Current Affairs Quiz 20th May 2022 : Daily GK Update Quiz

Exp. Centre announced formation of Cotton Council of India under chairmanship of Suresh Bhai Kotak

The Union Government has announced the formation of the Cotton Council of India under the Chairmanship of renowned veteran cotton man Suresh Amritlal Kotak.

The Council will have representation from Textiles, Agriculture, Commerce, and Finance Ministries along with Cotton Corporation of India and Cotton Research Institute.

Mr Goyal also appealed to the spinning and trading community to ensure a hassle-free supply of cotton and yarn first to the domestic industry.

The council will discuss, deliberate, and prepare a robust action plan for bringing out a tangible improvement in this field.

Exp. Assam Rifles inked MoU with Axis Bank and NIEDO to establish Centre of Excellence and Wellness

Assam Rifles inked a Tripartite MoU with Axis Bank and National Integrity and Educational Development Organisation (NIEDO) to establish a Centre of Excellence and Wellness to secure a better future for the youth of Nagaland.

The centre named after Late Capt N Kenguruse MVC Centre of Excellence and Wellness will be located at Chieswema in Kohima district.

Under the MoU, 30 children including boys and girls from economically weaker sections, will be selected from Nagaland and provided free residential coaching to prepare the students for entry to medical and engineering colleges.

Exp. Ashwini Vaishnaw inaugurated NIELIT Centre in Leh, Ladakh

Union Cabinet Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, inaugurated National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT) Centre Leh, Extension Centre Kargil and IT Enabled Incubation Centre for Handicraft and Handloom Sector.

While inaugurated he stated that the overturning of Article 370 and the formation of the new UT, etc. Any proposal which is related to IT Education, Training, etc. will be approved by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

NIELIT Leh has been made an independent centre which would play a very important role to augment IT enablement in the youngest UT of the country. It is one of its kind IT enabled Incubation Centre in the field of Handicraft and Handloom.

Exp. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired 7th annual meeting of Board of Governors of NDB

Finance Minister and India’s Governor for the New Development Bank (NDB) Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 7th Annual Meeting of Board of Governors of NDB through video-conferencing in New Delhi.

Due to ongoing pandemic, this Annual Meeting of NDB which was hosted and chaired by India this year was organized in virtual mode.

FM Sitharamana has mentioned that India’s economic growth in the current financial year has been robust and is estimated to be 8.9%.

The meeting was also attended by Governors or Alternate Governors of Brazil, China, Russia, South Africa, and the newly joined members Bangladesh and United Arab Emirates UAE.

Theme 2022: “NDB: Optimising Development Impact”.

Marcos Prado Troyjo is the president of the New Development Bank (NDB).

Exp. EAM S Jaishankar participated in BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting, hosted by China

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on May 19, 2022, participated in a virtual meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers.

The BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting was hosted by China on 19th May 2022 via video conference. Since, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, this is the first meeting of BRICS Foreign Ministers.

This meeting was hosted by Wang Yi, China’s State Councilor and Foreign Minister.

The meeting was also attended by South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor, Brazilian Foreign Minister Carlos Franca and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, apart from EAM Jaishankar.

In January 2022, the BRICS Chairmanship was handed over to China by India.

Theme of BRICS 2022: ‘Foster High-Quality BRICS Partnership Usher in a New Era for Global Development’

Exp. World’s 1st Urban Airport Pop-up ‘Air One’ for flying cars & drones opened in UK

The Coventry City Council and Urban-Air Port Limited, United Kingdom (UK) based Start-up partnered to set up the world’s first Urban airport Pop-up ‘Air-One’, for electric drones and flying cars in the city of Coventry, England.

The aim of the project is to reduce Urban congestion and Pollution. It’s designed for zero-emission electric drones and air taxis and the airport itself is powered by hydrogen fuel cells.

A first-of-its-kind hub, Air-One will serve as a blueprint for over 200 ‘vertiports’ being planned around the world, including the West Midlands, London, Los Angeles, Australia, South Korea, France, Germany, Scandinavia, and Southeast Asia.

Exp. S&P projected India’s growth forecast for FY23 to 7.3%

S&P Global Ratings cut India’s growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3% from 7.8% on rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The rating agency increased its inflation forecast for India by 90 basis points (bps) to 6.3% for the current fiscal year.

S&P had in December last year pegged India’s GDP growth in 2022-23 fiscal, which began on April 1, 2022, at 7.8%. For the next fiscal the growth has been pegged at 6.5%.

Exp. Naveen Srivastava appointed as new envoy to Nepal

Naveen Srivastava, presently working as an additional secretary in the external affairs ministry has been appointed as the next ambassador to Nepal.

Srivastava, who headed the East Asia division in the ministry, has played a key role in diplomatic and military talks with China to tackle the military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since 2020.

He succeeded Vinay Kwatra, who has recently become the foreign secretary.

Exp. Sunil Arora appointed as non-executive chairman of Gram Unnati

Agritech startup Gram Unnati has appointed former chief election commissioner Sunil Arora as the new non-executive chairman of its board.

Arora is a retired civil servant (IAS) with over 36 years of experience. He has worked as the secretary of two important ministries, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

Gram Unnati is a social venture that helps farmers increase their net income by increasing price realisation, enhancing agricultural productivity, and lowering cultivation costs.

Sunil Arora, the 23rd Chief Election Commissioner of India, also served as the president of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB).

Gram Unnati was founded by IIT Kharagpur graduate Aneesh Jain in 2013.

