Current affairs play a very important role in the competitive examinations and hence, aspirants have to give undivided attention to it while doing preparation for the government examinations. The ASO examinations comprise a section of “General Awareness” to evaluate how much the aspirant is aware of the daily happenings taking place around the world. To complement your preparation, we are providing you with a compilation of the current affairs on every week.
Q1. International Labor Day is observed every year on –
(1) 1st May
(2) 2nd May
(3) 3rd May
(4) 4th May
Q2.World Laughter Day is celebrated every year on –
(1) 1st Sunday of May
(2) 1st Monday of May
(3) 2nd Sunday of May
(4) 2nd Monday of May
Q3.“World Tuna Day” is observed every year on –
(1) 1st May
(2) 2nd May
(3) 3rd May
(4) 4th May
Q4.Who has took charge as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog?
(1) Suman Berry
(2) Ramesh Chand
(3) VK Saraswat
(4) Inderjit Singh
Q5.PM Narendra Modi has inaugurated “Semicon India Conference 2022” at –
(1) New Delhi
(2) Vadodara
(3) Bengaluru
(4) Ahmedabad
Q6. India’s 1st comprehensive ‘open-for-all’ digital ecosystem for all MSMEs has been launched by –
(1) DBS Bank
(2) HDFC Bank
(3) ICICI Bank
(4) Axis Bank
Q7.Who has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff?
(1) V R Chaudhari
(2) BS Raju
(3) P K Purwar
(4) Manoj Pande
Q8.Who has been appointed as the MD & CEO of Shivalik Small Finance Bank?
(1) Rana Kapoor
(2) Rajkiran Rai
(3) Atul Kumar Goel
(4) Anshul Swami
Q9. PM Modi recently laid the foundation stone of seven new cancer hospitals across which state?
(1) Gujarat
(2) Assam
(3) Tripura
(4) Nagaland
Q10.Which state cabinet has approved the ‘Gene Bank’, for biodiversity conservation?
(1) Gujarat
(2) Uttar Pradesh
(3) Madhya Pradesh
(4) Maharashtra
Q11. Tata Power signed MoU with NAREDCO to install 5000 EV charging points across –
(1) Madurai
(2) Bengaluru
(3) Chennai
(4) Mumbai
Q12.Who has won the prestigious Whitley Gold Award 2022?
(1) Vinod Sharma
(2) Annpurna Devi
(3) Charudutt Mishra
(4) Narayan Pradhan
Q13.Who has received the ‘Pink Lady Food Photographer of the Year 2022’ award?
(1) Suman Bery
(2) Debdutt Chakraborty
(3) Satya Easwaran
(4) Karnam Sekar
Q14.Recently ‘AK Bhaduri’ has passed away, who was she?
(1) Singer
(2) Journalist
(3) Scientist
(4) Writer
Q15.Which is the venue of the Conference of High Court Chief Justices 2022?
(1) Chennai
(2) Kolkata
(3) New Delhi
(4) Mumbai
Q16.Who has started the 90-day campaign ‘Azadi to Antyodaya Tak’?
(1) Giriraj Singh
(2) Narendra Modi
(3) Rajnath Singh
(4) Nitin Gadkari
Q17.“World Hand Hygiene Day” is observed every year on –
(1) 2nd May
(2) 3rd May
(3) 4th May
(4) 5th May
Q18.“International Day of the Midwife” is observed every year on –
(1) 3rd May
(2) 4th May
(3) 5th May
(4) 6th May
Q19. “Coal Miners Day” is celebrated every year on –
(1) 3rd May
(2) 4th May
(3) 5th May
(4) 6th May
Q20.What is India’s rank in the World Press Freedom Index 2022?
(1) 133th
(2) 140th
(3) 150th
(4) 157th
Q21.Which country has topped in the World Press Freedom Index 2022?
(1) Sweden
(2) Norway
(3) Switzerland
(4) Finland
Q22.As per report “2021 Cryptocurrency Gains by Country”, What is India’s rank?
(1) 12th
(2) 15th
(3) 18th
(4) 21st
Q23.Who has been appointed as the advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
(1) Tarun Kapoor
(2) Atish Chandra
(3) Hari Ranjan Rao
(4) Sanjeev Sanyal
Q24. Who has been appointed as the chief national rifle coach by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI)?
