) IIT Kharagpur(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. A60. What is the duration of the recently approved

CM Digital Health scheme in Bihar?(a) 2019-20 to 2024-25(b) 2022-23 to 2026-27(c) 2025-26 to 2029-30(d) 2020-21 to 2025-26(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans. B61. Recently Water Conclave 2022 was held in

which of the following city?(a) Guwahati (b) Dibrugarh(c) Kochi (d) New Delhi(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (b)62. Which country has allowed India to export

wheat to its country in the wake of supply chaindisruption due to the Ukraine-Russia war?(a) Egypt (b) Afghanistan(c) South Africa (d) Italy(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (a)

63. Puthandu is a New Year festival celebrated inwhich state?(a) Telangana (b) Kerala(c) Odisha (d) Tamil Nadu(e) None of these/more than one of the above

Ans- (d)64. Which missile was used by Ukraine to destroy

Russian Warship 'Moskva' in the Black sea?(a) Trident (b) Neptune(c) Vympel (d) Gazella(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)65. Which has become the first country to detect

Covid-19 infection by breathing test?(a) India (b) China(c) USA (d) France(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)66. Under SUANidhi, how many rupees of Capital

loan are given to street vendors?(a) Rs.50,000 (b) Rs.10,000(c) Rs.1,00,000 (d) Rs. 35,000(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)67. Who is the first Indian to score 10000 T20 runs?

(a) Virat Kohli (b) Rohit Sharma(c) Hardik Pandya (d) Sachin Tendulkar(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)68. Recently to be launched Vagsheer is a-

(a) Missile(b) Naval destroyer(c) Air defense system(d) Submarine(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)69. Till now, which was the only High Court to have

an 'Advocate on Record'(AOR) system?(a) Jharkhand HC (b) Delhi HC(c) Patna HC (d) Kolkata HC(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)70. Multi-layered trumphet road in Patna will

constructed with the help of ?(a) IIT Patna (b) IIT Kanpur(c) IIT Guwahati (d) IIT Delhi(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)

85



71. Central Citrus Research Institute headquarter islocated at(a) Bangalore (b) Hyderabad(c) Chennai (d) Nagpur(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)72. Which state is the largest Producer of lemons in

India?(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Andhra Pradesh(c) Maharashtra (d) Odisha(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)73. Recently more than 65 Megalithic jars were

discovered in which of the following states?(a) Assam (b) Mizoram(c) Tamil Nadu (d) Jharkhand(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)74. Recently 'Statue of knowledge' has been

inaugurated at Latur Mahrashtra. It has beendedicated to-(a) S.Ramanujan (b) B.R. Ambedkar(c) Savitri Phule (d) N.M Lokhande(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)75. As per World Bank forecast, growth rate for

South Asian region in 2022 excepted to be-(a) 6.6% (b) 4.5%(c) 5.2% (d) 3.3%(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)76. B. R Ambedkar was honored with Bharat Ratna

Award in the year-(a) 1952 (b) 1955(c) 1964 (d) 1990(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)77. First Khelo India National Ranking women

Archery tournament will be held at?(a) Jamshedpur (b) Patna(c) Panipat (d) Bhubaneshwar(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)

78. Who has been appointed as G20 coordinator forG20 summit 2023 to be held in India?(a) TS Trimurti(b) Harshvardhan Shringala(c) Gautam Bambawale(d) Vijay Mohan Kwatra(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans-(b)79. Who has become the first person to hold the post

of Climate Change expert?(a) Greta Thunberg(b) JameGoodall(c) Katharine Hayhoe(d) Ian Fry(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)80. Along with Hyderabad, which Indian City has

beenrecognised as '2021 Tree city of the World'by UN-FAO?(a) New Delhi (b) Bengaluru(c) Kochi (d) Mumbai(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)81. Who has become the first visitor to the newly

inaugurated Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalya inNew Delhi?(a) PM Narendra Modi(b) Venkaiah Naidu(c) Ram Nath Kovind(d) Smriti Irani(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)82. Chennakeshava temple in Karnataka was built

by which dynasty?(a) Chalukya (b) Pandya(c) Hoysala (d) Chera(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)83. India's first community museum recently opened

at-(a) New Delhi (b) Ladakh(c) Ahmedabad (d) Jaipur(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)

86



84. Hunter Committee set up in 1919 was related

to?

