Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2023

Notes:
Ranajit Guha, an eminent Indian historian, has passed away recently. He was one of the founders of the Subaltern School, which is one of the most influential post-colonial, post-Marxist schools in history.
He authored several books, the latest one being ‘the Small Voice of History’ in 2009. He was the editor of Subaltern School group’s early anthologies and wrote both in English and in Bengali.

Notes:
Buddha Purnima is celebrated to mark the birth anniversary of Lord Gautam Buddha. This year marks the 2585th birth anniversary of Gautam Buddha.
In South and Southeast Asia, the Buddha’s birth is celebrated as part of Vesak, a festival that also celebrates the Buddha’s enlightenment (on the day of the full moon) and death.

Notes:
On May 2, Yoga Mahotsav was held at Jaipur. It will be organized by the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga to commemorate 50-day countdown to the International Day of Yoga.
More than 15,000 people took part in the event. Another event to commemorate 100 days countdown to International Day of Yoga 2023 was held at New Delhi.

Notes:
Santiago Peña, a 44-year-old former finance minister and economist at the IMF, has been elected as the next President of Paraguay.
He took nearly 43% of votes in Paraguay’s presidential election. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Paraguay.

Notes:
President of India Droupadi Murmu has recently launched the ‘Addiction Free Odisha’ campaign.
This campaign is organized by Brahma Kumaris Centre at Hatbadra, Mayurbhanj. The Brahma Kumaris are a spiritual movement that originated in Hyderabad, Sindh, during the 1930s.

Notes:
The “Clinical Trial Opportunities in India” report was released by PwC India and the US-India Chamber of Commerce (USAIC).
The report mentions that India’s regulatory reforms since the year 2013 and the New Drugs and Clinical Trial Rules of 2019 have made the country a favourable destination for conducting clinical trials.

Notes:
The Government of India has set up a 11-member high-level committee to restructure the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). The committee will be under the chairmanship of the Additional Secretary of the Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Secretary of ICAR.
The committee has been constituted to make recommendations for rationalising and right-sizing the 94-year-old ICAR.

Notes:
The Indian Government recently announced that the public broadcaster, All India Radio, will be exclusively referred to as the Akashvani.
Previously, these two names were used interchangeably. With a network of over 262 radio stations, All India Radio is available to 92 per cent of India’s area and nearly all its population.

Notes:
The School Health Program was launched recently by the Urban Development Department and Lucknow Smart City.
This initiative makes Uttar Pradesh the first state in the country to provide digital health cards for children.

Notes:
A stable auroral red (SAR) arc is a band of reddish light that appears static and monochromatic unlike auroras, where various colours appear in moving patterns.
In a rare event, it was witnessed recently in Ladakh. Indian Institute of Astrophysics tweeted a timelapse clip from Ladakh’s Hanle observatory of “aurora lights’.