Current Affairs: May 2022 | Current Affairs & General Knowledge - CLAT PDF Download

UNICEF and WHO launch the first Global Report on Assistive Technology

• The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have released the first Global Report on Assistive Technology (GReAT). The paper, which was created in conjunction with UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti, includes 10 important actionable suggestions for enhancing access to assistive technology for all children, as well as evidence-based best practise examples.
• Through a network of academic institutions, researchers, policymakers, donors, and practitioners, UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti is at the forefront of the establishment of a Global Research Agenda and Platform for Children to amplify the voice of children and youth with disabilities.
• With the help of UNICEF‘s Office of Research – Innocenti, UNICEF and WHO created a series of 11 free-access background papers to accompany the Report.
• Around the world, 2.5 billion people require assistive technology. According to the estimate, by 2050, the population will have grown to 3.5 billion people.

About UNICEF:
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Head: Catherine M. Russell
President: Tore Hattrem
Founded: 11 December 1946, New York, United States
Founders: United Nations General Assembly, Ludwik Rajchman

About WHO:
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
Founded: 7 April 1948
Director General: Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Belgium becomes first country to make quarantine compulsory for patients with Monkeypox

• Belgium has become the first country to make a 21-day quarantine compulsory for monkeypox patients after four cases of the disease were reported. The Belgian health authorities took this decision, Saudi Gazette reported citing Belgian media. The Belgian Institute of Tropical Medicine has said that the risk of a larger outbreak in the country is low.
• The World Health Organization reported that there were a total of 92 confirmed monkeypox cases in 12 different countries, with 28 suspected cases under investigation. Cases of monkeypox have been confirmed in the UK, Portugal, Sweden, Italy, Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, the US, Canada and Australia, as reported by Saudi Gazette.
• Monkeypox is a disease in the same family as smallpox and symptoms include a distinct bumpy rash, a fever, sore muscles, and a headache. Monkeypox is less deadly than smallpox, with a mortality rate below four per cent, but experts are worried about the unusual spread of the disease beyond Africa where it usually circulates.\

About Belgium:
Belgium Capital: Brussels;
Belgium Currency: Euro;
Prime Minister: Alexander De Croo.

Nobel winner Jose Ramos-Horta sworn in as East Timor president

• Former independence fighter and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Jose Ramos-Horta has been sworn in as president of East Timor (Timor-Leste) ahead of celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country. He defeated incumbent Francisco “Lu Olo” Guterres, his fellow independence fighter, in the election. Ramos-Horta was prime minister from 2006 to 2007 and president from 2007 to 2012. East Timor is marking the 20th anniversary of independence for Asia’s youngest country.
• Ramos-Horta, 72, who led the resistance during Indonesia’s occupation, called for national reconciliation and unity as he took the oath of office shortly before midnight local time, the time that the country declared independence 20 years ago. 
• Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996, along with Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, in recognition of their work “toward a just and peaceful solution to the conflict” in the country.

About East Timor:
East Timor Capital: Dili;
East Timor Currency: United States Dollar.
President: Francisco Guterres

Anthony Albanese sworn in as PM of Australia 

• Australia’s Labor Party leader, Anthony Albanese was sworn in as the country’s new prime minister. Albanese claimed the victory in the election, ending his wait for power after nine years and with this Anthony Albanese became the country’s 31^st Prime Minister. Outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who was heading the Liberal-National coalition has conceded defeat.
• The 59-year-old new prime minister was sworn in at a brief ceremony lasting in Government House, Canberra. Other members of his team to take office included Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who will join Albanese at the Quad summit, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher.

About Australia:
Capital: Canberra
Currency: Australian dollar

Karnataka CM Basavaraj Bommai launches health, wellness app AAYU

• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has launched a new health and wellness app AAYU to address and help heal chronic diseases and lifestyle disorders through yoga. Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA) collaborated to develop the App with RESET TECH, an AI-driven integrated health-tech platform that aims to deal with chronic diseases and lifestyle conditions through yoga and meditation.
• The App would provide users with personalised wellness solutions and offer doctor consultations based on an individual’s personal history and monitor its progress enabling them to accelerate healing and recovery.
• The app would provide users with customised wellness solutions and doctor consultations based on their specific histories, as well as track their progress, allowing them to heal and recover faster.
• The App is accessible in various languages and aims to reach and impact over five million chronic disease patients within the next five years.
• The App addresses the root cause of the diseases goes beyond temporary care and helps restore lost health. Also, aims to cure diseases borne out of lifestyle disorders that have plagued people over the past decades.