(a) Education reforms

(b) Police reforms

(c) Irrigation

(d) Jallianwala Bagh massacre


Ans- (d)

85. Which of the following does not have a state

butterfly?

(a) Bihar (b) Maharashtra

(c) Uttarakhand (d) Tamil Nadu


Ans- (a)

86. Recently Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

extended to-

(a) 2024 (b) 2032

(c) 2026 (d) 2030


Ans- (c)

87. ExcerciseKripan Shakti recently held at-

(a) Jodhpur (b) Siliguri

(c) Itanagar (d) Ladakh


Ans- (b)

88. Common Wealth games 2026 will be hosted by-

(a) Australia (b) Sri Lanka

(c) India (d) South Africa


Ans- (a)

89. North East's largest beverage bottling plant

recently inaugurated at -

(a) Patna (b) Begusarai

(c) Kaimur (d) Darbhanga


Ans- (b)

90. Bihar's first cold storage facility for fisheries set

up at-

(a) Bakhtiyapur (b) Madhubani

(c) Gaya (d) Bhagalpur


Ans- (a)

91. Who has become the first visitor to the newlyinaugurated Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalya inNew Delhi?(a) PM Narendra Modi(b) Venkaiah Naidu(c) Ram Nath Kovind(d) Smriti Irani(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)92. Chennakeshava temple in Karnataka was built

by which dynasty?(a) Chalukya (b) Pandya(c) Hoysala (d) Chera(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)93. India's first community museum recently opened

at-(a) New Delhi (b) Ladakh(c) Ahmedabad (d) Jaipur(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)94. Hunter Committee set up in 1919 was related

to?(a) Education reforms(b) Police reforms(c) Irrigation(d) Jallianwala Bagh massacre(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)95. Which of the following does not have a state

butterfly?(a) Bihar (b) Maharashtra(c) Uttarakhand (d) Tamil Nadu(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)96. Recently Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

extended to-(a) 2024 (b) 2032(c) 2026 (d) 2030(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)97. ExcerciseKripan Shakti recently held at-

(a) Jodhpur (b) Siliguri(c) Itanagar (d) Ladakh(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)

87



98. Common Wealth games 2026 will be hosted by-(a) Australia (b) Sri Lanka(c) India (d) South Africa(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)99. North East's largest beverage bottling plant

recently inaugurated at -(a) Patna (b) Begusarai(c) Kaimur (d) Darbhanga(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)100. Bihar's first cold storage facility for fisheries set

up at-(a) Bakhtiyapur (b) Madhubani(c) Gaya (d) Bhagalpur(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)101. Which state has declared to come up with Standard

Operating Procedures to deal with Snakebites?(a) Bihar (b) Assam(c) Kerala (d) Odisha(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)102. World Hemophilia day is observed globally on-

(a) 1st April (b) 23rd March(c) 17th April (d) 18th September(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)103. Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 will be organised

at-(a) Punjab (b) Odisha(c) Tamil Nadu (d) Maharashtra(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)104. 'Cyclopean Wall' recently seen in news is how

much in length?(a) 40 km (b) 50 km(c) 30 km (d) 35 km(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)105. Who is the author of the book Birsa Munda-

Janjatya Nayak?(a) Sumit Sarkar (b) Alice Ekka(c) Susheela Samad (d) Ashok Chakrwal(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)

106. NTPC has teamed up with which institute todesign and develop a CO2 collection system fromThermal Power Plants?(a) IIT Delhi (b) IIT Madras(c) IIT Guwahati (d) IIT Patna(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)107. e-Nam which has recently completed 6 years of

its operation is implemented by(a) SFAC (b) ICAR(c) APEDA (d) NAFED(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)108. India has become which country to be included

in Sakura Map?(a) 5th (b) 28th(c) 55th (d) 71st(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)109. 40thHunarHaat is being organised at-