(1) Abhinav Bindra
(2) Joydeep Karmakar
(3) Anjali Bhagwat
(4) Gagan Narang
Q25.Which Neobank has become ‘100th Unicorn of India’?
(1) FI Money
(2) Niyo
(3) Open
(4) Kotak811
Q26.Which city could expect 30 cm sea level rise by 2040, as per new research?
(1) Sydney
(2) Wellington
(3) Bali
(4) Male
Q27.Which country hosted the India-Nordic Summit 2022?
(1) Finland
(2) Denmark
(3) Sweden
(4) Iceland
Q28.Which country is ranked at the Top of the ICC T20I Rankings?
(1) India
(2) Australia
(3) England
(4) New Zealand
Q29.Who has been appointed as the new captain of the West Indies ODI and T20I Team?
(1) Jermaine Blackwood
(2) Shimron Hetmyer
(3) Shai Hope
(4) Nicholas Pooran
Q30.Which university has topped in the Times Higher Education (THE) Impact Rankings 2022?
(1) Stanford University
(2) Western Sydney University
(3) Harvard University
(4) University of Oxford
Q31.Which General Insurance Company has announced to launch ‘Pay as you Drive’ program?
(1) TATA AIG
(2) HDFC ERGO
(3) ICICI Lombard
(4) Bajaj Allianz
Q32.Who has been appointed as the ex-officio member of RBI Menetary Policy Committee?
(1) Ashima Goyal
(2) Mridul Saggar
(3) Rajiv Ranjan
(4) Jayanth Varma
Q33. Which IIT has tied up with India Meteorological Department to develop user-friendly weather forecasting app?
(1) IIT Madras
(2) IIT Bombay
(3) IIT Kharagpur
(4) IIT Kanpur
Q34.Who has become 1st Indian to win a Gold at IWF Junior World Championships 2022?
(1) Anjali Patel
(2) Muna Nayak
(3) Harshada Sharad Garud
(4) Maibam Martina Devi
Q35.Who has won the 2022 World Snooker Championship held in Sheffield, England?
(1) Mark Selby
(2) Aditya Mehta
(3) Pankaj Advani
(4) Ronnie O’Sullivan
Q36.Which university has won the 2nd edition of the Khelo India University Games 2021?
(1) Amity University
(2) JAIN University
(3) GD Goenka University
(4) SRM University
Q37.Who has been awarded the Nirmal Deshpande Memorial World Peace Prize?
(1) Anshul Swami
(2) General Tej Kaul
(3) Nand Mulchandani
(4) Gyaneshwari Yadav
Q38.Who has become the new director of Corbett Tiger Reserve?
(1) Satya Easwaran
(2) Naresh Kumar
(3) Nand Mulchandani
(4) Tuna Madhavan
Q39.Who has been appointed as the Secretary in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology?
(1) Sangeeta Singh
(2) Vishakha Mulye
(3) Alkesh Kumar Sharma
(4) Abraham Kaya
Q40.Where has the fourth edition of Meghalaya Games 2022 started?
(1) Tura
(2) Shillong
(3) Jowai
(4) Cherrapunji
Q41.Which team has won 75th Santhosh Trophy National Tournament?
(1) Tamil Nadu
(2) Karnataka
(3) Kerala
(4) West Bengal
Q42.Who has become the 1st Indian woman to scale 5-peaks above 8,000m?
(1) Arunima Sinha
(2) Bachendri Pal
(3) Priyanka Mohite
(4) Shivangi Pathak
Q43.India’s 1st tribal health observatory will be set up in –
(1) Karnataka
(2) Gujarat
(3) Odisha
(4) Kerala
Q44.India’s 1st Flow Chemistry Technology Hub set up at –
(1) Bengaluru
(2) Chennai
(3) Hyderabad
(4) Mysuru
Q45.Which state has become the 1st to reach 10 GW Solar state?
(1) Uttar Pradesh
(2) Rajasthan
(3) Goa
(4) Assam
Q46.Which State/UT has recorded the Highest sex ratio of 1104 at birth in the country in 2020?
(1) Ladakh
(2) Tripura
(3) Kerala
(4) Delhi
Q47.Who has won the World Food Prize 2022 from the World Food Prize Foundation?