About Karnataka:
Governor: Thawar Chand Gehlot
Chief Minister: Basavaraj Bommai
Capital: Bengaluru

Uttarakhand government constitutes panel to implement Uniform Civil Code

• Uttarakhand government has announced the formation of a 5-member drafting committee to implement the much-debated Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state. The retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai, who currently heads the Delimitation Commission of India is the Head of the committee. Other members of the committee are: Delhi High Court judge Pramod Kohli, ex-state chief secretaries Shatrughan Singh, Manu Gaud and Surekha Dangwal.
• The Governor has given his permission to establish an expert committee to check all the relevant laws which control personal matters for people living in Uttarakhand and to prepare a report on amendments in the present laws. The UCC is referred to a common set of laws governing personal matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance and succession for all citizens, irrespective of religion. The UCC will be an important step to solidify the spirit of the Constitution. This will also be an effective step toward Article 44 of the Constitution which talks about securing a UCC for every citizen of the country.
• The apex court, too, from time to time has emphasised on its implementation.

About Uttarakhand:
Chief Minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami
Capitals: Dehradun (Winter), Gairsain (Summer)
Governor: Lt Gen Gurmit Singh

India has become one of the fastest growing economies in the world: PM Modi

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India has become one of the world’s fastest growing economies. He was addressing at an occasion where he announced the PM-CARES for Children Scheme’s benefits. In the midst of the pandemic’s negative mood, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated that India relied on its strength.
• India had faith in its scientists, doctors, and young people. And we emerged as a beam of optimism for the globe, rather than a source of concern. India did not become the problem; instead, we became the provider of solutions.
• The Prime Minister went on to say that no one could have predicted the achievements India has made in the last eight years.
• India’s pride in the globe has grown, as has its power in international forums.
• And he is pleased that India’s journey is being led by young.
• Moody’s Investors Service cut India’s economic growth forecast for 2022 from 9.1 percent to 8.8 percent, citing excessive inflation.
• High-frequency data implies that the growth momentum from December quarter 2021 carried over into the first four months of this year, according to Moody’s
• Global Macro Outlook 2022-23.

About PMO India:
Formed: 1947; 75 years ago (As Prime Minister's Secretariat)
1977: 45 years ago (As Prime Minister's Office)
Headquarters: New Delhi
Minister responsible : Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India
Deputy Minister responsible : Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Prime Minister's Office

North India's first biotech park inaugurated in J-K's Kathua

• Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha and Union minister Jitendra Singh inaugurated the north India’s first Industrial Biotech Park constructed at Ghatti near Kathua. The Industrial Biotech Park at Kathua will transform the economy and enable scientists to tackle the challenges of climate change. The enabling infrastructure will fuel a new wave of innovation and impact various sectors, from health and agriculture to cosmetics and materials.
• With new biotech capabilities and innovation, J&K, bestowed with more than 3500 medicinal plant species, will be able to harness market advantages in the most effective way and help the farmers to generate more income, asserted the Lt Governor.
• The new Industrial Development Scheme has enabled J&K to fetch investment of more than Rs 38,800 crore as of date, which also includes proposals of 338 industrial units associated with the biotech sector in some way or the other.
• The Biotech Park would act as the hub for the incubation of new ideas and will act as a robust platform to support the agri-entrepreneurs, startups, progressive farmers, scientists, scholars and students not only from Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh but also from nearby states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

About Jammu & Kashmir
Lt Governor: Shri Manoj Sinha
Capital :Jammu(winter), Srinagar(summer)

IRDAI sets up committees through GIC to suggest industry overhaul

• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has formed various committees through the General Insurance Council (GIC) to suggest reforms in several areas of general, reinsurance, and life insurance, including regulation, product, and distribution, among others, in order to overhaul the industry.
• According to a GIC spokesman, these panels include leaders of private and public sector insurance companies, members of Irdai, and representatives from the GIC. Irdai established GIC to serve as a liaison between the insurance regulator and the non-life insurance business.
• The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is a regulatory agency that is responsible for regulating and licencing the insurance and reinsurance businesses in India. It is under the Ministry of Finance’s jurisdiction. It was established by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority Act, 1999, which was passed by the Indian Parliament. The agency’s headquarters have been in Hyderabad, Telangana, since 2001, when it relocated from Delhi.

