Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
India has been ranked at 11th position in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index 2018 of global consultancy firm A T Kearney.  It is the first time since 2015 that India has been pushed out of the top 10. Though, India remains among the top investment destinations due to its market size and rapid economic growth. The report said a possible factor for the fall could be the coming elections in India, as investors are likely to be monitoring political risks. The annual survey tracks the impact of political, economic and regulatory changes on the FDI preferences of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of the country. The index is topped by United States, followed by Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and China.

Notes:
Arun Date (84), the veteran Marathi singer, has passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra on May 6, 2018. Date, famous for non-film ‘bhavgeet’ (lyrical poetry) songs, had crooned numbers like “Shukratara” and “Ya Janmavar”, which became very popular among people. He was the first recipient of the state government’s ‘Gajananrav Vatave Puraskar’. His father, Ramubhaiyya Date, was also a well-known classical music connoisseur.

Notes:
The 15th Asia Media Summit (AMS-2018) will be held in New Delhi on May 10-12 with theme “Telling our Stories- Asia and More”. The summit will provide a unique opportunity for broadcasters in Asia to share their thoughts on broadcasting and information. It is being organised by Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) in collaboration with its partners and international organisations. The decision makers, media professionals, scholars, and stakeholders of news and programming from Asia, Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East and North America will attend the annual conference.

Notes:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected India to remain the fastest growing Asian nation with 7.3% growth in 2018-19, and 7.6% in 2019-20. ADB Chief Economist Yasuyuki Sawada has stated that India should not worry about not achieving 8% growth but focus on increasing domestic demand by reducing the income inequality. He said growth is driven more by domestic consumption than exports. Mr Sawada further said inequality and poverty reduction would play a very important role in achieving higher growth because consumption can stimulate more production and that can create more employment. 

Notes:
In Shooting, Olympian Gagan Narang and Pooja Ghatkar clinched a Silver medal in the 10-meter Air Rifle Mixed Team event in the Grand Prix of Liberation International competition at Pilsen in the Czech Republic on May 6, 2018. Beside this, Shri Nivetha Paramanantham and Amanpreet Singh claimed the Mixed Air Pistol Silver after topping the qualification with a score of 775. Earlier in the tournament, Nivetha had bagged a Gold medal in the Women’s Air Pistol, while Mihika Poore took home the top honours in the Women’s Air Rifle event.

Notes:
India and Guatemala have signed a pact for strengthening diplomatic cooperation through Respective Foreign Service Institutes in the educational field. The agreement was recently inked after a meeting between Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and his Guatemala counterpart, Jafeth Cabrera Franco in Guatemala City. Beside this, both the countries agreed to support each other’s candidature for Non-Permanent Membership in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Guatemala will support India’s candidature for UNSC membership for 2021-22 while New Delhi will do so for 2031-32 for Guatemala. During the talks, Indian side also agreed to the Guatemala’s request for supplying solar panels to its airports. After discussions and in the presence of both the Vice Presidents, both the sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for training of diplomats and a Letter of Intent for training Guatemalan English Teachers in India. These agreements will be valid for three years and will be extended thereafter, if required.

Notes:
Google has appointed Nitin Bawankule as the country head for its cloud business in India. He will take over from Mohit Pande who has quit the company. Bawankule will report to Rick Harshman, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, Google Cloud. Nitin has been with Google India for over six years as sales head for multiple verticals including e-commerce, retail, classifieds, and education. He has over 20 years of experience in the digital, technology and consumer industry with stints at Dell, Motorola Mobility, Whirlpool and Godrej GE Appliances.

Notes:
The 15th Finance Commission has constituted an advisory council to advise and assist the commission. The 6-member council will be headed by the President of Forum for Strategic Initiatives, Arvind Virmani. The role and functions of the council will be to advise the commission on any issue or subject related to the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Commission. Besides, the council will also assist the commission in the preparation of any paper or research study which will enhance the Commission’s understanding on the issues containing in its ToR. The advisory council will help in broadening the commission’s ambit and understanding to seek best national and international practices on matters pertaining to fiscal devolution and improving the quality and reach and enforcement of its recommendations.

Notes:
On May 11, the first-ever joint conference of Indian Customs and Department of India Posts at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi to deliberate on streamlining of imports and exports by post. Commissioners of Customs from all the States having Foreign Post Offices (FPOs) were present along with their counterpart Post Master Generals. Imports and exports by post are the 6th highest cited citizen grievances under under Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMs). Customs and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) have worked together since a year to liberalise, reform and align laws relating to imports by India Post.

Notes:
The 5th meeting of the BIMSTEC Sub-Group on Prevention of Illicit Trafficking in Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances and precursor Chemicals to be held in Kathmandu, Nepal on 23 May 2018. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation of 7 nations of South Asia and South East Asia, including Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal.