Daily Current Affairs May 16

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May 16| Daily Current Affairs 2023

Important Days – Daily Current Affairs May 16

1. When is National Dengue Day observed annually?
A) May 16
B) June 15
C) July 14
D) August 13
E) September 12
Answer: A) May 16

• National Dengue Day is observed on May 16 every year with an aim to raise awareness about vector-borne disease and its prevention. Dengue cases usually surge in India during and after the monsoon season.

Dengue:

• The viral disease is caused by the dengue virus types DENV, 1–4 serotypes DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and DEN-4.
• It is transmitted by the bite of the female Aedesaegypti mosquito which is infected with any one of the four dengue viruses.
• This mosquito usually bites during day hours and the infected person develops symptoms 3-14 days after the bite.

International Day of Living Together in Peace 2023

• International Day of Living Together in Peace is observed on May 16 every year to promote peace, tolerance, inclusion, understanding, and solidarity among individuals and communities worldwide.
• The UN adopted the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace in 1999.
  It launched initiatives such as the International Year for the Culture of Peace in 2000 and the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for Children of the World from 2001 to 2010.
• In 2017, the UN General Assembly in its resolution 72/130 established May 16 as the International Day of Living Together in Peace.
• First Edition celebration: 2018

The International Day of Light

• The International Day of Light is a global observance that occurs annually on May 16th.
• The International Day of Light was officially designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on December 20, 2017.
• This special day was established to commemorate the anniversary of a ground-breaking achievement in the field of science—the successful operation of the laser on May 16, 1960, by physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman.
• First Edition: 2018
• This year Ediition: 6th

48th State Day of Sikkim

• Sikkim celebrated its 48th Statehood Day on May 16.
• Sikkim became the 22nd state of India on May 16, 1975, under the leadership of LhendupDorjeeKhangsarpa, the first chief minister of Sikkim who ushered democracy in the erstwhile Chogyal Kingdom.

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Sports – Daily Current Affairs May 16

2. Which martial art has been included in the 37th National Games?
A) Gatka
B) Karate
C) Taekwondo
D) Judo
E) Kung Fu
Answer: A) Gatka

• The traditional martial art of Punjab, Gatka is poised to get a significant boost nationwide as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has officially included this sport in the 37th National Games 2023, scheduled to be held in Goa in October.
• Gatka as a modern sporting discipline is a standardised style of stick fighting between two or more opponents.
• During the National Games, the IOA, in collaboration with the government of Goa, would organise competitions for 43 disciplines.

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Obituary – Daily Current Affairs May 16

3. Who recently passed away and was the winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Economics?
A) Robert Lucas
B) Paul Krugman
C) Amartya Sen
D) Joseph Stiglitz
E) Milton Friedman
Answer: A) Robert Lucas

• Robert Lucas, who won the Nobel Prize in 1995 for his work on rational expectations and the efficacy of government intervention in the economy, has died.
• He received the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1995 “for having developed and applied the hypothesis of rational expectations, and thereby having transformed macroeconomic analysis and deepened our understanding of economic policy”.
• In 1976, He developed the “Lucas critique” of economic policymaking, which holds that relationships that appear to hold in the economy, such as an apparent relationship between inflation and unemployment, could change in response to changes in economic policy. That led to the development of new classical macroeconomics and the drive towards microeconomic foundations for macroeconomic theory.
• He authored several books, including Studies in Business-Cycle Theory (1981), Rational Expectations and Econometric Practice (1981, with Thomas Sargent) and Recursive Methods in Economic Dynamics (1989, with Nancy Stokey and Edward Prescott). Lucas’ Lectures on Economic Growth were published in 2002, and his Collected Papers on Monetary Theory in 2013.

