Monthly Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2018

Notes:
The joint military exercise “SURYA KIRAN-XIII” between India and Nepal will be conducted at Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand from 30 May to 12 June 2018. The exercise will comprise of nearly 300 soldiers from both Indian and Nepal Army who would be sharing their experiences gained during conduct of various counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations in the past. The aim of this exercise is to conduct battalion level joint training with emphasis on counter terrorism operations in mountainous terrain. During the exercise, aspects of disaster management and joint effort towards relief work have also been included. The joint military exercise will enhance the level of defence cooperation which will further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two nations.

Notes:
The Amrit Dhara is a natural waterfall located in Koriya district of Chhattisgarh. It originates from the Hasdeo River, which is a tributary of the Mahanadi River. It falls from a height of 90.0 ft. The waterfall is about 10.0–15.0 ft wide.

Notes:
Prof. Ganeshi Lal, the Haryana BJP leader, has been appointed as the new Governor of Odisha. The post was vacant since March 2018 after veteran Naga leader S C Jamir completed his tenure. After that, Bihar Governor Satya Pal Malik was additionally discharging the duties of Odisha Governor since March 2018. Meanwhile, Kummanam Rajasekharan, who is Kerala BJP chief, will be the new Governor of Mizoram. He will succeed Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma, who is completing his tenure on May 28, 2018. President Ram Nath Kovind approved their appointments.

Notes:
Veteran actor Geeta Kapoor (57) has passed away at a Mumbai hospital in Maharashtra on May 26, 2018. Her son left her at a hospital last year and never returned to check on her. The film personalities Ashoke Pandit and Ramesh Taurani were paying for her care. She acted in over 100 films, including Meena Kumari’s classic Pakeezah.

Notes:
Daniel Ricciardo, an Australian racing driver who is currently competing in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, has won the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix 2018 at the Circuit de Monaco on May 27.

Notes:
The Talakona waterfall is located in Sri Venkateswara National Park of Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. With a 270 feet fall, it is the highest waterfall in the Andhra Pradesh. Talakona is also known for the Lord Siddheswara Swamy Temple, which is located close to the waterfall.

Notes:
Pankaj Saran, the 1982-batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has been appointed as the new Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA). He will at post for a period of two years, on deputation basis initially till the date of his superannuation, i.e., November 30, 2018, then on re-employment on contract basis. Currently, he is India’s envoy to Russia. He served twice in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) — first as Deputy Secretary/ Director during 1995 and 1999, and then as the Joint Secretary between 2007 and 2012. Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser (NSA). He is assisted by Deputy National Security Advisers. Ex-chief of India’s external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Rajinder Khanna was in January 2018 also appointed as the Deputy NSA.

Notes:
Lt Gen Ranbir Singh, who is currently Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, has been appointed the new General Officer Commander-in-Chief (GOC-in-C) of Northern Command (of the Indian Army). Lt Gen Singh will succeed Lt Gen Devraj Anbu, who will take charge as Vice Chief of the Indian Army on June 1. Lt Gen Singh was the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) when India carried out surgical strikes across the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir on September 26, 2016. Lt Gen Singh had also served as commander of the Army’s One Corps in Mathura. The Udhampur-based Northern Command is considered very crucial as it looks after Army’s operations in J&K besides guarding the LoC.

Notes:
Top Indian discus thrower Vikas Gowda has recently retired after competing at the highest level for more than 15 years, during which he became the first and only Indian male to win Commonwealth Games medals in the discipline. His retirement was announced by the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) on its twitter page after Gowda sent the AFI a letter declaring his intent to call it quits. Gowda, who will turn 35 on July 5, is also four-time Olympian. He holds the national record of 66.28m (achieved in 2012) and is one of the most decorated Indian athletes, having won gold in the 2013 and 2015 Asian Championships. He also won silver in the 2010 Commonwealth Games and a gold in the 2014 Glasgow CWG. In the Asian Games, he won a bronze in 2010 and a silver in 2014.

Notes:
Social networking giant Facebook has partnered with National Commission for Women (NCW) to launch a digital literacy programme in collaboration with the Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF). As part of the digital literacy programme pilot, awareness training will be conducted for 60,000 women in universities across major cities in Haryana, Delhi-NCR, Manipur, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu over a one-year period. These interactive sessions will provide training on safe and responsible use of the internet, social media and email and will enable trainees to differentiate between credible and questionable information. The training will be conducted in local languages.