Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
MONTH OF MAY–2019
List of Important Days
Other Banks
• Bandhan Bank CEO Chandra Shekhar Ghosh announced that the lender is going to reduce its
promoter holding to mandated level of 40% through offer-for-sale route.
− Bandhan Bank is set to acquire Gruh Finance, a move which would reduce promoter holding
to 61% from the present 82%.
Supreme Court
• The Supreme Court has said a person has no "right" to be represented by a lawyer in "in-house"
proceedings initiated by banks or financial institutions to declare them willful defaulters.
Election Commission
• Election Commission has come up with a new initiative to provide real-time trends and results of
the Lok Sabha vote counting across the states and union territories.
− The counting trends and results will be available on the Commission Website at
www.results.eci.gov.in as well as on the Voter Helpline App.
• A total of 65,14,558 voters opted for NOTA (None-Of-The-Above) option, in 2019 Lok Sabha
elections.
− In 2014, as many as 60,02,942 voters had opted for NOTA.
− The highest percentage of NOTA was recorded in the state of Bihar with 2% voters (8,17,139)
opting for it.
− In Uttar Pradesh, which has 80 Lok Sabha seats, 7,25,079 voters opted for NOTA.
States
• The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were divided and given statehood under the Bombay
Reorganization Act on 1st May in the year 1960.
• Purple frog (Nasikabatrachus sahyadrensis) could be soon designated as Kerala’s state amphibian.
• The Tamil Nadu government has issued an order to district collectors for issuing income and asset
certificates to persons belonging to general category for availing reservation under the
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) quota.
• The Kerala Legislative Assembly recently announced an initiative to digitize all its records and
proceedings under its ambitious project called E-Vidhan which enables state legislature to go fully
digital and completely paperless.
• Milk and Milk products are more likely to be unsafe or substandard than other food products sold
in Delhi, according to test reports of food samples analyzed by the Delhi food safety department.
• Rajasthan government has introduced Balakot airstrike and IAF Wing Commander Abhinandan
Varthaman as topics in Class 9 Social Science textbooks.
• Kerala Becomes 1st Indian State to tap into Masala Bond Market by listing the Kerala
Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150
crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM).
Personalities
• Nobel laureate, genius poet and the man behind composing India’s national anthem, Rabindranath
Tagore's 158th Birth Anniversary was observed on 7th May 2019.
• India’s Captain Aarohi Pandit became world’s first woman to cross Atlantic Ocean (AO) solo in a
Light Sports Aircraft (LSA) named Mahi.
• Gopal Shrestha, a 56-year-old from Nepal's Pokhara, became the 1st HIV-infected climber to scale
the world's highest peak, the Mount Everest.
• BJD's Chandrani Murmu, a 25-year-old mechanical engineer who won Odisha's reserved Keonjhar
seat by defeating two-time BJP MP Ananta Nayak, will become the youngest member in Lok Sabha
history.
• Flight Lieutenant Parul Bhardwaj (Captain), Flying Officer Aman Nidhi (Co-pilot) and Flight
Lieutenant Hina Jaiswal (Flight Engineer) have become India's first all women crew to fly a
medium lift helicopter.
− They flew a Mi-17 V5 helicopter for a Battle Inoculation Training mission.
• Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa flew the 'missing man' formation in a MiG-21 aircraft to pay
tributes to Squadran Leader Ajay Ahuja and other fallen heroes of the Kargil war.
• Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh has become the 1st woman fighter pilot to be qualified to
undertake missions by day on Hawk advanced jet aircraft.
Committees/Commissions
• A Reserve Bank of India-appointed committee headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani
has submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das.
• A High-Level Committee constituted by the Centre has submitted its recommendations to bring
down India’s dependence on crude oil imports.
− The Committee submitted its report to Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra
Pradhan in New Delhi.
− The High-Level Committee consisted of Dr Anil Kakodkar, eminent Scientist and Sidharth
Pradhan, an expert on financial and tax issues.
• The Task force set up to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act has been
given 2-month extension till July 31 to submit its report.
− The Finance Ministry in November last year appointed Akhilesh Ranjan, Member
(Legislation), CBDT, as convener of the task force after the retirement of Arbind Modi.
• The government has constituted the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal to adjudicate
whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
as an unlawful association.