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Banking and Finance – Daily Current Affairs May 16

4. Which regulatory body recently relaxed norms for ‘surety bonds’?
A) RBI (Reserve Bank of India)
B) SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
C) IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India)
D) CCI (Competition Commission of India)
E) TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)
Answer: C) IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India)

• Regulator Irdai has relaxed norms for ‘surety bonds’, a type of insurance policy protecting parties involved in a transaction or contract from potential financial losses due to a breach of contract or other types of non-performance.
• The changes are aimed at expanding the surety insurance market by increasing the availability of such products.
• As per a circular issued by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the solvency requirement applicable for such products has now been reduced to control the level of 1.5 times from 1.875 times previously prescribed.
• Further, the prevailing 30 per cent exposure limit applicable on each contract underwritten by an insurer, has also been removed.
• The regulator had issued ‘IRDAI (Surety Insurance Contracts) Guidelines’ in January 2022.
• Surety bonds serve as a risk mitigation tool for maintaining integrity, quality, and adherence to contractual terms, ultimately contributing to the smooth functioning of projects especially in infrastructure sector and fostering a healthy business environment.

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5. Which company recently launched India’s first defence sector-focused mutual fund?
A) HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd
B) ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd
C) SBI Mutual Fund
D) Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund
E) Axis Asset Management Company Ltd
Answer: A) HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd

• HDFC Asset Management Company Ltd announced the launch of the country’s first mutual fund focussed on defence sector, a move that will provide investors an opportunity to participate in growth potential of this space.
• The new fund offering (NFO) of HDFC Defence Fund, an open-ended equity scheme, would open on May 19 and close on June 2,
• The fund will invest at least 80 per cent of its net assets in defence and allied sector companies. Defence and allied sector stocks include stocks forming part of aerospace and defence; explosives, shipbuilding and allied services.

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6. Which organization has approved a grant of ₹ 51 crore to establish an integrated road safety enforcement system in Shimla and Nurpur police districts?
A) World Bank
B) International Monetary Fund (IMF)
C) Asian Development Bank (ADB)
D) United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
E) Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
Answer: A) World Bank

• The World Bank has approved a grant of ₹ 51 crore to set up an integrated road safety enforcement system in Shimla and Nurpur police districts and develop the Palampur-Sheela chowk in Kangra as a “safe corridor”.
• The project envisages the establishment of a traffic enforcement control room in Shimla and the allocation of funds for interceptors and patrol vehicles, an intelligent traffic management system, artificial intelligence (AI) cameras and rescue equipment.
• For the first phase of the project, Shimla and Nurpur have been selected and a sum of ₹ 42 crore will be spent on the twin police districts to strengthen their emergency response systems.
• Further, the Palampur-Sheela chowk stretch of road in Kangra district has been chosen to be developed as a safe corridor under the Safe Corridor Demonstration Programme (SCDP) by making safety interventions and design improvement at a cost of ₹ 9 crore.

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7. Which stock exchange recently relaunched derivative contracts for Sensex and Bankex in order to enhance derivative trading?
A) BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange)
B) NSE (National Stock Exchange)
C) NYSE (New York Stock Exchange)
D) LSE (London Stock Exchange)
E) HKEX (Hong Kong Stock Exchange)
Answer: A) BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange)

• BSE relaunched Sensex and Bankex derivative contracts in its bid to boost derivative trading at the country’s premier bourse.
• BSE had launched Sensex-30 derivatives (options and futures) for the first time in 2000.
• The Sensex-30 derivatives are made up of 30 of the largest and most actively traded companies on BSE.
• The lot size of futures and options has been reduced to 10 from 15 for Sensex, and to 15 from 20 in case of Bankex.
• Derivatives are the type of financial contracts whose value is dependent on an underlying asset, group of assets, or benchmark. A derivative is set between two or more parties that can trade on an exchange or over the counter (OTC). Derivatives are usually leveraged instruments, which increases their potential risk and reward. Usually, they are used to hedge against the risk against the assets in the equity markets.