About IRDAI:
Founded: 1999
Sector: Insurance
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Chairperson: Debasish Panda

Mumbai International Film Festival begins with a colourful opening ceremony Documentary

• The 17^th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival for Documentary, Short Fiction, and Animation films (MIFF-2022) began with a colourful opening ceremony at the Nehru Centre, Worli in Mumbai, Maharashtra . MIFF 2022 has got an overwhelming response from filmmakers across the world, receiving a whopping eight hundred 8 film entries from 30 countries.
• Out of these, one hundred 2 films will be screened under the Competition Category – 35 in international competition and 67 in the national competition. 18 Films will be screened under the ‘MIFF Prism Category’.
• In commemoration of Bangladesh’s 50 years of Independence, the country has been chosen as the ‘Country of Focus this year. A special package of 11 films from Bangladesh including the critically acclaimed film ‘Hasina - A Daughter’s Tale’ will be presented at MIFF 2022.
• The Best Film of the Festival will receive the Golden Conch award, along with a cash prize of Rs 10 lakhs. Other awards carry cash prizes varying from five to one lakh along with Silver Conch, trophy and certificate.
• 11 movies from Bangladesh will be telecast at the festival. 17th MIFF festival can be watched online also and it is entirely free of cost.
• This award is instituted in memory of legendary filmmaker V Shantaram, who has closely associated with the Films Division as Honorary Chief Producer during the 1950s.

About Maharashtra:
Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Capital: Mumbai
Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackeray

INS Gomati bids adieu after 34 years of service, decommissioned at Mumbai

• INS Gomati was decommissioned at the Naval Dockyard under the command of Captain Sudip Malik. INS Gomati derives her name from the vibrant river Gomti and was commissioned on 16 April 1988 by then Defence Minister, KC Pant, at Mazgaon Dock Ltd, Bombay. The third ship of the Godavari class guided-missile frigates, INS Gomati was also the oldest warrior of the western fleet when decommissioned.
• INS Gomati participated in numerous operations including Cactus, Parakram and Rainbow, and several bilateral and multinational naval exercises. IMS Gomati was twice awarded the coveted Unit Citation, in 2007-08 and again in 2019-20, for remarkable spirit and stellar contribution to national maritime security. 
• The ship’s legacy will be kept alive in an open-air museum being set up on the picturesque banks of the eponymous river Gomti in Lucknow where several of her combat systems will be displayed as military and war relics.

About INS Gomati (F21):
Length: 126 m
Draft: 4.5 m
Beam: 14 m
Decommissioned: 15 May 2022
Commissioned: 16 April 1988
Speed: 27 knots (50 km/h; 31 mph)

MeitY holds Brainstorming with Researchers & Startups to shape strategy for Digital India BHASHINI

• Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, was present during a brainstorming session organised by MeiTY on Mission Digital India BHASHINI – the National Language Translation Mission (NLTM). According to him, Startups are an essential component of our digital ecosystem, and Mission Digital India Bhashini will support them in developing India-specific and Indian Languages enabled IT solutions.
• MSMEs, Startups, and Individual Innovators will have access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources through the Bhashini Platform.
• The goal of this mission is to empower Indian citizens by linking them to the country’s digital initiatives in their local language, resulting in digital inclusion.
• Bhashini is an interoperable platform that will catalyse the entire Digital Ecosystem. Realizing the goal of Digital Government is a huge step forward. 
• The mission will create and cultivate an ecosystem that will bring together central and state government agencies, as well as start-ups, to develop and implement new products and services in Indian languages.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh Launches Portal ‘BioRRAP’ for Biotech Researchers & Start-Ups

• In keeping with the ethos of One Nation, One Portal, Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh unveiled the Single National Portal for Biotech Researchers and Start-ups.
• All those seeking regulatory permission for biological research and development activity in the country will use BioRRAP. According to the Minister, biotechnology has quickly become a viable academic and career option for Indian youth. The country currently has over 2,700 biotech start-ups and over 2,500 biotech enterprises in operation.
• Jitendra Singh, speaking after the portal’s debut, stated that India is on track to become a global bio-manufacturing hub and will rank among the top five countries in the world by 2025. He added that the Portal will allow stakeholders to view the approvals given to a specific application using a unique BioRRAP ID.
• He hailed DBT’s one-of-a-kind gateway as a step toward making science and scientific research more accessible to Indians, as well as making it easier to create businesses.