(1) Rizwana Hasan
(2) Cynthia Rosenzweig
(3) Francis Kéré
(4) Dennis Sullivan
Q48. Which Indian Tokyo Olympian has been suspended after positive for drug?
(1) Bajrang Punia
(2) Dutee Chand
(3) Ravi Kumar Dahiya
(4) Kamalpreet Kaur
Q49.A fatal case of Shigella bacteria was reported recently in Indian states?
(1) Tamil Nadu
(2) Karnataka
(3) Goa
(4) Kerala
Q50.Which state launched ‘Vehicle Movement Tracking System’ mobile app to track movement of sand, mining vehicles?
(1) Maharashtra
(2) West Bengal
(3) Gujarat
(4) Haryana
ANSWER
S1. Ans. (1) 1st May
Sol. The day is celebrated to spread awareness about Labor’s rights and mark their achievements. The day aims to pay tribute to workers’ sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world.
This all started in 1886 when on 1st May when people in the United States of America started a strike to fix the working duration to a maximum of 8 hours per day. Soon, there was a bomb blast that took place on 4th May in Haymarket Square of Chicago in which many people died and many others were severely injured.
With respect to those who died in the incident, the socialist pan-national organization started on 1st May as International Labor Day which also promoted labour welfare throughout the world.
In India, the first Labour Day or May Day was celebrated in Madras (now known as Chennai) by the Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923.
S2. Ans. (1) 1st Sunday of May
Sol. First Sunday of May is celebrated every year as the World Laughter Day around the world.
This year, it is being celebrated on Sunday, 1 May.
World Laughter Day is celebrated annually to raise awareness about importance of laughing and to encourage people to laugh more.
World Laughter Day was first celebrated on May 10, 1998, in Mumbai, India. The day was arranged by Dr Madan Kataria, founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement.
S3. Ans. (2) 2nd May
Sol. This day is established by the United Nations (UN) to raise awareness about the importance of tuna fish.
Tuna is a significant source of food for humans as the fish has several rich qualities such as Omega 3, Vitamin B12, proteins and other minerals.
Tuna is mainly procured for two things namely traditional canned Tuna and Sashimi/Sushi.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF), environmental groups have now warned the fisheries and Tuna now falls under endangered species.
This day aims at spreading awareness about the overfishing of Tuna and the importance of maintaining the ecosystem and the food chain.
In the year 2016, the General Assembly of the UN declared May 2 as World Tuna Day to spread awareness among people regarding the importance of conserving Tuna fish.
S4. Ans. (1) Suman Berry
Sol. Suman Berry, an experienced economist took charge as the new NITI Aayog Vice Chairman on May 1, 2022.
He succeeds Rajiv Kumar as the head of the government think tank.
Suman Berry’s appointment comes after the sudden resignation of former Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on April 22. Rajiv Kumar’s tenure formally ended on April 30th. He had taken over the role of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman in August 2017 after the exit of the then Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya.
Suman Berry had previously served as Director General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). He also served as the Chief Economist of Royal Dutch Shell.
S5. Ans. (3) Bengaluru
Sol. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated Semicon India Conference 2022 at Bengaluru, aiming to visualize as the launchpad to start India’s ambition of becoming the global semiconductor hub and nurturing the chip design and manufacturing ecosystem.
The conference focused on policy, talent, and the government’s role and efforts in creating a successful growth environment.
The government has also formed an advisory committee for Semicon India to drive Rs 72,000-crore project.
S6. Ans. (3) ICICI Bank
Sol. ICICI Bank has launched India’s first comprehensive digital ecosystem for all Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, which can also be used by the customers of other banks.
Anyone can use the benefits of digital solutions on the InstaBIZ app. MSMEs customers of other banks can avail of a host of services by logging in as a ‘Guest’ in the app.
It provides sanctions of instant and paperless overdraft facility up to Rs 25 lakh through ‘InstaOD Plus’.
S7. Ans. (2) BS Raju
Sol. The Indian Army’s Director General of Military Operations, Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju has been appointed as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff from May 1.
He was an alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy and commissioned in the Jat Regiment on December 15, 1984.
He had commanded a battalion during Operation Parakram in the Western Theatre and J&K.
He has been awarded the Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and Yudh Seva Medal.
S8. Ans. (4) Anshul Swami
Sol. Anshul Swami has been appointed Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Shivalik Small Finance Bank.