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Business and Economy – Daily Current Affairs May 16

8. What is the new name given to the Nifty derivatives contracts traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX)?
A) GIFT Nifty
B) Singapore Nifty
C) Nifty Exchange
D) SGX Nifty
E) Nifty Derivatives
Answer: A) GIFT Nifty

• The Nifty derivatives contracts traded on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) have been renamed to GIFT Nifty.
• Earlier, they were referred to as SGX Nifty.
• The NSE ann¬ounced that starting July 3, all outstanding Nifty contracts at SGX will be fully transferred to NSE IFSC at GIFT City for order matching.
• It has obtained approvals from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and IFSCA — regulators at Singapore and Gift City, respectively. On April 17, SGX had issued a circular on migrating all Nifty positions to NSE IFSC.

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Appointments – Daily Current Affairs May 16

9. Who has been appointed as the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) by the government?
A) Ravneet Kaur
B) Rajesh Kumar
C) Neha Sharma
D) Rahul Verma
E) Priya Singh
Answer: A) Ravneet Kaur

• The government has appointed Ravneet Kaur the chairperson of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the five years or tillshe reaches 65, one of the peoplecited above
• The CCI Chairperson post has been vacant since the previous office-holder Ashok Kumar Gupta retired in October 2022.
• CCI member Sangeeta Verma has been acting as the chairperson since October 2022.
• She has been serving the State cadre (Punjab) since July 2019 after her stint as the Chairman and Managing Director of India Tourism Development Corporation (2017-19).
• Kaur is currently the Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner at the Department of Revenue, Rehabilitation and Disaster Management in Chandigarh.

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10. Who has been appointed as the President and COO of Paytm?
A) Bhavesh Gupta
B) Rajesh Kumar
C) Neha Sharma
D) Rahul Verma
E) Priya Singh
Answer: A) Bhavesh Gupta

• One 97 Communications Ltd, which owns Paytm, has appointed Bhavesh Gupta, Senior Vice President as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the fintech major.
• In 2020, he was appointed as the CEO of Paytm’s lending business. In terms of his professional experience, Bhavesh Gupta comes with 25 years of experience in financial services building businesses in payments, technology and analytics platforms, retail loans, digital lending, SME banking, retail banking etc.
• Prior to joining Paytm in 2020, Gupta held multiple leadership roles including CEO of Clix Capital (formerly known as GE Capital), Head of SME & Business Banking at IDFC Bank and was also associated with ICICI bank in various roles
• Last month, Paytm’s parent company, One 97 Communications Limited, approved the appointment of SR Batliboi and Associates LLP (SRB), commonly known as Ernst and Young (EY), as its new statutory auditor for a tenure of five years. SRB will replace PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as the latter’s five-year term will expire this year.

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11. Who recently took oath as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)?
A) Manoj Soni
B) Ramesh Gupta
C) Neha Sharma
D) Rajesh Kumar
E) Priya Singh
Answer: A) Manoj Soni

• Eminent educationist Manoj Soni took oath as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
• Soni, who joined the Commission as member on June 28, 2017, has been performing the duties of the UPSC chairman since April 5, 2022.
• The Commission is headed by a chairman and it can have a maximum of 10 members.
• There is still a vacancy of five members in the UPSC.
• He is a monk of the Anoopam mission, a branch of the Swaminarayan movement.
• The new UPSC chairman has served three terms as Vice-Chancellor. These include two consecutive terms from August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2015 as VC of Dr BabasahebAmbedkar Open University (BAOU), Gujarat; and one term as VC of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda from April 2005 to April 2008. Notably, at the time of his joining the MSU of Baroda, Soni was the youngest ever Vice-Chancellor in India and the MSU.
• In 2013, he was conferred with the “Honorary Mayor-President of the City of Baton Rouge” by the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.A., for his exemplary leadership in empowering disadvantaged section of society with IT literacy.
• In 2015, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants, London, U.K., honoured Dr.Soni with the World Education Congress Global Award for Distance Learning Leadership.

