GK & Current Affairs Quiz: May 22, 2018

Notes:
The International Bio-diversity Day (IBD) is observed on 22nd May every year to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues. The 2018 theme ‘Celebrating 25 Years of Action for Biodiversity’ marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the Convention on Biological Diversity and to highlight progress made in the achievement of its objectives at the national and global levels. On the occasion, the National Mission for Clean Ganga and World Wildlife Federation-India jointly organised a workshop – Ganga and its Bio-diversity: Developing a Road Map for Habitat and Species Conservation – in New Delhi. The purpose of the workshop is to form an integrated approach for conservation of Ganga’s ecology, environment and bio-diversity by restoring Ganga’s ecological integrity.

Notes:
Justice B N Srikrishna, who heads the high-level committee on framing new data protection norms for India, will chair a panel discussion on ‘Future of Governance’, which is scheduled to be held on May 24. The panel discussion will focus on various aspects related to data privacy, an issue that has become increasingly relevant in the digital era. The event is being organised as part of a series of talks on Digital Technologies and their impact on society, human psyche and economies. It is hosted by India International Centre (IIC) in collaboration with NITI Aayog and Centre for Policy Research (CPR). J Satyanarayana, Chairman of Aadhaar-issuing body “Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)”, is also scheduled to speak at the upcoming session.

Notes:
Nicolas Maduro Moro, the leftist leader and Venezuela’s President, has been re-elected to a second six-year term. Maduro hailed his win as a victory against imperialism, but his rival candidates have rejected the electoral process and called for new elections. The vote was marked by low turnout. Meanwhile, the United States, European Union and several of Venezuela’s Latin American neighbours said they would not recognize the results of the election, saying the conditions did not exist for a free and fair poll. Reeling from a 5th year of recession, falling oil production and U.S. sanctions, Venezuela is seeing growing levels of malnutrition and hyperinflation, and mass emigration.

Notes:
Lionel Messi, an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona, has won the 2018 European Golden Shoe. He claimed the prize after scoring 34 goals in La Liga this season, helping his club to a 25th league triumph. With this, he becomes the first player to win the European Golden Shoe for a record 5 times. He won the award in 2017, as well as in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Four-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo finished 9th in the rankings after scoring 26 goals for Real Madrid in La Liga.

Notes:
The Indian charity ‘Jagriti Yatra’ has won the Charity Clarity award for Outstanding Impact at the 3rd annual Asian Voice Charity Awards 2018 in London, United Kingdom on May 18. The Jagriti Yatra organizes a 15-day long train journeys, covering 800 km for 400 young change-makers across India every year, to understand and build the India of smaller towns and villages through enterprise. The event was organized by Britain’s oldest Asian diaspora publication ‘Asian Voice’ and Europe’s first independent charity due diligence platform ‘Charity Clarity’. Meanwhile, the ‘Cleft Lip and Palate Association’ won the Charity of the Year award & ‘Road To Freedom’ won Startup Of The Year. The awards are about rewarding charities that think big and solve the most pressing social issues of our time, both in Britain and globally.

Notes:
The International Museum Day (IMD) is observed every year on May 18 to raise awareness of the fact that, “Museums are an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples”. The 2018 theme is “Hyperconnected museums: New approaches, new publics”.

Notes:
Yaddanapudi Sulochana Rani (78), the veteran Telugu writer & novelist, has passed away at California, United States on May 21, 2018. She hailed from Kaza village of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh. She was considered among the top fiction writers of her time. An author of over 40 novels, her works mainly centered on human relationships. Some of her famous novels include Murali Krishna, Radha Krishna, Aagamana, Aathmeeyulu, Abhijata, Secretary, Jeevana Tarangalu and Kalala Kougili. Many of her literary works have been adapted to film and TV screenplays. Her last notable contribution for films has been Trivikram Srinivas’s A..Aa, inspired by her novel ‘Meena’.

Notes:
The 71st World Health Assembly (WHA-2018) has started in Geneva, Switzerland on May 21. In it, Union Health Minister J P Nadda is leading the Indian Delegation. In the plenary meeting of WHA, Mr. Nadda spoke on the theme “Health for All: Commit To Universal Health Coverage”. He stated that the Indian government has recently launched the Ayushman Bharat programme, which rests on the twin pillars of health and well-ness centres, and the National Health Protection Mission for 100 million families covering 500 million individuals. The programme will approximately cover 40% of the India’s population, who will be provided an insurance cover of Rs 500,000 per year. He further said that in line with India’s ambitious plan to end TB by 2025, the Government of India (GoI) has started the implementation of a national strategic plan and allocated 550 million dollars. The 6-day event is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board. The main functions of the WHA are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.

Notes:
The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. (MCX) has launched the India’s first options contract on copper futures on May 21, 2018. The option contract will provide physical market participants an additional instrument to hedge their risk. Currently, June, August and November 2018 option contracts are available for trading, with one MCX copper futures contract (1 MT) as the underlying. The exercised positions of the options contract post expiry shall devolve into the respective underlying future positions. This new options contract provides the optimal tool to hedge and mitigate price risk in copper for the stakeholders. MCX copper options are available to trade from 10:00am-11:30pm/11:55pm on weekdays. In order to encourage active participation in the market the exchange is not levying any transaction fees on all the commodity options contracts till September 30, 2018.

Notes:
The Athirappilly Falls is located across Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of Kerala. It is the largest waterfall in Kerala, which stands tall at 80 feet. The scenic beauty of Athirappilly falls has always been attractive to filmmakers. The falls were featured in several Malayalam and Bollywood films such as ‘Baahubali’, ‘Dil Se’, ‘Guru’, ‘Madras Cafe’, ‘Happy’, etc.