Weekly CA Quiz: May 2018 1st week with PDF

Explanation: In a surprise move, women’s hockey coach Harendra Singh has been named chief coach of the Indian men’s team while incumbent men’s in-charge Sjoerd Marijne was sent back to the women’s camp. The move to switch the coaches came after both men’s and women’s team failed to clinch medals in the recently-concluded 21st edition of The Commonwealth Gamesin Gold Coast, Australia.

Explanation: Former chief of the Indian Air Force (IAF), Air Chief Marshal Idris Hassan Latif, died. He was 95.

Explanation: India continued to sit atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings following the latest update on Tuesday, with South Africa at No.2 and Australia at the No.3 positions. India and South Africa, meanwhile, got $1 million and $500,000 respectively.

Explanation: Mr Sitanshu Ranjan Kar, a 1983 batch  officer of Indian Information Service, took over as the 27th Principal Spokesperson of the Government of India and  Director General of Press Information Bureau in New Delhi on May 1, 2018. He succeeds Mr Frank Noronha, who superannuated on April 30, 2018.

Explanation: The 9th India Japan Energy Dialogue was held in New Delhi on May 1, 2018. Both Japan and India, as the third and the seventh largest economies respectively, recognized that having access to reliable, clean and economical energy is critical for their economic growth and agreed on further strengthening of bilateral energy cooperation for energy development of both countries.

Explanation: The International Labour Day, also known as International Worker’s Day or May Day is observed every year on May 1. The day aims to promote and encourage the international labour associations, marks the victory of workers’ movement for eight hours of work and pay tribute to workers sacrifices in achieving economic and social rights all over the world. The theme of International Labour Day 2018 is “Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement”.

Explanation: Eminent Marxist economist and politician, and former finance minister of West Bengal, Ashok Mitra, died at age 89. He served as Chief Economic Adviser during Indira Gandhi’s prime ministerial tenure.

Explanation: Indian Shooter Shahzar Rizvi clinched top-spot in the latest 10m Air Pistol rankings on Tuesday (May 1) after winning the silver medal at the ISSF World Cup in Changwon, South Korea. The other Indians in the top-10 are Jitu Rai, who is sixth in the charts, and Om Prakash Mitharval, at the 12th spot

Explanation: The Union Government has announced to develop the country’s biggest airport, after only to Mumbai, in Mopa district of Goa.

Explanation: England has overtaken India to seize the top spot in the MRF Tyres ICC ODI team rankings following the annual update, while Nepal has rejoined the T20I ratings. England, who last topped the ODI rankings in January 2013, have gained 8 points and moved to 125 points. India, who were at the top before the update, have lost a solitary point and are in second place with a total of 122 points.

Explanation: The Cabinet gave its nod to continuation of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana beyond 12th Five Year Plan for a period 2017-18 to 2019-20. The financial outlay for this purpose is Rs 14,832 crore. Under this 20 new AIIMS and up-gradation of 73 medical college will be undertaken.

Explanation: The Gujarat government initiated a month-long state-wide water conservation campaign, on the occasion of the state’s Foundation Day on May 1, aiming to conserve an additional 1,100 million cubic feet of rain water. The project, named ‘Sujalam Sufalam Water Conservation Campaign’, was officially launched by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani by desalting a pond at Kosamdi village in Anklesvar tehsil of Bharuch district.

Explanation: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal for renaming and restructuring of Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK). CCEA has also approved its continuation during the remaining period of the 14th Finance Commission.

Explanation: The Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of former IAS officer Subhash Chandra Khuntia as the new chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). His appointment will be for a period of three years or till the age of 65 years, whichever is the earliest.

Explanation: The Cabinet has given its approval for the Umbrella Scheme, “Green Revolution – Krishonnati Yojana” in agriculture sector beyond 12th Five Year Plan for the period from 2017-18 to 2019-20. The Schemes will be continued with an expenditure of Rs.33,269.976 crore from central government for three financial years, i.e., 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20.The Umbrella scheme comprises of 11 Schemes/Missions.

Explanation: According to a BMI Research, a Fitch group company, the economic growth in India is expected to strengthen to 7.3% in financial year 2018-19 from 6.6 per cent in fiscal 2017-18, on the back of robust activity from construction, manufacturing, and services sectors.

Explanation: The Union Cabinet chaired by chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for extending the investment limit from Rs 7.5 lakhs to Rs 15 lakhs under the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandan Yojana (PMVVY) as part of Government’s commitment for financial inclusion and social security.

Explanation: 14 Indian cities have been figured in a list of 20 most polluted cities in the world in terms of PM2.5 levels in 2016, according to the data released by the WHO (May 2, 2018). The Indian cities that registered very high levels of PM2.5 pollutants were Delhi, Varanasi, Kanpur, Faridabad, Gaya, Patna, Agra, Muzaffarpur, Srinagar, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Patiala and Jodhpur.

Explanation: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved three major infrastructure projects – new terminal buildings at Guwahati, Chennai and Lucknow airports. The decision has been taken with regard to government’s commitment to augment the airport capacity and facilities to match the 20% passenger growth rate and for constantly improving your air-travel experience.

Explanation: The Ministry of Finance, Government of India in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) organized the 4th Regional Conference on Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure in Bengaluru on May 3rd.

Explanation: India has emerged as one of the five biggest military spenders in 2017, according to a report by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). According to the arms watchdog, the five top military spenders in 2017 were the US, China, Saudi Arabia, Russia and India respectively.

Explanation: Justin Langer has been named as Australian national cricket team’s new head coach, replacing Darren Lehmann, who resigned in the wake of the ball-tampering scandal. He will take the reins of all three formats for the next four years.

Explanation: The Minister of State for Development of North Eastern Region (I/C), Dr. Jitendra Singh announced that a North Eastern Cultural and Information Centre will come up in Delhi soon. The Centre will act as a cultural and convention, information hub of the North Eastern Region in Delhi.

Explanation: World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in December 1993, following the recommendation of UNESCO’s General Conference. Since then, 3 May, the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek, is celebrated worldwide as World Press Freedom Day. 2018 Theme: Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and The Rule of Law.

Explanation: Actor Sridevi posthumously won the Best Actress Award for her role in Hindi film Mom while Bengali actor Riddhi Sen got the Best Actor award for Nagar Kirtan. The Best Feature Film award went to Assamese film Village Rockstars. Actor Vinod Khanna was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award.

Explanation: India has requested the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to expand its sovereign and non-sovereign operations in the country by providing financial assistance worth $4 billion a year and support its sustainable growth.

Explanation: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley chaired the 27th GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council meeting through video conferencing in New Delhi on May 4. The Council decided to convert GSTN into a government-owned company, with the centre and states holding a 50% stake each. At present, 51% stake is held by private entities, valued at Rs 5.1 crore, with the centre and the states holding 24.5% each.

Explanation: State-run Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) has inked a pact with the Ministry of Power to incur capital expenditure of Rs.25,000 crore for the current fiscal.

Explanation: Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has recently set up National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) in New Delhi. NWIC would be a repository of nation-wide water resources data

Explanation: NITI Aayog and IBM signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide real time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts.

Explanation: India and Sri Lanka has agreed on cooperation on exchange of information and other aspects to tackle smuggling of drugs in both countries.

Explanation: The 12th informal meeting of SAARC Finance Ministers was held in Manila on the sidelines of the 51st Annual Meeting of Asian Development Bank (ADB). The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister of Nepal Yuba Raj Khatiwada.

Explanation: Manish Raniga, former vice-president for commercial strategy with Jet Airways, has joined low fare carrier GoAir as its Chief Commercial Officer.

Explanation: The Nobel Prize in Literature, the world’s most prestigious accolade for writing, will not be awarded this year, for the first time since 1949 in the wake of a sexual and financial misconduct scandal. The Swedish Academy, that decides the Nobel Prize for Literature, will now announce the 2018 winner along with the 2019 winner next year.

Explanation: Patanjali Ayurved Limited has been ranked as India’s most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand in the TRA’s Brand Trust Report 2018. In overall brand ranking Patanjali is at 13^th rank.most trusted Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) brand. Samsung leads the list to become India’s Most Trusted Brand.

Explanation: India has slipped three notches to the 11th position in the AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index for 2018. The US remained in the top position for investment intentions with Canada rising to the second position while Germany fell to the third.

Explanation: Delhi will host a six-day-long Festival of Bharat between May 9 and May 14 as a 21st century tribute to the majesty and depth of India’s civilization.

Explanation: The ADB, in its Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2018 report released in April, had claimed that the Indian economy is set to expand by 7.3 percent in fiscal year (FY) 2018 and 7.6 percent in the next fiscal i.e FY 2019. Also developing Asia grew by 6.1 percent in 2017, and we expect growth will be 6 percent in 2018.

Explanation: Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh launched ‘Go to Village’ mission throughout the state from Konuma ground. The mission is aimed at identifying the eligible and deserving beneficiaries in every corner of the state and delivering government services at their doorstep.

Explanation: A sports initiative ‘Star Khel Mahakumbh’ was launched at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh today in the presence of 1,500 athletes. The athletes will compete in volleyball, basketball, cricket, football, kabaddi and athletics.

Explanation: Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will now be celebrated every alternate year. The 15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2019 will be held during 21-23 Janury 2019 at Varanasi.

Explanation: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has allowed stock exchanges to extend the trading session for futures and options (F&O) segment from the current 3.30 p.m. to 11.55 in the night beginning October 1, 2018.

Explanation: The Border Roads Organisation (BRO), a leader in infrastructure development in the border areas of the country, will celebrate its 58th Raising Day on 07 May 2018.

Explanation: Union Minister for Road Transport and Water Resourceas Nitin Gadkari announced that the Central government will sanction Rs 2,000 crore for inland waterway on Godavari River.

Explanation: In Assam, 97.3 meter tall national flag, the tallest in the country – will be installed in Guwahati under Smart City Mission.

Explanation: For the conservation of Indus dolphins – one of the world’s rarest mammals – the Punjab government along with WWF-India are conducting the first organised census on their population.

Explanation: Veteran actress and social activist Shabana Azmi has been nominated as the Global Leadership Ambassador for Women in Public Service Project (WPSP), a Hillary Clinton-founded programme aimed at empowering the next generation of women around the world.

Explanation: Jnanpith laureate M T Vasudevan Nair has won this year’s annual ONV Literary Prize, instituted in memory of iconic poet late O N V Kurup, for his overall contributions to Malayalam literature.

Explanation: In a jolt to Facebook, WhatsApp co-founder and CEO Jan Koum has decided to move on amid reports that he had a difference of opinion with parent company Facebook over data privacy, encryption and other issues.

Explanation: The Centre has approved setting up of 100 additional One Stop Centres in 9 states to help violence affected women. The states are Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

Explanation: NITI Aayog has joined hands with Google to foster growth in India’s artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning ecosystem by working together on several initiatives in the two areas.

Explanation: Cabinet Secretary Pradeep Kumar Sinha has been given one year extension. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved his extension to the post till 12th of June 2019. In May 2015, Mr Sinha was appointed as cabinet secretary for a fixed two-year term.

Explanation: The Centre has signed a loan agreement worth 200 million dollar with the World Bank for the National Nutrition Mission -POSHAN Abhiyaan.

Explanation: NITI Aayog seeks World Bank’s help to prevent fraud in healthcare insurance programme. The NITI Aayog has sought the World Bank’s assistance to provide it information and expertise on fraud detection and prevention to ensure no embezzlement of funds takes place in the Centre’s ambitious Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM).

Explanation: Vladimir Putin took the oath of office on May 7 for a fourth term as Russia’s president.