Swami’s nomination has already been accepted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Swami succeeds Suveer Kumar Gupta, who co-founded the bank and guided it through its transformation from an urban co-operative to a local finance institution.
Swami has worked in a variety of client and geographic sectors for over 20 years. He has experience in a variety of consumer categories, including retail, SMB, microfinance, and agriculture.
Swami worked for RBL Bank as Head – Retail & Inclusion, Products before joining Shivalik SFB. He’s previously worked at Barclays, Citi Financial, and Britannia.
S9. Ans. (2) Assam
Sol. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has dedicated to the nation seven cancer hospitals in Assam at a function in Dibrugarh on April 28, 2022.
The hospitals will be built at Dibrugarh, Kokrajhar, Barpeta, Darrang, Tezpur, Lakhimpur, and Jorhat.
The Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone of of Veterinary College (Diphu), Degree College (West Karbi Anglong) and Agricultural College (Kolonga, West Karbi Anglong). These projects, worth more than ₹500 crore, will bring new opportunities for skilling and employment in the region.
Prime Minister also laid the foundation stone for more than 2,950 Amrit Sarovar projects. The state will develop these Amrit Sarovars at a cumulative cost of around ₹ 1,150 crore.
S10. Ans. (4) Maharashtra
Sol. Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the ‘Maharashtra Gene Bank’, a first-of-its-kind project in India.
Aim: To conserve genetic resources in Maharashtra including marine diversity, seeds of local crops, and animal diversity.
In the next five years, an amount of ₹172.39 crores will be spent on these seven focus areas.
The project will be implemented by the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) and will be overseen by committees under the chief secretary and the principal secretary (forests).
The MSBB will coordinate with institutions like the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Goa to document and conserve rare and endangered marine species.
S11. Ans. (4) Mumbai
Sol. Tata Power Limited has signed a pact with the National Real Estate Development Council (NAREDCO), Maharashtra to install up to 5,000 EV charging points across the properties of NAREDCO’s members.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Aaditya Thackeray (Minister of Tourism & Environment, Government of Maharashtra).
This move will give a boost to EV adoption in the State.
S12. Ans. (3) Charudutt Mishra
Sol. Noted snow leopard expert and wildlife conservationist Charudutt Mishra has won the prestigious Whitley Gold Award for his contribution to involving indigenous communities in the conservation and recovery of big cat species in Asia’s high mountain ecosystems.
Princess Anne presented the award to Mishra at London’s Royal Geographic Society. This is his second Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) Award. He got the first in 2005.
Mishra is co-founder of Mysore (Karnataka)-based Nature Conservation Foundation and executive director of the Snow Leopard Trust. Mishra established India’s first community-based initiatives to save the endangered snow leopard.
S13. Ans. (2) Debdutt Chakraborty
Sol. Indian photographer Debdatta Chakraborty, has been awarded the title of Pink Lady® Food Photographer of the Year 2022.
He captured his image on street in Srinagar, India, at night when it becomes a buzzing centre for food with vendors cooking over charcoal.
S14. Ans. (3) Scientist
Sol. Senior nuclear scientist and former director of the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research Arun Kumar Bhaduri breathed his last at Kalpakkam near Chennai.
Bhaduri, who worked extensively on fast breeder reactors, served as the director of IGCAR, Kalpakkam, from July 2016 to August 2021.
He was awarded the Raja Ramanna Fellowship post retirement.
S15. Ans. (3) New Delhi
Sol. Chief Justice of India NV Ramana chaired the 39th conference of Chief Justices of various High Courts of the country, at the premises of the Supreme Court, New Delhi.
The first Chief Justices’ conference was held in November 1953 and 38 such conferences have been organised so far.
The last Conference was held in the year 2016.
It aims to address the issues concerning the judiciary and to discuss the steps to be taken to improve the justice delivery system.
S16. Ans. (1) Giriraj Singh
Sol. Giriraj Singh, India’s Rural Development Minister has launched the ‘Azadi se Antyodaya Tak,’ 90-day inter-ministerial campaign on 28th April 2022.
This campaign has been launched keeping in line with the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
This campaign has been launched with the aim of saturating 75 Districts across 28 States and Union Territories of the nation with beneficiary schemes of nine central government ministries.