Exp. Gopal Vittal reappointed as MD and CEO of Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel board has reappointed Gopal Vittal as Managing Director & CEO for a further period of five years ending on January 31, 2028.

The reappointment came on a day the telco posted a consolidated net profit at Rs 2,007.8 crore in the March quarter, up 141% sequentially and 164% on the year.

Analysts had an estimated net profit of around Rs 1,970 crore. This was Airtel’s sixth successive quarter in the black after six straight losses earlier.

Exp. Anil Baijal resigned as Lieutenant Governor of Delhi

Anil Baijal, who was appointed as the Delhi Lieutenant Governor in 2016, has sent his resignation to the President of India. Baijal has resigned for personal reasons.

The 1969-batch IAS officer’s tenure as L-G was 5 years and 5 months. He was earlier the vice-chairperson of the Delhi Development Authority and Union Home Secretary during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. He retired in 2006 as Union Urban Development Secretary.

Exp. Interglobe Aviation named Pieter Elbers as new CEO of IndiGo

Chief of Air France-KLM’s Dutch unit Pieter Elbers appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and as a Whole Time Director of low-cost carrier IndiGo.

His appointment as the Chief Executive Officer is expected to be effective from 1 October this year.

IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta will be retiring on 30 September, 2022. Elbers has been appointed as Dutta’s successor, the company said in a regulatory filing. Mr. Dutta was appointed as IndiGo’s CEO in January 2019.

Elbers, 52, has served as the President & Chief Executive Officer of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. He is also a member of the Executive Committee of the Air France – KLM Group.

Exp. CSIR-NAL successfully completed engine relight test of India’s 1st indigenous trainer Aircraft HANSA-NG

India’s First Indigenous Trainer Aircraft ‘HANSA-NG’ was successfully completed in-flight engine relight test at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) facility of Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) at Challakere, Chitradurga district of Karnataka.

Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) designed and developed ‘HANSA-NG’.

The flight test was carried out at an altitude of 7000-8000 feet with a speed range of 60 to 70 knots by Wing Commanders K V Prakash and NDS Reddy.

The flight tests were monitored by Abbani Rinku, project director of HANSA along with the design team of CSIR-NAL and flight test crew from ASTE – wing commander Senthil Kumar, flight test director, Squadron leader Sahil Sarin, safety pilot and Group Captain M Rangachari, chief test pilot.

Exp. Nikhat Zareen won gold in 52kg category at Women’s World Boxing Championships 2022

Indian boxer Nikhat Zareen won the gold medal in 52kg category after defeating Thailand’s Jitpong Jutamas at the 2022 IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships, Istanbul.

Nikhat became the fifth Indian woman to secure a gold medal at the World Boxing Championships after Mary Kom, Sarita Devi, Jenny RL, and Lekha KC.

It was also India’s first gold medal since boxing great Mary Kom won it in 2018.

Apart from Nikhat, two Indian boxers Manisha Moun in 57 kg and Parveen Hooda in 63 kg category won bronze medals after their semi-finals finish in the championships.

Exp. A new novel ‘A Place Called Home’, authored by Preeti Shenoy

Bestselling author Preeti Shenoy is set to publish a new novel titled “A Place Called Home”, a story set in a coffee estate in Sakleshpur, Karnataka with a strong female protagonist at its core.

The new novel is about secrets, family, and finding yourself. The book published by HarperCollins Publishers India is set to be released in June 2022.

Preeti Shenoy has authored around 15 novels which include, When Love Came Calling, Wake Up Life is Calling, Life is What You Make it, The Rule Breakers, A Hundred Little Flames, It’s All In The Planets, Why We Love The Way We Do, The Secret Wish List, The One You Cannot Have and many others.

Exp. 17 May: International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia is observed on May 17, with the goal of coordinating international events to raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and inspire interest in LGBT rights work around the world.

The IDAHO Committee was founded by the creators of the International Day Against Homophobia to coordinate grassroots actions in different countries, promote the day, and push for official recognition on May 17.

That date was chosen to honour the World Health Organization’s (WHO) decision in 1990 to remove homosexuality from the International Classification of Diseases.

The idea for the day was conceived in 2004. On May 17, 2005, a year-long campaign resulted in the first International Day Against Homophobia.

Theme 2022: “Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights”.

Exp. 20 may: World Bee Day

World Bee Day is observed annually on 20 May across the globe to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators in the ecosystem.

In December 2017, the United Nations Member States approved the proposal of Slovenia to proclaim 20 May as World Bee Day.

World Bee Day was first inaugurated on 20th May 2018 and is celebrated every year ever since. This day commemorates the birth of Anton Jansa in 1734. She is considered the pioneer of beekeeping.

Theme 2022: ‘Bee Engaged: Celebrating the diversity of bees and beekeeping systems’

Exp. 20 may 2022: National Endangered Species Day

National Endangered Species Day is celebrated every year on the third Friday of May and this year it is celebrated on 20 May 2022.

The day aims to create awareness among people about endangered species and the different steps we can take to protect them. This year, it marks the 16th National Endangered Species Day.

In 1960s and 1970s, a concern was raised over the wellbeing of animals. Due to this, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 came into existence on 28 December. The act aims to raise the need for wildlife conservation and rehabilitation of endangered species.

The day was established by the US Senate, and later in 2006, the historic National Endangered Species Day began.

Theme 2022: “Recovering key species for ecosystem restoration”.