− The Tribunal is comprised of sitting Judge of Delhi High Court Justice Sangita Dhingra
Sehgal.
Summit/Conference
• China was hosted a Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations in Beijing, starting from 15
May to 22 May 2019.
− Theme: "Promoting mutual learning and exchanges among Asian civilizations through Film
and TV"
• The Indian delegation is participating in the 2nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization Mass
Media Forum at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.
• India and Japan are in advanced talks with Sri Lanka to build a container terminal at the port in
Colombo
− The terminal would come up next to a Chinese terminal built as part of the Belt and Road
Initiative.
− Sri Lanka will control 51% of the project with India and Japan jointly controlling the rest.
Agreement/Deal/Signed
• Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)
signed an MoU for cooperation on projects related to e-mobility.
• To commemorate 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October 2019, the Office of
Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to Government of India and Indian Institute of Technology
Delhi (IIT Delhi) signed a MoU in a move to come together and to bring best of science and
technology to implement waste management by setting up a Centre of Excellence for Waste to
Wealth Technologies in India.
• The National Institute of Open Schooling Ministry of Human Resources Development and
National Health Mission of Public Health Department of Government of Maharashtra signed a
MoU in Mumbai.
− The MOU focused at offering Vocational programmes to the Health Service Providers of
National Health Mission (NHM) through National Institute of Open Schooling.
• A total of 186 countries, except the US, have signed a legally-binding agreement aimed to reduce
the export of plastic waste.
• India and Nepal have inked a deal on procurement of demo train that operates on diesel.
− The contract agreement was signed between India’s Konkan Railways Corporation Ltd and
Nepal’s Department of Railways to supply two 1600 HP Diesel Electric Multiple Unit
(DEMU) train sets.
• A MoU was signed between National Mission for Clean Ganga, HCL Foundation and INTACH
for taking up a project of Plantation of Rudraksh Trees in Uttarakhand as a part of CSR initiative
under the Namami Gange Programme.
• India has expressed its full support for sustainable peace, economic development and stability in
Afghanistan.
Meet/Visit
• India is going to attend the G7 meet organized by France in Biarritz in August along with
Australia, Chile and South Africa.
− The group consists of US, UK, France, Italy, Canada, Japan and Germany.
• A bilateral trade meeting was held between the two countries in New Delhi.
− India and the United States have agreed to strengthen economic co-operation and bilateral
trade by ensuring greater collaboration amongst stakeholders, including government,
businesses and entrepreneurs.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited to Vietnam for a 4-day official visit.
− Apart from holding one-on-one talks with leaders of Vietnam, the Vice President participated
in the 16th United Nations Day of Vesak at Tam Chuc Pagoda in Vietnam's northern Ha Nam
province and delivered the keynote address at the inaugural session of the event.
− India and Vietnam reiterated the importance of building a peaceful and prosperous Indo-
pacific region on the basis of respect for national sovereignty and international law.
• Trade-related talks are underway in New Delhi between senior officials of India and China.
− The Chinese side was headed by Li Guo, Vice Minister of the General Administration of
Customs of China (GACC).
• The Maldives announced that it will strengthen defence cooperation with Sri Lanka and other
countries in the region to tackle global terrorism.
− This was stated by Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shaheed when he met Sri Lanka's
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe during his two-day visit to Colombo.
• India and Turkey vowed to strengthen economic relations with the aim of reaching 10 billion US
dollars bilateral trade by 2020.
− Turkey's Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal, who is on a 3-day visit to India since May 7,
held talks with Gitesh A Sarma, Secretary (West) under the institutional mechanism of foreign
office consultations.
• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), under Ministry of Finance is organizing
a meeting of Regional Heads of Customs Administration of Asia Pacific Region of World
Customs Organization (WCO) in Kochi in Kerala from 8th to 10th May, 2019.
• The 15th Finance Commission held a 2-day meeting with eminent economists, top executives of
leading banks at RBI headquarters in Mumbai.
− Chairman of 15th Finance Commission: N.K. Singh
• 7 developing countries have stressed on working collectively to strengthen the World Trade
Organization (WTO) to promote development and inclusivity for the benefits of all members.
− A 13 point declaration was signed by these nations at the end of the 2-day Ministerial meeting
of developing countries in New Delhi.