The goal of the campaign is to take up 17 select schemes with direct assistance to beneficiaries in saturation mode, reaching out to the person at the bottom of the pyramid in rural areas by each of the participating ministries and departments.
S17. Ans. (4) 5th May
Sol. Every year, the World Hand Hygiene Day is observed on May 5.
The day is organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) to raise awareness among people across the globe about the importance of hand hygiene in warding off many serious infections.
The theme for 2022 is ‘health care quality and safety climate or culture’.
The day recognizes hand washing as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to avoid a huge range of infections including the COVID-19 virus.
S18. Ans. (3) 5th May
Sol. International Day of the Midwife is observed globally on 5 May every year since 1992.
This day is celebrated to recognise the work of midwives and raise awareness about the status of midwives for the essential care they provide to mothers and their newborns.
The theme for 2022 International Day of the Midwife is “100 years of progress.”
The idea of having a day to recognize and honour midwives came out of the 1987 International Confederation of Midwives conference in the Netherlands.
International Midwives’ Day was first celebrated May 5, 1991, and has been observed in more than 50 nations around the world.
S19. Ans. (2) 4th May
Sol. Coal Miners Day is observed on 4th May every year to honour the coal miners. The day honours the accomplishments and sacrifices made by coal mine workers so far.
While the first-ever coal mine was opened in 1575 by one George Bruce of Carnock, Scotland.
In India, the coal mining business began in 1774. It was when the East India Company exploited the Raniganj coalfield which is located in the Asansol and Durgapur It falls along the bank of River Damodar that crosses Jharkhand and West Bengal.
S20. Ans. (3) 150th
Sol. The 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index has been published by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
India’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank out of 180 countries.
This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories ranked by the Reporters Without Borders.
The ranking of India’s neighbours, Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position.
S21. Ans. (2) Norway
Sol. The 2022 edition of the World Press Freedom Index has been published by the Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
India’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen down to 150th position from last year’s 142nd rank out of 180 countries.
This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the top positions, while North Korea remained at the bottom of the list of the 180 countries and territories ranked by the Reporters Without Borders.
The ranking of India’s neighbours, Pakistan at 157th position, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th position.
S22. Ans. (4) 21st
Sol. According to the data released by crypto analytics firm Chainalysis, investors around the world realized total Crypto gains of $162.7 billion in 2021, compared to $32.5 billion in 2020. This is 2nd consecutive data by Chainalysis.
However, India ranked lowly at 21st with realized gains of around $1.85 billion while it is topped by the United States with an estimated realized Crypto gain of $49.95 billion.
The US is followed by the United Kingdom at 2nd with estimated realized Crypto gains of $8.16 billion, Germany ($5.82 billion), Japan ($5.51 billion) and China ($5.06 billion).
Ethereum is the most noteworthy gainer among the crypto assets. The report highlights that Ethereum edged out Bitcoin in total realized gains globally at $76.3 billion to $74.7 billion.
S23. Ans. (1) Tarun Kapoor
Sol. Retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and former Petroleum Secretary, Tarun Kapoor has been appointed as the advisor to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Kapoor, a 1987-batch IAS officer of the Himachal Pradesh cadre, superannuated as the secretary of the ministry of petroleum and natural gas on November 30, 2021.
Senior bureaucrats Hari Ranjan Rao and Atish Chandra have been appointed as the additional secretaries in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
S24. Ans. (2) Joydeep Karmakar
Sol. Bengal shooter Joydeep Karmakar has been appointed as the chief national rifle coach by National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
He will oversee Indian continent till 2025, including the Paris Olympics 2024.
He had missed a bronze medal by a whisker in men’s 50-metre rifle prone event at 2012 London Olympics. He has been running his own shooting academy in Kolkata since 2015.
NRAI was founded in 1951 to promote and popularize the shooting sports in India.
S25. Ans. (3) Open
Sol. Bengaluru-based neo banking startup titled ‘Open’ becomes India’s 100th unicorn after raising $50 Million at a valuation of $1 billion from IIFL.
Open operates neobank that offers small and medium-sized businesses as well as enterprises nearly all the features of the bank with additional tools to better serve the customer’s needs.
The company is led by Google, Temasek, Visa, and Japan’s SoftBank Investments.
S26. Ans. (2) Wellington
Sol. Wellington could expect 30 centimetre sea level rise by 2040, a level that had not been expected before 2060, as per research published on May 2, 2022.
The research revealed that the sea level is rising twice as fast as previously forecast around parts of New Zealand and will put the country’s two largest cities at risk decades earlier than expected.
This includes the capital city Wellington and the country’s largest city Auckland.
S27. Ans. (2) Denmark
Sol. The 2nd India-Nordic summit was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 4, 2022.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the summit along the prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
The summit primarily focused on post-pandemic economic recovery, climate change, renewable energy and the evolving global security scenario.
The first such summit was held in 2018.
S28. Ans. (1) India
Sol. India has solidified its lead in the ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings 2022 with 270 points, extending its lead over England by 5 points.
Australia on the other hand has strengthened its position as the best test team in the world by extending their lead by 9 points over India in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings 2022.
New Zealand has also retained its top rank in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings 2022.
S29. Ans. (4) Nicholas Pooran
Sol. Nicholas Pooran has been appointed as the new captain of the West Indies ODI and T20I teams.
This comes after skipper Kieron Pollard announced his retirement from international cricket.
Shai Hope has been recommended as the vice-captain of the West Indies ODI team.
Nicholas Pooran has played 37 ODIs and 57 T20Is for West Indies and scored 1121 and 1193 runs respectively. He is a left-handed batsman.
Nicholas Pooran is a part of Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team. He was bought by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 10.75 crores in the IPL Auction 2022.
S30. Ans. (2) Western Sydney University
Sol. 8 Universities from India are placed in the top 300 universities in the world.
The ranking is topped by Western Sydney University (Australia); followed by Arizona State University (The US), Western University (Canada).
India is the joint fourth most-represented nation across the rankings, with 64 universities featuring in total (the same number as Turkey).
In South Asia, India breaks through into the world’s top 50, with Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham claiming 41st place in the overall table. Lovely Professional University makes the top 100 at joint 74th place in the overall table.
S31. Ans. (2) HDFC ERGO
Sol. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company has announced to launch ‘Pay as you Drive’ program.
This insurance offers distance-based insurance to reduce upfront costs of premium. The program will be available for owners of new Maruti Suzuki cars in selected cities up to May 14, 2022.
This program is applicable for 10,000 policies or ₹50 lacs of premium whichever happens earlier. The driving distance will be measured with the help of a telematics device in the vehicle.
S32. Ans. (3) Rajiv Ranjan
Sol. Rajiv Ranjan has been appointed as the ex-officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
He replaced Mridul Saggar, who retired last month. Prior to this, he was an advisor in-charge in the monetary policy department, before he was elevated as an executive director.
MPC is a 6-member body and is headed by RBI governor. There are 3 members from RBI and 3 members nominated by Government.
S33. Ans. (2) IIT Bombay
Sol. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay has signed an agreement with the Indian Meteorological Department of the Ministry of Earth Sciences Government of India, to develop climate solutions for stakeholders at the village, city, and district levels.
The agreement coincided with the 10-year completion of the Interdisciplinary Program in Climate Studies (IDPCS) at IIT Bombay, which was established in 2012 with significant financial backing from the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology.
The partnership is also anticipated to provide: Climate forecasting and information-based smart applications for a multitude of sectors, including agriculture, farming and irrigation, health, etc, employing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), among other technologies.
S34. Ans. (3) Harshada Sharad Garud
Sol. Harshada Sharad Garud became the first Indian to win a Gold medal at IWF Junior World Championships 2022 in Heraklion, Greece.
She lifted 153-kilogram in the 45-kg weight category, that included 70 kg in Snatch and 83 kg in Clean and Jerk to finish on top of the podium.
Turkey’s Bektas Cansu bagged silver medal and Moldova’s Teodora-Luminita Hincu won the bronze medal.
S35. Ans. (4) Ronnie O’Sullivan
Sol. Ronnie O’Sullivan (England) has won the 2022 World Snooker Championship by defeating Judd Trump (England) against 18-13 in the finals, which were held from April 16 to May 2, 2022 at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.
The tournament was organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by sports betting company Betfred. The Total prize money is 2,395,000 Euros and the Winner gets a share of 500,000 Euros.
