Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2017

Notes:
Anthony Lianzuala, a 1982-batch Indian Civil Accounts Service (ICAS) Officer, took over as the new Controller General of Accounts (CGA) in New Delhi on May 1, 2017. With this, he became the first person from the North-Eastern Region to hold this position. The CGA is the apex Accounting Authority of the Central Government and exercises the powers of the President under Article 150 of the constitution for prescribing the forms of Accounts of the Union and State Governments on the advice of the Comptroller & Auditor General of India.

Notes:
The Ganga Cleanliness Pledge Day (GCPD) will be observed by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) on May 2, 2017 to spread awareness and to promote active involvement of public for the Ganga swachhta abhiyan. The main objective of this day is to develop a sense of pride and ownership among citizens to engender support for Namami Gange programme. The day, which is also known as Ganga Swachhta Sankalp Divas, will be organised at 12 locations, namely- Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Bhagalpur, Sahibganj, Kolkata, Raj Ghat (Hardoi), Bithoor, Srinagar ( Uttarakhand), Vidhur Kuti (Bijnor) and Devprayag. The event would also be organized at more than 30 other locations through Ganga Vichaar Manch (a volunteer wing of NMCG), local NGOs and volunteer support.

Notes:
Karnataka is the India’s most corrupt state on the basis of people’s experience in paying bribes for public services, as per latest survey conducted by the Centre for Media Studies (CMS) on corruption perception. Andhra Pradesh has acquired second position, followed by Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab. The annual corruption survey “CMS India Corruption Study 2017”, which covered 20 states, found Himachal Pradesh, Kerala and Chhattisgarh to be the least corrupt. The report stated that around one-third of the households experienced corruption in public services at least once during the last one year in comparison to about 53% of households that admitted to paying bribes during a similar study in 2005. The study further found that the total bribe paid by households across 20 states and 10 public services was Rs 6,350 crore in 2016 as against Rs 20,500 crore in 2005.

Notes:
Joshna Chinappa has won the 19th edition of Women’s singles Asian Individual Squash Championships (AISC) by defeating compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the women’s final at the Express Avenue Mall in Chennai, Tamil Nadu on April 29, 2017. With this, she scripted history by becoming the first Indian to clinch the Asian Squash title.

Notes:
Dubai has become the first city in the world to have its own Microsoft-designed font “Dubai Font”. The type face “Dubai Font” supports both Arabic and Latin script and will be available in 23 languages. It was created in partnership with Microsoft and is now available to Microsoft Office 365 users around the world. The font is available in three styles as ‘Dubai’, ‘Dubai Medium’ and ‘Dubai Light’. The new font was officially launched by the Dubai government on May 1, 2017 to reflect the city’s symbols of tolerance, happiness and respect, enabling people to express, communicate and connect.

Notes:
Mark Anthony Selby, an English professional snooker player from Leicester, has won the 2017 World Snooker Championship by beating John Higgins 18–15 in the final at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England. With this win, Selby has become the fourth player after Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O’Sullivan to claim back-to-back titles in the modern era. Selby is the reigning World and UK snooker champion and is the current world number one snooker player.

Notes:
The Sualgiri and Swalgiri communities of Odisha have been notified as Scheduled Castes (SC) after President Pranab Mukherjee gave the nod to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order (Amendment) Act, 2017. Now, the SC category status will entitle these communities to reservation in government jobs and admission in educational institutions, besides some other financial benefits. As per the modified list for Odisha, the “Sabakhia, Sualgiri, Swalgiri” are notified Scheduled Castes. The Constitution empowers the president to specify the scheduled castes in states and union territories in a list of notified scheduled castes. It also allows the list to be modified by Parliament. The new law has also replaced the term Union Territory of Pondicherry to Puducherry in the Constitution (Pondicherry) Scheduled Castes Order, 1964.

Notes:
Facebook has officially launched its “Express Wi-Fi” internet services in India, which are already available at 700 hotspots across Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Meghalaya. Facebook has partnered with 500 local entrepreneurs who will sell these services through vouchers that are priced ranging Rs 10-20 for a day or Rs 200-300 for a month.The service is designed to complement mobile data offerings by providing a low-cost, high bandwidth alternative for getting online and access apps, download and stream content. Apart from this, additional 20,000 hotspots will be launched by Facebook in partnership with Bharti Airtel. The Express Wi-Fi initiative is also live in Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Indonesia.

Notes:
Banganapalle mangoes, one of the most popular and finest varieties of mango from Andhra Pradesh, has received the Geographical Indication (GI) Registration Certificate by the GI Registry, Chennai. With this, the Andhra Pradesh government has become the registered proprietor of the GI tag for mangoes. Banganapalle mangoes have been grown for over 100 years in the State. It is also known as Beneshan, Baneshan, Benishan, Chappatai and Safeda. The GI indicates products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin. Once product is registered as GI, no producer can claim the same name, which is covered by a GI tag, without taking consent from the applicant.

Notes:
Braj Bihari Kumar has been appointed the new chairman of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). He is the editor of quarterly journals Dialogue and Chintan Srijan. Kumar succeeded economist S K Thorat and will have a term of three years. The ICSSR is a council in India which promotes research in the field of social sciences and its headquarters is located in New Delhi.