Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
Yudhvir Singh Malik, a 1984 batch IAS officer of Haryana cadre, has been given additional charge of the post of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman on May 17, 2018. Malik currently is the Secretary of Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways. He succeeded Deepak Kumar, who was sent back to his cadre state Bihar before completion of his tenure. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the premature repatriation of Kumar to his parent cadre with immediate effect without citing any reason. Kumar, a 1984 IAS officer of Bihar cadre, had taken over as the NHAI chief on June 2017.

Notes:
The Supa Dam is a concrete gravity dam built across Kali River in Joida taluk of Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka. The dam was built by Hindustan Steel Works Construction Limited (HSCL) and is now operated by Karnataka Power Corporation Limited (KPCL). It has a gross storage capacity of 4178 Mcum and a live storage of 4115.25 Mcum of water.

Notes:
The Gujarat government will launch free treatment scheme for the road accident victims on May 18. Under this scheme, the state government will bear medical expenses of up to Rs 50,000 for each victim of road accident in the state for the first 48 hours. Free treatment includes dressing of wounds, X-ray, blood transfusion, treatment in ICU and MRI, and all other treatment available in a hospital. As per scheme, even people hailing from other states or citizens of other countries will get free treatment regardless of their income if they meet with a road accident and admitted to a government or a private hospital in Gujarat.

Notes:
The World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) is observed every year on May 17 to raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. The day marks the anniversary of the signing of the first International Telegraph Convention (ITC) and the creation of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The 2018 theme “Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All” will focus on the potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to accelerate the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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:
Polish author Olga Tokarczuk has won the prestigious 2018 Man Booker International Prize for fiction for her novel ‘Flights’. The novel, translated by Jennifer Croft, interweaves narratives of travel with explorations of the human body. It combines tales of modern-day travel with the story of a 17th century anatomist who dissected his own amputated leg and the journey of composer Frederic Chopin’s heart from Paris to Warsaw after his death. Tokarczuk is the first Polish author to have won the prestigious award that honours the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. The prize is a counterpart to the Man Booker Prize for English-language novels and is open to books in any language that have been translated into English. The £50,000 ($67,000) award is split evenly between the writer and her translator, Jennifer Croft.

Notes:
The 3-day Smart Cities India 2018 Expo has started in New Delhi on May 23, 2018. The mega event, consisting five expos is being held with a vision to help develop attractive and safe cities that evoke pride, passion and a sense of belonging among citizens. The five expos are as follows: Building India Expo, Solar India Expo, Transport India Expo, Smart Cities India Expo and Water India Expo. Over 300 exhibitors from different countries are participating in the 4th edition of this event. The event is co-organised by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), the NASSCOM Center of Excellence – IoT and Exhibitions India Group.

Notes:
The Rajasthan government has launched ‘Nidaan’ software for presumptive diagnosis and monitoring of seasonal and non-communicable diseases as well as the trends of ailments found in specific areas. It is expected to help in formulation of specific action plans for control of diseases. “Nidaan” will facilitate online entries of as many as 46 diseases and healthcare services available for their treatment in different institutions.

Notes:
The World Turtle Day (WTD) is observed every year on May 23 across the world to protect turtles and their disappearing habitats around the world. The day is celebrated to bring attention to, and increase knowledge of and respect for, turtles and tortoises, and encourage human action to help them survive and thrive.

Notes:
Nima Jangmu Sherpa, a 28 year old Nepali woman, has created a world record by scaling three highest mountains in a single climbing season. She made her historic ascent on Mt Kanchenjunga, third highest peak of the world, on May 23. With this, she has become only woman in the world to climb three highest peaks in Nepal above 8,000 meters in one season within 25 days. She had successfully scaled Mt Everest on May 14 and Mt Lhotse on April 29. The women have set many new records during this year’s climbing season 2018. Last week India’s Shivangi Pathak became youngest women of the country to climb Mt Everest from Nepal side. Similarly, Ajeet Bajaj and his daughter Deeya also scaled Mt Everest last week to become India’s first father-daughter duo to climb highest peak of the world.