O’Sullivan (Aged 46) becomes the oldest world champion in Crucible history, eclipsing Ray Reardon, who won his sixth title aged 45 in 1978.
It was Ronnie O’Sullivan’s seventh World Snooker Championship title, previously in 2001, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2020, equalling Stephen Hendry’s modern-day record of seven world titles (Hendry won all of his in the 1990s).
S36. Ans. (2) JAIN University
Sol. JAIN (Deemed-to-be University) with 20 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze medals has won the 2nd edition of the Khelo India University Games 2021.
Lovely Professional University (LPU) with 17 golds has placed second and Punjab University placed third with 15 gold medals.
Siva Sridhar has emerged as the star swimmer by winning 11 gold.
The closing ceremony of KIUG was held at Sri Kanteerava Outdoor Stadium, Bengaluru.
“Veera” was the mascot of KIUG 2021.
S37. Ans. (2) General Tej Kaul
Sol. The awards committee of Akhil Bharat Rachanatmak Samaj (ABRS) under the chairmanship of Mohan Joshi (vice-president ABRS and former MLC of Maharashtra) awarded General Tej Kaul (retired) with the prestigious Dr Nirmala Deshpande Memorial (DNDM) Global Peace Award at a glittering ceremony, held recently at New Delhi.
The award ceremony was held on the occasion of late Nirmala Deshpande’s 14th Memorial Day celebration.
General Tej Kaul was bestowed the coveted award for his outstanding contribution to various continuous efforts to promote peace between Indian neighbours primarily between India and Pakistan, and various humanitarian causes, especially for his efforts in relief and rehabilitation during current COVID-19 pandemic.
He was responsible for 150 relief & rehabilitation camps upto October 2, 2020 in Jammu and Kashmir.
S38. Ans. (2) Naresh Kumar
Sol. Naresh Kumar has been appointed as the new director of the Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand, according to an official order.
An Indian Forest Service officer of the 1999 batch, Kumar replaces Rahul who was suspended recently in connection with illegal constructions and felling of trees in the core zone of the reserve, an order issued by Forest Secretary Vijay Kumar Yadav said.
S39. Ans. (3) Alkesh Kumar Sharma
Sol. Senior IAS officer Alkesh Kumar Sharma, has taken over the role of secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
Sharma was earlier secretary (Coordination), Cabinet Secretariat.
Sharma had earlier served as the additional chief secretary-industries of the Kerala govt from May 2020 to April 2021.
From September 2019 to April 2021 Sharma was the Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail as well as CEO of Cochin Smart City Mission.
S40. Ans. (2) Shillong
Sol. In Meghalaya, the 4th edition of Meghalaya Games-2022 began on 3rd May 2022 at various sports facilities in Shillong.
A total of over 2,500 athletes from 19 different disciplines are participating in the mega sports event held as part of the 50th Statehood Day Celebrations.
The games will conclude on the 7th of this month.
S41. Ans. (3) Kerala
Sol. Kerala has defeated the 32-time champion West Bengal in a penalty shootout to win its 75th Santhosh Trophy National Tournament for the seventh time at the Payyanad Stadium in Malappuram, Kerala.
This is the first time that Kerala has won on home soil since 1993.
Top goal scorer(s): Jesin Tk. Thonikkara (Kerala) (9 goals)
Best player: Jijo Joseph (Kerala)
Best goalkeeper: Priyant Singh (West Bengal)
S42. Ans. (3) Priyanka Mohite
Sol. Priyanka Mohite has become the first Indian woman climber to scale five peaks above 8,000 metres.
She achieved the major feat after climbing Mount Kanchenjunga (8,586m), the third-highest mountain peak in the world, on May 5, 2022.
In April 2021, Priyanka Mohite became the first Indian woman climber to scale Mt Annapurna (8,091 m). Mt Annapurna is the 10th highest mountain peak in the world.
In 2013, she climbed the world’s highest peak Mount Everest (8,849m).
In 2018, Mohite climbed Mount Lhoste (8,516m).
In 2016, she climbed Mount Makalu (8,849m) and Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895m).
S43. Ans. (3) Odisha
Sol. Government of Odisha has set up India’s first Tribal Health Observatory (TriHOb), which acts as a repository on the health of the tribal population in the state.
This will be India’s only tribal health observatory.