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12. Who has been appointed as the new chairman of the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) by the Centre?
A) Anil Kumar Jain
B) Rajesh Kumar
C) Neha Sharma
D) Rahul Verma
E) Priya Singh
Answer: A) Anil Kumar Jain

• The Centre has appointed seasoned bureaucrat and gas sector expert Anil Kumar Jain as the new chairman of the oil and gas sector regulatory body the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
• He has been appointed as the chairperson PNGRB “for a period of five years from the date assumption of charge of the post or till attaining the age of 65 years, or until further orders.
• He will fill a position that has been lying vacant since Dinesh Kumar Sarraf retired on December 4, 2020.
• Jain had previously served in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (also known as the oil ministry) as Director (Natural Gas) from June 2003 to November 2006, after which he was promoted as Joint Secretary (Exploration) which he held until June 2008.
• He later became Adviser (Energy) at the government’s think tank NitiAayog in 2012, where he was promoted to Additional Secretary for the Energy vertical. He served at the Aayog until 2017 after which he moved to the Environment Ministry. He was an additional secretary at the environment ministry from 2017 to 2019.
• He was appointed Coal Secretary in September 2019, a position from which he retired on October 31, 2022.
• As Head of the Energy Division of the NITI Aayog (National Institution for Transforming India) from 2012 to 2017, he led the team that drafted the National Energy Policy (2017-2040) and also developed the energy scenario modeling tool, IESS, 2047.
• He has authored two books and several articles on the oil and gas sector. In 2012, he published a best seller ‘Natural Gas in India: Policy and Liberalisation’.

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Science and Technology – Daily Current Affairs May 16

13. Which university has built the first-ever subsea research lab in Asia, with the goal of nurturing multi-disciplinary talent for the global oil and gas industry?
A) MIT-World Peace University (WPU)
B) Harvard University
C) Stanford University
D) Oxford University
E) Cambridge University
Answer: A) MIT-World Peace University (WPU)

• MIT-World Peace University (WPU) has built the first-ever subsea research lab in Asia, with an aim to foster multi-disciplinary talent for the global oil and gas industry.
• Called the Centre for Subsea Engineering Research (CSER), the lab showcases a working prototype of deep-water offshore petroleum operations, revolutionising the way in which future workforce can be trained for the energy sector.
• The state-of-the-art laboratory is the brainchild of the Department of Petroleum Engineering (PE) at MIT-WPU, and was built in partnership with Aker Solutions.
• Aker Solutions has supported MIT-WPU on this project from concept to completion including the laboratory’s design, procurement, fabrication, installations, assembly, and equipment testing.
• The facility also provides hands-on training using real-time drilling and well controlled systems for drilling and simulation experiments.
• It is an all-encompassing resource for those seeking to enhance their knowledge and skills in subsea engineering.

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National Affairs – Daily Current Affairs May 16

14. What is the name of the AI-powered portal launched by the government to find lost phones and fake phone numbers?
A) Sanchar Saathi
B) Phone Tracker Pro
C) Mobile Security Master
D) Lost Phone Finder
E) Fake Number Detector
Answer: A) Sanchar Saathi

• Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw launched a Citizen Centric Portal named Sanchar Saathi Portal at a function in New Delhi through which mobile users can now track and block their lost mobile phones.
• The Sanchar Saathi Portal is an initiative of Department of Telecommunications.
• It empowers the citizens by allowing them to know the mobile connections issued in their names, get the connections not required by them disconnected and to block and trace the lost mobile phones.
• The first module, Central Equipment Identity Register has been introduced for blocking stolen or lost mobiles, the second module is Know your mobile connections and the third module – Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification, will identify fraudulent subscribers.
• This portal has been developed to prevent various frauds such as identity theft, forged KYC, banking frauds can take place by misusing mobile phones.