China Plans to launch World's First Search For Habitable Planets through Space Telescope

• Chinese scientists have proposed a space project to survey the sky through a space-borne telescope to hunt for habitable Earth-like planets outside the solar system, about 32 lightyears from Earth. The project, named Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) would be the first space mission specially designed to search for habitable terrestrial planets around nearby Sun-like stars.
• The exploration of habitable planets outside the solar system is one of the key frontiers of fundamental research in astronomy. The discovery of the nearby habitable worlds will be a great breakthrough for humankind, and will also help humans visit those Earth twins and expand our living space in the future.
• The CHES will observe about 100 Sun-like stars 32 light-years away on a long-term survey, and will hopefully discover roughly 50 Earth-like planets or super-Earths, planets that are up to about 10 times the mass of Earth.
• CHES will offer crucial clues to the issues such as other extra-terrestrial lives and the planets becoming the cradle of life.

About China
Capital: Beijing
Currency: Renminbi
President: Xi Jinping

Hyderabad based Skyroot Aerospace successfully test fires its Rocket Engine

• Private sector rocket maker Skyroot Aerospace Private Ltd successfully tested its Kalam-100 rocket that will power the Vikram-1 rocket’s third stage/engine. The company announced the completion of the milestone of full duration test-firing of its Vikram-1 rocket stage. The third stage, named Kalam-100 after former President APJ Abdul Kalam, was fired for a duration of 108 seconds.
• During the test, the rocket produced a peak vacuum thrust of 100 kN (about10 tons) showing its structure built with a high-strength carbon-fibre structure, solid fuel, EthylenePropylene-Diene terpolymers (EPDM) thermal protection system, and carbon ablative nozzle.
• The rocket’s stage was tested at the facilities of Solar Industries India Ltd, one of the investors in Skyroot.

About Telangana :
Founded: 2 June 2014
Capital: Hyderabad
Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
Chief Minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao

WCR develops battery-operated dual-mode locomotive 'Navdoot'; Running at

Jabalpur, Mudwara, and other stations on trial basis

• West Central Railway has developed a battery-operated dual-mode locomotive named Navdoot. This engine runs on both modes i.e. battery and electricity.
• Currently, it is being used during the shunting of trains at Jabalpur, Mudwara, and other stations on a trial basis. This Dual Mode Locomotive has also received the Best Innovation Award from the Railway Board. Railways will save 1000 litres of diesel every day with this new locomotive. After clearing all the trials, it will be used more widely.
• This engine runs on both modes i.e. battery and electricity. This e-engine can pull 18 coaches at a speed of 30 kmph. It has 84 batteries and has a capacity to pull 400 tonnes at present
• This has been developed by the Electric Department of New Katni Junction. After clearing all the trials, it will be used more widely in other stations for purposes like carrying goods, coal, oil tankers etc.

ISRO successfully tests large human-rated solid rocket booster for Gaganyaan Mission

• At Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan programme.
• According to the Bengaluru-based space agency, the HS200 is the human-rated version of the S200 rocket booster of the satellite launch vehicle GSLV Mk III, also known as LVM3.
• The successful completion of this test is a crucial milestone for ISRO’s famous Gaganyaan human space flight programme, as the first stage of the launch vehicle is tested for its full duration performance.
• ISRO Chairman and Secretary of the Department of Space, S Somanath, and Director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), S Unnikrishnan Nair, as well as other ISRO scientists, were present at the ceremony.
• The HS200 booster was designed and developed by VSSC in Thiruvananthapuram, while the propellant casting was completed at SDSC in Sriharikota.

WEF to focus on emerging technologies to help small, Marginal Farmers

• The World Economic Forum (WEF), in collaboration with the government’s research institute Niti Aayog, is focusing on how to better employ emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and drones to aid farmers, especially small and marginal farmers.
• Agriculture is an important part of the Indian economy, employing 43 percent of the country’s workers.
• Small holders, who account for 86 percent of all farmers in India and own less than 2 hectares of land (compared to 2-10 hectares for medium holders and more than 10 hectares for large holders), are still among the poorest people in the country, earning only 39 percent of what medium holders earn and only 13 percent of what large holders earn.
• Due to insufficient transparency of demand, exploitative intermediation, inadequate quality assurance, inadequate access to efficient and low-cost logistics, and little bargaining power, smallholder farmers are typically un able to obtain equivalent value for their produce.
• Improved value capture and total value production in the agricultural environment are required to increase farmer incomes. Technology has the potential to quickly develop and iterate solutions, reduce costs, improve information flow transparency, and boost connectivity across value chain actors.