An MoU was signed between the ST and SC Development Department and the Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Bhubaneswar, Odisha, a regional centre of the Indian Council of Medical Research.
It will perform systematic and ongoing observation on disease burden, health-seeking behaviour and healthcare delivery system pertaining to tribal health in the state.
S44. Ans. (3) Hyderabad
Sol. Government of Telangana in collaboration with the pharmaceuticals majors Reddy’s Laboratory and Laurus Labs along with academia has set up India’s first-of-its-kind Flow Chemistry Technology Hub (FCT Hub) at Dr. Reddy’s Institute of Life Sciences (DRILS) Hyderabad, Telangana.
The hub will facilitate the pharmaceutical research and development (R&D) and adoption of continuous synthesis for making Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs).
Aim: To incorporate and promote efficient and sustainable technologies in the pharmaceutical sector.
S45. Ans. (2) Rajasthan
Sol. Solar is the most common energy source, accounting for roughly 36 percent of total capacity and 64 percent of renewables.
The thermal contribution was largest in the first quarter of FY 2021-22.
Rajasthan has some of the highest sun irradiation levels in the country, as well as other advantages such as land availability and few power outages.
These favourable conditions have prompted neighbouring states, such as Maharashtra, to establish power-generation plants in Rajasthan.
Other notable projects include those created by NTPC and the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), as well as those developed as part of the Rajasthan State Solar Policy.
Rajasthan has about 16 GW of solar projects under development, according to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker.
The total amount of SECI-awarded projects is 11.6 GW, with 6.2 GW being interstate transmission system (ISTS) projects.
Despite numerous projects being stuck owing to the Great Indian Bustard (GIB) issue, installations grew.
S46. Ans. (1) Ladakh
Sol. The Union Territory of Ladakh (1104) recorded the highest sex ratio at birth in the country in 2020, followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1011), A&N Islands (984), Tripura (974), and Kerala (969), according to the annual report on Vital Statistics based on 2020 Civil Registration System report.
Lowest sex ratio at birth was reported by Manipur (880), followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (898), Gujarat (909), Haryana (916) and Madhya Pradesh (921).
The report is published by the Registrar General of India (Ministry of Home Affairs).
S47. Ans. (2) Cynthia Rosenzweig
Sol. A senior research scientist and head of the Climate Impacts Group at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, Cynthia Rosenzweig has received the 2022 World Food Prize from the World Food Prize Foundation.
Rosenzweig was selected for the award for her research to understand the relationship between climate and food systems and forecast how both will change in the future.
Rosenzweig has been a research scientist at NASA GISS and head of the Climate Impacts Group since 1994. Her research focuses on improving models and assessments of how climate change will affect agriculture and the food supply in the future.
According to the World Food Prize Foundation, the World Food Prize is a prestigious international award conceived as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture” with a mission to elevate innovations and inspire action to sustainably increase the quality, quantity and availability of food for all.
S48. Ans. (4) Kamalpreet Kaur
Sol. India’s star Tokyo Olympian, Kamalpreet Kaur, who had reached the finals of the women’s discus throw event at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, has been provisionally suspended by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) after testing positive for a banned drug.
She had finished a commendable sixth in the women’s discus throw final at Tokyo Olympics 2020 with a best throw of 63.70m.
The 26-year-old is also a national record holder with a throw of 66.59m at the Indian Grand Prix.
S49. Ans. (4) Kerala
Sol. A teenage girl passed away earlier this week after eating Shawarma from an eatery in Kasargod, Kerala.
The state health department identified Shigella bacteria as the main cause of food poisoning.
Several others have also been admitted to the hospital in the district after eating shawarma from the same eatery.
Shigella is one of the major bacterial causes of diarrhea worldwide. Shigella bacteria directly affects the intestine. The person infected with Shigella experiences diarrhoea, sometimes bloody, fever, stomach pain and constant vomiting.
S50. Ans. (4) Haryana
Sol. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has launched a Vehicle Movement Tracking System (VMTS) mobile app to track the vehicles carrying sand and other mining material.
The app will be used at different checkpoints in all the districts of Haryana.
All vehicle details including vehicle type, vehicle number, moving from, moving to, and driver details will be stored in it.
The non-registered individual will not be permitted to enter the zone of sand mining.
This App has been designed and developed in-house by National Informatics Centre, Haryana.
