GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 02, 2018

Notes:
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has organised Kisan Kalyan Karyashala at the block level across the country on May 2, 2018 in which farmers from that block will participate. The workshops are part of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan, a rural-centric campaign that started on the 14th of last month, the birth anniversary of BR Ambedkar. It will end on May 7. During workshops, farmers from each block will be interacting with agriculture officers and scientists to discuss ways to increase their income through adoption of new technology. Awareness campaigns and training programmes will disseminate information about steps for doubling the farmers’ income by 2022 and other measures taken by the NDA government for their welfare.

Notes:
Kottayam Pushpanath (80), the renowned Malayalam detective novelist, has passed away in Kottayam, Kerala on May 2, 2018. He expanded the world of horror fiction in Malayalam literature and wrote over 100 detective and horror novels in Malayalam. His original name was Pushpanathan Pillai. It was Kottayam Pushpanath who translated Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ into Malayalam. Among his novels, ‘Brahmarakshas’ and ‘Chuvanna Anki’ were later adapted into movies. Many of his works were translated into various languages including Tamil, Telugu and Kannada.

Notes:
Uma Bharti, the Union Minister for Drinking Water and Sanitation, has launched the GOBAR (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) – DHAN scheme at the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) Auditorium, Karnal, Haryana on May 1, 2018. The purpose of scheme is to positively impact village cleanliness and generate wealth and energy from cattle and organic waste. The scheme also aims at creating new rural livelihood opportunities and enhancing income for farmers and other rural people. Under the scheme, cooking gas would be provided to rural habitations and technical support would ensure that the scheme functioned on a sustainable basis. 

Notes:
Ashok Mitra (90), the noted scholar and the first Finance Minister in the Left Front government in West Bengal, has passed away in Kolkata on May 1, 2018. Besides serving the State Government, he also worked with the Central Government as the Chief Economic Adviser from 1970-72, when Indira Gandhi was prime minister, and was a member of Rajya Sabha. A teacher of Economics, who taught in UN Economic Commission, Mitra was also associated with World Bank for many years. He was one of Bengal’s most prolific columnists and was known for his deep and critical analysis of society and its politics.

Notes:
Chennai-based transgender Mubina has won the 2018 Miss Koovagam beauty pageant title in Villupuram, Tamil Nadu. This year, nearly 40 transgenders in the age group of 18 and 35 contested for the ‘Miss Koovagam’ title. In it, apart from their beauty and attire, the contestants were tested for their knowledge in Indian mythologies.

Notes:
India has been ranked joint-sixth in the list of doping violations with 69 cases, same as that of Russia, according to World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report for samples collected in 2016. India improved its position to sixth after being joint-third for three consecutive years from 2013 to 2015. Though, the number of dope violations for India has reduced but the trend of sports which are mostly under the scanner remain same. Italy topped the rankings of drug cases in 2016, followed by France (86), United States (76), Australia (75), Belgium (73).

Notes:
The “2018 Vijay Prahar” exercise of Indian Army’s South Western Command has started near Suratgarh in Rajasthan. Over 20,000 troops of the strike formations of the Army are engaged in the exercise to fine-tune the joint-manship with the Indian Air Force (IAF). During the exercise, the formations are practicing and operationalising certain concepts of operating in the network-centric environment, integrated employment of modern-day sensors with the weapon platforms, employment of attack helicopters in the air cavalry role and a bold offensive of application of the Special Forces. The exercise that began a couple of weeks ago will conclude on May 9 and Army chief General Bipin Rawat and other senior officers are likely to witness the final phase.

Notes:
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, an MP from Gulbarga (Karnataka), has been re-appointed chairman of the 22-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament for its fresh term starting on May 1. Kharge, is the leader of Congress party in Lok Sabha. A majority of the members of this parliamentary panel, which is headed by an opposition leader, are from the ruling NDA. It is the oldest parliamentary committee that examines the accounts showing the appropriation of sums granted by Parliament for expenditure of Government of India and such other accounts of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies.

Notes:
Subhash Chandra Khuntia, a 1981-batch Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, has been appointed as Chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved Khuntia’s appointment for a period of 3 years. The post was vacant for more than two months after TS Vijayan’s tenure came to an end on February 21.

Notes:
The Mettur Dam is one of the largest dams in India and the largest in Tamil Nadu located across the river Cauvery where it enters the plains. The total length of the dam is 1,700 metres and has the capacity of 93.4 billion cubic feet. The dam creates Stanley Reservoir.