− The countries include: Egypt, Barbados, Jamaica, Malaysia, India, Indonesia and South Africa.
Bills
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a “sovereign internet” bill which will allow
Russian authorities to isolate the country’s internet.
• ‘Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act,
2019’ came into force from May 1.
− This act allows that shops, commercial establishments and businesses running in state can now
remain open round the clock (24X7).
• A bill was introduced in New Zealand's Parliament that aims to reduce greenhouse gases, except
biogenic methane, to net zero by 2050.
− It aims for 10% reduction of biogenic methane till 2030 from 2017 levels and 24%-47%
provisional reduction by 2050.
• Singapore passed laws to combat fake news that will allow authorities to order the removal of
content despite fierce criticism from tech giants, the media and rights groups.
− The new laws give government powers to order social media sites like Facebook and Twitter
to put warnings next to posts that authorities deem to be false and in extreme cases get them
taken down.
• In Serbia, lawmakers amended the penal code to introduce a life sentence without parole, despite
concerns voiced by the Council of Europe.
• The Philippines has proposed a law under which students will be required to plant at least 10 trees
before they are allowed to graduate from primary school, high school and university.
Fund
• In addition to ₹381 crore released, PM Narendra Modi has announced additional ₹1,000 crore
assistance for cyclone Fani hit Odisha.
• Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced a ₹1,600 crore relief package for livelihood
support for farmers, fishermen, women self-help group members and others affected by Cyclone
Fani.
Economy
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said India will request that Pakistan be blacklisted by Financial
Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terror finance watchdog.
− Pakistan has been on the FATF's "grey list" since June 2018, making it harder for it to access
international markets.
• Around 46 million of Australia's new $50 notes have been printed with a spelling mistake, the
country's central bank confirmed.
− The word 'responsibility' has been misspell as 'responsibilty' several times in the first speech of
Australia's first female member of parliament that features on the note.
• India's industrial output contracted for the 1st time in 21 months, falling 0.1% in March 2019.
− Manufacturing output with a 78% weight age in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
contracted 0.4% during the month.
• PM Narendra Modi and his council of ministers incurred expenses of ₹393 crore on foreign and
domestic travel in the last five fiscal years, an RTI query has revealed.
• Government is planning to make QR code payments option via UPI compulsory at all shops.
• Pakistan's currency hit an all-time low against the US dollar after it dropped to Rs 148 per dollar
in the inter-bank market.
• Industrial body Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) announced that
India's slowing growth is of serious concern, and tax and interest rates need to be cut urgently to
revive the economy.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present her 1st Union Budget for 2019-20 on July 5.
− The Economic Survey will be presented by new Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy
Subramanian on July 4.
− The first session of the 17th Lok Sabha is set to begin on June 17 and will continue till July 26.
• India lost its spot as the fastest growing major economy to China in the January-March quarter for
the first time in one-and-a-half years.
− India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate slowed to 5.8% in the quarter, compared to
China's 6.4%.
Companies/Industry
• Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, has invested an undisclosed amount in Ola's
newly-formed company Ola Electric Mobility as part of its Series A round of funding.
• American multinational technology company Microsoft has unveiled a free open-source software
development kit, 'ElectionGuard', which can be incorporated into voting systems, aimed at making
voting more secure.
− It'll be ready for testing during the 2020 elections in the US.
• Microsoft has also unveiled its own fully-managed blockchain service Azure Blockchain Service
that allows for consortium blockchain networks' formation, management and governance.
Stock Market
• Markets regulator SEBI has directed National Stock Exchange (NSE) to pay ₹625 crore for lapses
in checking on brokers gaining unfair access through co-location servers placed at the site of
exchange.
− NSE has also been prohibited from accessing the securities market for six months.
Taxation/Trade
• The government has authorized the Income Tax Department to share details disclosed by
businesses in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) with Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN).
− The move seeks to help authorities identify discrepancies in GST returns and ITRs and thereby
detect tax evaders.
• The government again deferred the imposition of retaliatory tariffs worth $230 million on 29 US
products by a month to June 16.
− The tariffs were announced after the US refused to exempt India from new steel and
aluminium tariffs.
• India has warned the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the proposal made by the
European Union to create new e-commerce rules.