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15. Who launched the campaign ‘Meri LiFE, MeraSwachhShehar’?
A) Hardeep S Puri
B) Narendra Modi
C) Amit Shah
D) Nitin Gadkari
E) Rajnath Singh
Answer: A) Hardeep S Puri

• Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep S Puri launched his Ministry’s mega campaign ‘Meri LiFE, MeraSwachhShehar’, in New Delhi.
• This campaign aims to champion, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle (RRR) concept of waste management.
• Under this nationwide campaign, RRR Centres or one-stop collection centres will be set up where citizens can give their used clothes, shoes, old books, toys and plastic to be reused or recycled.
• This three-week campaign will strengthen citizens’ resolve under SBM-U 2.0 – to reduce, reuse and recycle – and will also champion Mission LiFE’s objective of taking collective action for the protection and conservation of the environment by adopting sustainable daily habits.
• The RRR Centres are scheduled to be launched nationwide on 20th May, 2023 and will serve as one-stop solution for citizens, institutions, commercial enterprises, etc. to deposit unused or used plastic items, clothes, shoes, footwear, books, and toys. After collection, these items will be given to different stakeholders to be refurbished for reuse or would be made into new products, thus truly taking forward the Government’s vision of circular economy.
• The Meri LiFE, MeraSwachhShehar will culminate on 5th June, 2023 with the Pledge for LiFE.

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16. Which state government recently launched a welfare fund for Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers?
A) Kerala
B) Maharashtra
C) Tamil Nadu
D) Karnataka
E) Uttar Pradesh
Answer: A) Kerala

• In a first in the country, the Kerala government launched a welfare fund for Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers in the State.
• The workers who have completed the age of 60 will be entitled for pension under the fund which will also provide financial assistance for medical treatment, education, marriage, among other benefits.
• The workers need to pay a nominal monthly amount of Rs 50 as contribution to the fund and the government will also contribute an equal amount.
• Those who have paid the contributions for ten or more years, their families will get the benefits in case of beneficiary’s death.
• The welfare fund has been formed as per the Kerala Employment Guarantee Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, 2021.

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17. Who launched the redesigned UGC website, UTSAH (Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education), and POP (Professor of Practice Portal)?
A) Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar
B) Prof. Ramesh Gupta
C) Prof. Neha Sharma
D) Prof. Rajesh Kumar
E) Prof.Priya Singh
Answer: A) Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar

• Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Prof. M Jagadesh Kumar, launched the redesigned UGC website, UTSAH (Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education) and POP (Professor of Practice Portal) portals.
• The redesigned website of UGC has been launched as part of transformative strategies and actions for higher education. The updated website aims to provide a more user-friendly interface for students, educators, and other stakeholders in the higher education ecosystem.
• The UGC Redesigned Website, UTSAH and POP portal are now live and available for use and can access the UGC website at www.ugc.ac.in, the UTSAH portal at https://utsah.ugc.ac.in and the POP portal at https://pop.ugc.ac.in.
• The UTSAH portal, which stands for Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education will serve as a comprehensive platform providing detailed information about UGC’s initiatives for qualitative reforms in higher education.
• The portal provides a platform for higher education institutions to showcase their achievements, share best practices, and engage in knowledge-sharing with other institutions. It also enables institutions to access various UGC schemes, monitor their progress, and submit reports online.
• The Professor of Practice Portal is an innovative initiative by UGC, aimed at bridging the gap between academia and industry. This portal will serve as a platform for industry professionals to interact with faculty members and students, providing valuable insights and real-world knowledge.

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18. Where did Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launch the Himcare scheme for jail inmates by providingHimcare cards to the prisoners?
A) Model Central Jail, Kanda
B) Tihar Jail, Delhi
C) Yerwada Central Jail, Pune
D) Arthur Road Jail, Mumbai
E) Alipore Central Jail, Kolkata
Answer: A) Model Central Jail, Kanda

• Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched the Himcare scheme for jail inmates by providing Himcare cards to the prisoners at the Model Central Jail, Kanda, Himachal Pradesh.
• Himcare scheme provides free healthcare services up to Rs 5 lakhs annually to families which are not covered under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana or Jan ArogyaYojana.
• The initiative aims to cover the cost of premiums for inmates, easing their financial burden during their time in prison.
• He also launched the integrated campaign against STI, HIV, TB and Hepatitis (ISHTH) in prisons and other closed settings at Kanda Jail.
• Registration of inmates under the scheme has been initiated and 100% would be achieved shortly.
• The state government is also planning to introduce a scheme aimed at educating the children residing in Bal SudharGrih.

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