About WEF
Founded: January 1971
Headquarters: Cologny, Switzerland
President of WEF: Børge Brende

International Day of UN Peacekeepers 2022: 29^th May

• International Day of UN Peacekeepers is observed globally on 29^th May. The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers also offers a chance to honour around 4,200 peacekeepers who lost their lives serving under the UN flag since, including 135 who lost the battle last year. UN Secretary -General António Guterres said that this year, the focus is on the Power of Partnerships.
• The theme for this year’s Day is “People. Peace. Progress. The Power of Partnerships.” Peacekeeping is one of the many tools used by the United Nations to secure global peace and security. UN Peacekeepers are also known as the Blue Helmets, is a collective enterprise, which aims to change lives for the better.
• The first UN peacekeeping mission was established on 1948, May 29 when the Security Council deployed a small number of UN military observers to the Middle  East to form the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) with the objective to monitor the Armistice Agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours. Since 1948, more than 1 million people have served in the UN peacekeeping operations, which were 72 in number.

About United Nations:
Founded: 24 October 1945, San Francisco, California, United States
Headquarters: New York, New York, United States
Founders: United States, India, Poland, United Kingdom, Brazil ETC…
Secretary General: António Guterres

International Missing Children’s Day 2022: 25^th May

• International Missing Children’s Day is an awareness event that is observed every year on 25^th of May. The aims of the day are to place a spotlight on the issue of child abduction, educate parents on safeguarding measures to protect their children and also honour those who have never been found and celebrate those who have. This awareness event is run in conjunction with the Global Missing Children’s Network. The network, which was formed in 1998, has 23 member countries who all connect in order to share information and best practice, working towards improving the effectiveness and success rate of missing children investigations.
• Missing Children’s Day began as an observance in the USA in 1983. The date was chosen following the disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz on 25th May 1979 from New York City. International Missing Children’s Day which observes the same date was launched a number of years later in 2001 and is now observed all over the world.

World Thyroid Day 2022: 25^th May

• World Thyroid Day is observed on May 25 to promote awareness and understanding of thyroid diseases, their symptoms, prevention, and treatments.
• The day came into existence in 2008 on a proposal by the European Thyroid Association (ETA). As per a report by Public Health Update, globally, more than 200 million people are estimated to be dealing with thyroid disorders and 50 per cent of these cases remain undiagnosed.
• There’s no separate theme for World Thyroid Day this year. However, for Thyroid Awareness Week observed between May 22 and 28, Thyroid Federation international has announced the theme, “It’s not you. It’s your thyroid.” The theme focused on making sure that people understand the most common symptoms of thyroid disorders and take the necessary steps to cure it.
• May 25 was officially adopted as World Thyroid Day during the Annual General Meeting prior to the European Thyroid Association (ETA) congress in September 2007. The date of May 25 also marks the anniversary of ETA’s foundation in 1965. Hence, it was chosen to be as a day dedicated to creating awareness about thyroid disorders.

International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories 

2022: 25 - 31 May

• United Nations is observing “International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories” from May 25 to 31. On December 06, 1999, the UN General Assembly called for the annual observance of the Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories. In UN Charter, a Non-SelfGoverning Territory is defined as a Territory “whose people have not yet attained a full measure of self-government.”
• To take effective measures to protect and guarantee the inalienable rights of the people of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to their natural resources, including land. To establish and maintain control over the future development of those resources and request the administering powers to take measures to protect the property rights of the peoples in these Territories.
• The United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/54/91 on 6th December 1999 and decided the annually observe the International Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-Self-Governing Territories starting from May 25. The week was first observed in 2000.

250^th Birth Anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy Celebrated in India

• The 250^th birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy was celebrated and commemorated by the Ministry of Culture under the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The ministry of Culture organized an inaugural ceremony on 22^nd May 2022. The inaugural ceremony was organized at the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation, Salt Lake, Kolkata, and at Science City Auditorium, Kolkata.
• According to the press release by the ministry, it was the 250^th birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy and the 50^th foundation day of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation. Several ministers including the Governor of West Bengal, Jagdeep Dhankar were also present at the inaugural ceremony. The union minister of culture, tourism, and development of the North-eastern Region (DoNER), G Kishan Reddy, also joined the ceremony virtually. 
• The ministry inaugurated an iconic Statue of Raja Ram Mohan Roy at the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation. It was inaugurated by Union minister G Kishan Reddy virtually. The union Minister addressed the celebration and said that ” Today, on the 250^th birth anniversary of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, on behalf of Prime minister Narendra Modi and the Central government, I would thank and pay my regards for his great contribution to the emancipation of our society. It is wonderful confidence that today is the 250^th Birth Anniversary of the great reformer and the historical 50 years of the Raja Ram Mohan Roy Library Foundation is also being completed.”