• US President Donald Trump ordered a tariff hike on almost all imports from China after the latest
round of talks to end the trade war between the world's two largest economies, ended without a
deal.
Agriculture/Production
• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) distributed more than one lakh bee-boxes
among farmers and unemployed youths across India in less than two years under its ‘Honey
Mission’ initiative.
• Centre has issued a Drought Advisory to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana and Tamil Nadu and asked them to use water judiciously as water storage in dams
dropping to a critical level.
Space
• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has revealed the launch window for its second
Moon mission Chandrayaan-2 is from 9th to 16th July 2019 with an expected Moon landing on 6th
September 2019.
• Japanese aerospace startup Interstellar Technologies has successfully launched the country's 1st
commercial rocket into space.
− The flight lasted about 10 minutes, wherein the MOMO-3 rocket reached 100-km altitude
before splashing in the Pacific Ocean.
• The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) launched India’s latest radar imaging satellite
RISAT-2B on 22nd May.
− The satellite was lifted by the workhorse rocket PSLV-C46 in its 48th flight.
• ISRO Chairman Dr K. Sivan inaugurated ISRO’s Young Scientist Programme called ‘Yuvika 2019’
at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
• ISRO Chairman K Sivan announced that the space agency is planning several missions apart from
Gaganyaan manned mission and Chandrayaan-2.
− They would include Mars Orbiter Mission 2, Chandrayaan 3, a mission to Venus, EXPOSat,
Aditya L1 (to study Sun's corona).
• German scientists have discovered 18 Earth-sized planets beyond solar system, one of which is
smallest known so far while the other could offer life-friendly conditions.
• The Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) has successfully launched and deployed the
first 60 satellites of its planned 12,000-satellite network Starlink, aimed to provide high-speed
internet globally, to low-Earth orbit.
− The satellites were deployed at an altitude of about 440 km in the third flight of one of its
reusable Falcon 9 rockets.
• New Space India Limited (NSIL), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO), was officially inaugurated in Bangalore.
− The main objective of NSIL is to scale up industry participation in Indian space programmes.
• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) unveiled the calendar for the
"Artemis" program that will return astronauts to the Moon for the 1st time in half a century,
including 8 scheduled launches and a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024.
− The original lunar missions were named for Apollo -- Artemis was his twin sister in Greek
mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness and the Moon.
− Artemis 1 will be an uncrewed mission around the Moon planned for 2020.
− Next will come Artemis 2, which will orbit Earth’s satellite with a crew around 2022; followed
finally by Artemis 3 that will put astronauts on lunar soil in 2024, including the first woman.
CSB, Ch-17, Ph: 044-24333346 GA/May’19/Page-12
• The Russian government has revealed it incurred a total loss of around 35 billion rubles (around
$542 million) owing to failed rocket launches between 2010-18.
Health/Diseases/Drugs
• The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced Algeria and Argentina as the latest
countries to be recognized as malaria-free.
Energy/Gas/Oil
• Iran will restart part of its Nuclear programme it had halted under the 2015 nuclear deal with other
world powers.
− Iran's move is in response to the US' withdrawal from the deal last year.
• The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has offered India an
'Observer' status and access to data from the International Monitoring System.
− It has been signed by 184 countries but not come into force as eight countries including India
have not ratified it.
• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) revealed that 35 % of India’s Graphite deposits are found in
Arunachal Pradesh.
Environment
• Cyclone Fani, which is said to be the most severe cyclonic storm since the super cyclone of 1999,
has hit Odisha's Puri.
• Republic of Ireland has become only the 2nd country in world to declare a climate emergency.
− Earlier on 1 May 2019, Britain’s parliament became the first in world to declare a climate
emergency.
• More than 25 states and Union Territories face environmental compensation of ₹ 1 crore each for
not submitting action plans on systematic disposal of plastic waste to the Central Pollution
Control Board.
• The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the government to ban water purifiers where
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) in water are below 500 mg per litre.
• To spread awareness about Air pollution, the Union Environment Ministry launched a song titled
'Hawa Aane De'.
− The song was launched by Secretary, Ministry of Environment C K Mishra ahead of the World
Environment Day on 5th of June.
• The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) said that the water of river Ganga is unfit for direct
drinking and bathing at most of the places it travels through in India.
Transport/Cars/Scooters
• Japan has started testing world's fastest bullet train, the 'ALFA-X' version of the Shinkansen train,
capable of reaching 400 kmph speed.
Festival
• The fasting month of Ramzan began across the country on 7th May 2019.
• Sri Lanka has declared a National Vesak week from May 15 to mark the Vesak celebrations, one of
the most significant events for Buddhist followers.
• Buddha Purnima, marking the birth anniversary of Lord Buddha, was celebrated in different parts
of the country on May 18.
Resignation/Dismissed/Retired/Quit
• Spanish midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who made a record 767 appearances for Barcelona and 133
for Spain's national team, has announced that he will retire from football at the end of the current
season.
• Pakistan's government has fired Tariq Bajwa, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, and Federal
Board of Revenue Chairman Mohammad Jehanzeb Khan because of their "performance".
• Theresa May announced that she is going to step down as the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom on June 7.
• Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill resigned from his post after weeks of unrest in
the government.
− O'Neill has handed over leadership to Sir Julius Chan, who will become prime minister for the
3rd time.
• Maldives former President Mohamed Nasheed has been nominated as speaker of new parliament
or Majlis which held its first sitting.
• After 4 years of distinguished service, Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba is going to retire on
completion of his tenure.
− Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa will take over as new Chairman COSC with effect from 31 May
2019.
Deaths
• Former US Judge Damon J Keith (96), a grandson of slaves and icon in civil rights movement died.
• Former chief justice of the Kerala and Madras High Courts B Subhashan Reddy (76) passed away.
• Actor Peter Mayhew (74), who played the character Chewbacca in several installations of the 'Star
Wars' film franchise, has passed away.
• The last captive white tiger named Bajirao (18) died recently at Sanjay Gandhi National Park, in
Borivali (Mumbai suburb).
• Father of modern legal education in India, Dr. NR Madhava Menon has passed away
• Noted novelist and Sahitya Akademi awardee Thoppil Mohamed Meeran (74) passed away.
• ITC's Non-Executive Chairman Y C Deveshwar (72) passed away.
• Tamil Nadu swimmer and South Asian Games gold medalist MB Balakrishnan (29) died in a road
accident in Chennai.
• IM Pei (102), the Architect behind buildings including the glass pyramid outside the Louvre in
Paris, has died.
• 'Grumpy Cat', the feline whose facial expression inspired memes on social media, has died aged 7.
• Veteran Telugu actor Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao (74) passed away.
• Former Formula One driver Austrian Niki Lauda (70) passed away.
• Filmmaker and film historian Vijaya Mulay (98) passed away.
• In Jammu and Kashmir, Zakir Musa, the so-called chief of Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, a group
affiliated with Al-Qaeda, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district.
• Murray Gell-Mann (89), a physicist who theorized the existence of the quark and won a Nobel
Prize for his method of classifying particles, has passed away.
• Carmine Caridi (85), best known for featuring in 'The Godfather' film series, passed away.
• India's only orangutan, Binny (41) passed away at Odisha's Nandankanan Zoological Park
following a prolonged illness.
Awards/Honours
• 6 grassroots environmental activists from around the world received prestigious Goldman
Environmental Prize 2019.
− They are: Alberto Curamil (Chile), Alfred Brownell (Liberia), Ana Colovic Lesoska (North
Macedonia), Bayarjargal Agvaantseren (Mongolia), Jacqueline Evans (Cook Islands), and Linda
Garcia (US).
• Israel honors 1971 war (Bangladesh’s Liberation War) hero Lt. Gen. (retd) Jack Farj Rafael (JFR)
Jacob with a plaque on Wall of Honour at the Ammunition Hill, Israel.
• American golfer Tiger Woods received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President
Donald Trump.
• Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released a Postage stamp to commemorate the 750th birth
anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desikan in New Delhi.
Sports/Game
• Barcelona FC has won Spanish La Liga title 2019 by defeating Levante FC by 1-0 goals.
− La Liga is the men's top professional football division of the Spanish football league system.
Report
• According to a recent UN report, Climate change and rising sea levels may eventually wipe out
‘The Sundarbans’, which is one of world’s last and largest tiger strongholds.
− The studies of report rely on climate change scenarios developed by Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) for its simulation models.
• The Hinduja brothers have been named the UK's wealthiest people for the 3rd time, according to
Sunday Times Rich List.
− Mumbai-born Brothers David and Simon Reuben secured 2nd place with a combined wealth
of 18.66 billion pounds.
− The richest person on 2018’s Times Rich List, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, founder of Ineos chemicals firm,
slipped to 3rd rank in the list.
− Zimbabwe-born Valerie Moran became 1st black female entrepreneur ever to be ranked in the
Times Rich List.
• Hyderabad's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport is ranked 8th among Top 10 airports for on-time
performance, service quality, and food and shopping options, by AirHelp, an organization
specializing in air traveler rights.
− Top 3: Hamad International Airport (Qatar), International Airport (Tokyo), and International
Airport (Athens).
− Portugal's Lisbon Portela Airport was ranked worst.
• India's 19-year-old YouTuber Ajey Nagar, who runs the YouTube channel 'CarryMinati', has been
named among TIME Magazine's 10 Next Generation Leaders for 2019.
− The list also features Sweden's 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg and
America's 35-year-old actor-singer Tessa Thompson.
• Mumbai topped the 15-city list of the most vulnerable cities to cyberattacks in 2019, followed by
Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, Quick Heal Security Labs revealed.
− The 'Annual Threat Report 2019' put Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal as the top three
states at most risk.
• Asia's richest person Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has toppled state-run Indian Oil to
become India's largest company by revenue.
General - National
• As per Ministry of Water Resources, the Water Storage Level available in 91 major Indian
reservoirs for week ending on 2 May 2019 was 40.592 BCM (Billion cubic meters), which is 25% of
total storage capacity of these reservoirs.
− This shows decline in water storage level by 1%.
• The Central Public Sector undertaking Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has successfully
commissioned two motor - pump set units for the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme (LIS) in
Telangana.
• The annual Sino-Indian border trade commenced with the opening of the Nathula Gate with
Chinese and Indian officials exchanging ceremonious scarves (Khadas) at the border.
• India has been re-elected as an observer to inter-governmental forum Arctic Council.
− The decision was made at the 11th Arctic Council ministerial meeting held at Rovaniemi,
Finland.
• India has sought the adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism
(CCIT) at the UN.
− India's call comes after Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar was designated as a global
terrorist at the United Nations Security Council.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs announced that it has put an end to the local adverse lists
commonly known as ‘Black Lists’ of Indian-origin people (mostly Sikhs), who have taken asylum
abroad under the plea of alleged persecution in India.
General - International
• Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar was designated as a Global terrorist under 1267
UN Sanctions Committee after China lifted the technical hold.
• US President Donald Trump said that he discussed a 3-way nuclear deal involving Russia and
China during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
• China is planning to build military bases around the world to protect its investments under the
Belt and Road Initiative, the Pentagon has said in its annual report to the Congress.
MODEL QUESTIONS
1. What is the theme of the 2019 International Labour Day (ILD)?
(1) Celebrating the International Labour Movement
(2) Let’s value work by providing the jobless with start-up capital support
(3) Sustainable Pension for all: The Role of Social Partners
(4) Uniting Workers for Social and Economic Advancement
(5) None of these
2. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of World Press Freedom Day (WPFD)?
(1) Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation
(2) Keeping Power in Check: Media, Justice and the Rule of Law
(3) Access to Information and Fundamental Freedoms
(4) New Voices: Media Freedom Helping to Transform Societies
(5) None of these
5. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of World Red Cross Day (WRCD)?
(1) #peace (2) #love (3) #humanity (4) #unity (5) None of these
6. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of UN Global Road Safety Week?
(1) Road Security a Goal, Not an Intermission
(2) Leadership for road safety
(3) Young road users, including young drivers
(4) Walk for Road Security
(5) None of these
7. On which date, the 2019 edition of National Technology Day (NTD) is celebrated in India?
(1) May 13 (2) May 12 (3) May 11 (4) May 10 (5) None of these
9. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day?
(1) Women and Girls in ICT
(2) Bridging the standardization gap
(3) Enabling the positive use of Artificial Intelligence for All
(4) Big Data for Big Impact
(5) None of these
10. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of World Metrology Day (WMD)?
(1) The International System of Units – Light
(2) The International System of Units – Commerce
(3) The International System of Units – Transport
(4) The International System of Units - Fundamentally better
(5) None of these
11. On which date, the 2019 edition of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and
Development is celebrated?
(1) May 22 (2) May 23 (3) May 21 (4) May 24 (5) None of these
12. On which date, the 2019 edition of World Turtle Day (WTD) was observed recently?
(1) May 25 (2) May 24 (3) May 22 (4) May 23 (5) None of these
13. What is the theme of the 2019 edition of International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB)?
(1) Biodiversity and Sustainable Tourism
(2) Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our Health
(3) Biodiversity for Sustaining People and their Livelihoods
(4) Biodiversity for Sustainable Development
(5) None of these
15. Which of the following banks has become the first Indian bank to link interest rates to RBI's repo
rate?
(1) PNB (2) BoB (3) BoI (4) SBI (5) None of these
16. Which of the following banks has launched co-branded multi-currency travel card with Goibibo?
(1) SBI (2) HDFC Bank (3) ICICI Bank (4) Axis Bank (5) None of these
17. In Madhya Pradesh, women will handle the entire work of counting votes in which of the
following districts?
(1) Jabalpur (2) Indore (3) Harda (4) Burhanpur (5) None of these
18. Which of the following state city police has launched an all-women police patrol unit ‘Rani
Abbakka Force’?
(1) Karnataka (2) Tamil Nadu (3) Kerala (4) Andhra Pradesh (5) None of these
22. Which site of Madhya Pradesh has been included in the tentative list of UNESCO World heritage
sites?
(1) Maheswar (2) Orchha (3) Ujjain (4) Khandwa (5) None of these
23. Where is the headquarters of United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat)?
(1) Nairobi (2) Paris (3) New York (4) Berlin (5) None of these
24. Who has become the world's first woman to cross the Atlantic Ocean solo in a Light Sports
Aircraft (LSA)?
(1) Sarla Thakral (2) Aarohi Pandit (3) Durba Banerjee
(4) Avani Chaturvedi (5) None of these
25. Indo-French joint naval exercise ‘Varuna 19.1’ has started in which of the following places?
(1) Tamil Nadu (2) Karnataka (3) Goa (4) Kerala (5) None of these
26. Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is associated to which of the following countries?
(1) Iran, United States and France
(2) Russia, UK and China
(3) Germany, Iran and United States
(4) All of the above
(5) None of these
28. ICGS Vigraha, which is recently decommissioned at Visakhapatnam, is which class of offshore
patrol vessel?
(1) Samar (2) Priyadarshini (3) Vikram (4) Jija Bai (5) None of these
29. The 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR-2019) has started at which of the following
sites?
(1) Port Blair (2) Minicoy (3) Daman and Diu (4) Kavaratti (5) None of these
30. Which of the following organizations has successfully flight tested Inertial Guided Bomb (IGB)
from Sukhoi combat jet?
(1) BARC (2) MARCOS (3) DRDO (4) VSSC (5) None of these
31. Which Russian-made aircraft of Indian Air Force (IAF) has formally certified to operate on
indigenous Bio-Jet fuel?
(1) AN-31 (2) AN-33 (3) AN-32 (4) AN-35 (5) None of these
32. As per which UNSC committee, JeM chief Masood Azhar has been designated as global terrorist?
(1) UNSC 1267 Committee (2) UNSC 1265 Committee
(3) UNSC 1266 Committee (4) UNSC 1268 Committee (5) None of these
33. Which committee has recently submitted report on digital payments to RBI?
(1) Kishore Sansi committee
(2) Nandan Nilekani committee
(3) H R Khan committee
(4) Aruna Sharma committee
(5) None of these
34. Who is the head of the RBI committee to review mortgage securitization?
(1) Harsh Vardhan (2) V G Kannan (3) Anand Srinivasan
(4) Sajjid Z Chinoy (5) None of these
35. The Belt and Road Forum (BRF - 2019) was recently held in which of the following Chinese cities?
(1) Tianjin (2) Shanghai (3) Beijing (4) Hangzhou (5) None of these
36. The United Nations (UN) has decided to hold its 2020 ocean conference in which of the following
cities?
(1) New York (2) Paris (3) New Delhi (4) Lisbon (5) None of these
37. The 2019 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers was held in
which of the following cities?
