GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 14-15, 2017

Notes:
Chanda Kochhar, the chairman of ICICI Bank, has become the first Indian woman to be conferred with the prestigious Woodrow Wilson Award for Global Corporate Citizenship from the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington DC on May 10, 2017. With this, she has joined the league of former Indian recipients– former President and space scientist APJ Abdul Kalam and IT honcho Narayana Murthy. The annual award was instituted in 1998 by the prestigious Wilson Center to felicitate individuals whose actions and accomplishments, either in their careers or through service.

Notes:
The World Fair Trade Day (WFTD) is a global celebration of fair trade to promote and educate about fair trade in towns and communities. Its’ an initiative of World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) that falls on the second Saturday of May of each year. This year, the day is organized on May 13, 2017 with theme “Human chains for fair trade and the planet”, that highlights a tangible solution to poverty eradication, a good tool for sustainable development and most of all Fair Trade promotes social justice.

Notes:
India’s first electric cab fleet will be launched in Nagpur on May 26, 2017 to promote the usage of electric and hybrid vehicles in India. The pilot project will be undertaken by Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) will provide 200 most likely the e-Verito and the e20 Plus. For this purpose, the Government of India (GoI) had already passed the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric (FAME) Vehicles scheme in 2015. Under the FAME India scheme, around 99,000 hybrid/electric vehicles (xEVs) are currently given direct support by way of incentives since the launch on April 1, 2015. The sole purpose of the scheme is to go completely electric by 2030.

Notes:
Kerala has topped the 2017 Public Affairs Index (PAI) in governance indicators, followed by Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The report was based on a wide range of themes such as essential infrastructure, support to human development, social protection, women and children, crime, law and order, delivery of justice, environment, transparency and accountability, fiscal management and economic freedom. The purpose of the PAI is to rank the states of India objectively in the field of governance based on various focus subjects and indicators and is an initiative of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC).

Notes:
Rafael Nadal, a Spanish professional tennis player, has won the 2017 men’s singles Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament by defeating Dominic Thiem of Austria in the final by 7–6, 6–4 in Madrid, Spain. It is his 5th Madrid Open title. With this win, Nadal ties Novak Djokovic with 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 singles titles.

Notes:
Sumit Kumar of India has won silver medal in the men’s Freestyle 125 kg category at the 2017 Asian Wrestling Championships in New Delhi on May 14, 2017. In the gold medal round, Sumit lost to Yadollah Mohammadkazem Mohebi of Iran 2-6 to settle for the second position. With this, India finished their Asian Wrestling Championship campaign on a resounding note. The Indian wrestlers overall bagged 10 medals comprising a gold, five silver and four bronze. This bettered their tally of nine medals in the last edition of the Championship at Bangkok.

Notes:
Pawan Kumar Chamling, the Chief Minister of Sikkim, has been conferred with the first-ever Bhairon Singh Shekhawat Lifetime Achievement Honour in Public Service by President Pranab Mukherjee in Jaipur, Rajasthan on May 15, 2017. Chamling is the longest standing Chief Minister in India, having won the legislative assembly elections for 5 terms in a row and will be completing 25 years of governance by the next legislative elections in 2019 creating a political history in India.

Notes:
Govardhan Eco Village (GEV) of International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) has won 2017 Smart Cities India Award in the “Smart Village Award” category for being a sustainability project in Wada district of Maharashtra. The village at Wada taluka is located 108km north of Mumbai at the foothills of the Sahyadri Mountains. The smart village award category recognises village project that integrates upgradation and uplift of various (socio-economic, infrastructure, etc.) facilities for making life smooth and accessible for the villagers. The Smart Village award has been instituted by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), which also gives awards in various other categories. The headquarters of ISKON is located at Mayapur, West Bengal and its purpose is to spread the practice of bhakti yoga towards pleasing the Supreme Lord, Krishna.

Notes:
The 43rd edition of G7 summit will be held at Taorminain Sicily, Italy. The attendees will include the leaders of the seven G7 member states as well as representatives of the European Union. The 43rd G7 summit will be the first summit for British Prime Minister Theresa May, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni and U.S. President Donald Trump.

Notes:
The International Day of Families is observed every year on May 15 to promote awareness of issues relating to families and increase knowledge of the social, economic and demographic progression that affects families. The 2017 theme “Families, education and well-being” focuses on role of families and family-oriented policies in promoting education and overall well-being of their members. It highlights on the central goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which focus on ending poverty, promoting shared economic prosperity, social development and people’s well-being while protecting the environment.