(a) Mumbai (b) New Delhi(c) Bhopal (d) Hyderabad(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)110. United Kingdom plans to send asylum seeker

of which of the followings country to their nativecountry?(a) Syria (b) Myanmar(c) Rwanda (d) Tunisia(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)111. Which state has declared to come up with

Standard Operating Procedures to deal withSnakebites?(a) Bihar (b) Assam(c) Kerala (d) Odisha(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)112. World Hemophilia day is observed globally on-

(a) 1st April (b) 23rd March(c) 17th April (d) 18th September(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)

88



113. Men's Hockey World Cup 2023 will be organised

at-

(a) Punjab (b) Odisha

(c) Tamil Nadu (d) Maharashtra


Ans- (b)

114. 'Cyclopean Wall' recently seen in news is how

much in length?

(a) 40 km (b) 50 km

(c) 30 km (d) 35 km


Ans- (a)

115. Who is the author of the book Birsa Munda-

Janjatya Nayak?

(a) Sumit Sarkar (b) Alice Ekka

(c) Susheela Samad (d) Ashok Chakrwal


Ans- (d)

116. NTPC has teamed up with which institute to

design and develop a CO2 collection system from

Thermal Power Plants?

(a) IIT Delhi (b) IIT Madras

(c) IIT Guwahati (d) IIT Patna


Ans- (c)

117. e-Nam which has recently completed 6 years of

its operation is implemented by

(a) SFAC (b) ICAR

(c) APEDA (d) NAFED


Ans- (a)

118. India has become which country to be included

in Sakura Map?

(a) 5th (b) 28th

(c) 55th (d) 71st


Ans- (b)

119. 40th Hunar Haat is being organised at-

(a) Mumbai (b) New Delhi

(c) Bhopal (d) Hyderabad


Ans- (a)

120. United Kingdom plans to send asylum seekerof which of the followings country to their nativecountry?(a) Syria (b) Myanmar(c) Rwanda (d) Tunisia(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (c)121. Central Citrus Research Institute headquarter is

located at(a) Bangalore (b) Hyderabad(c) Chennai (d) Nagpur(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)122. Which state is the largest Producer of lemons in

India?(a) Uttar Pradesh (b) Andhra Pradesh(c) Maharashtra (d) Odisha(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)123. Recently more than 65 Megalithic jars were

discovered in which of the following states?(a) Assam (b) Mizoram(c) Tamil Nadu (d) Jharkhand(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)124. Recently 'Statue of knowledge' has been

inaugurated at Latur Mahrashtra. It has beendedicated to-(a) S.Ramanujan (b) B.R. Ambedkar(c) Savitri Phule (d) N.M Lokhande(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (b)125. As per World Bank forecast, growth rate for

South Asian region in 2022 excepted to be-(a) 6.6% (b) 4.5%(c) 5.2% (d) 3.3%(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)126. B. R Ambedkar was honored with Bharat Ratna

Award in the year-(a) 1952 (b) 1955(c) 1964 (d) 1990(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)

89



127. First Khelo India National Ranking womenArchery tournament will be held at?(a) Jamshedpur (b) Patna(c) Panipat (d) Bhubaneshwar(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (a)128. Who has been appointed as G20 coordinator for

G20 summit 2023 to be held in India?(a) TS Trimurti(b) Harshvardhan Shringala(c) Gautam Bambawale(d) Vijay Mohan Kwatra(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans-(b)129. Who has become the first person to hold the post

of Climate Change expert?(a) Greta Thunberg(b) Jame Good all(c) Katharine Hayhoe(d) Ian Fry(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)130. Along with Hyderabad, which Indian City has

beenrecognised as '2021 Tree city of the World'by UN-FAO?(a) New Delhi (b) Bengaluru(c) Kochi (d) Mumbai(e) None of these/ more than one of these

Ans- (d)

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