(1) Bishkek (2) New Delhi (3) Moscow (4) Beijing (5) None of these
38. The delegation of which union ministry represented India at the 2019 SCO Mass Media Forum at
Bishkek?
(1) Ministry of External Affairs
(2) Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
(3) Ministry of Human Resource Development
(4) Ministry of Finance
(5) None of these
40. Which Indian city is hosting the World Customs Organization (WCO) regional custom heads
meeting?
(1) Shimla (2) Pune (3) Kochi (4) New Delhi (5) None of these
41. Which city is organizing the 2019 World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting of
developing countries?
(1) New Delhi (2) Pune (3) Raipur (4) Bhopal (5) None of these
43. Which Indian company has become the official sponsor of the Afghanistan cricket team for the
2019 ICC World Cup?
(1) Dabur (2) Sanchi (3) Amul (4) Hindustan Unilever (5) None of these
44. Which German payments company has teamed up with India to issue PAN cards?
(1) Wirecard (2) Paysafe Group (3) Atos
(4) Klarna (5) None of these
45. ISRO has successfully launched its radar imaging satellite RISAT-2B through which launch
vehicle?
(1) PSLV-C44 (2) PSLV-C46 (3) PSLV-C47 (4) PSLV-C45 (5) None of these
46. The NewSpace India Ltd. (NSIL) is the new commercial arm of which of the following
organizations?
(1) DRDO (2) VSSC (3) BARC (4) ISRO (5) None of these
47. Which space agency has unveiled schedule for 'Artemis' 2024 Moon mission?
(1) CNES (2) NASA (3) JAXA (4) Roscosmos (5) None of these
48. Which IIT has developed an easy OCR system for reading Bharti script?
(1) IIT Delhi (2) IIT Kanpur (3) IIT Madras (4) IIT Bombay (5) None of these
49. The researchers at which Canadian university has developed a specialized microscope that can
diagnose skin cancer & perform surgeries?
(1) University of British Columbia
(2) McGill University
(3) University of Toronto
(4) Mount Royal University
(5) None of these
50. Which international organization has unveiled a new strategy to tackle global snakebite
"Emergency"?
(1) ILO (2) UNESCO (3) FAO (4) WHO (5) None of these
51. Which of the following countries has been officially recognized as malaria-free in the WHO
African Region?
(1) Nigeria (2) Morocco (3) Algeria (4) Tanzania (5) None of these
53. ‘GRIHA for Existing Day Schools’, which is in news recently, is associated to which of the
following issues?
(1) Mid Day Meal (2) Quality Education (3) Environment
(4) All of the above (5) None of these
54. Which of the following countries has officially become the 2nd country in the world to declare a
climate emergency?
(1) Ireland (2) Finland (3) Norway (4) Sweden (5) None of these
55. Which country has started test run on world's fastest-ever bullet train “Alfa-X”?
(1) France (2) Japan (3) China (4) South Korea (5) None of these
56. Which Indian filmmaker will direct a film on the life of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur
Rahman?
(1) Shyam Benegal (2) Sanjay Leela Bhansali (3) Mani Ratnam
(4) Vishal Bhardwaj (5) None of these
57. The Desert Storm 2019 has started from which city of Rajasthan?
(1) Bikaner (2) Jaipur (3) Udaipur (4) Barmer (5) None of these
58. Who has been appointed as the new Vice Chief of Indian Air Force (IAF)?
(1) Om Prakash Mehra
(2) Anil Khosla
(3) Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria
(4) Dilbagh Singh
(5) None of these
59. Who has become the first non-British President of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC)?
(1) Sachin Tendulkar (2) Kumar Sangakkara (3) Michael Clarke
(4) Steve Waugh (5) None of these
60. Who has been appointed as first independent woman director of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)?
(1) Rajeshree Sabnavis (2) Pooja Dhanda (3) Jayshree Vyas
(4) Usha Sangwan (5) None of these
62. Which Indian personality has been elected as the member of the International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB)?
(1) Upendra Kushwah (2) Dalveer Bhandari (3) Jagjit Pavadia
(4) Nagendra Singh (5) None of these
63. Which Indian personality has been appointed as new SDG Advocate of UN?
(1) Chewang Norphel (2) Sonam Wangchuk (3) Jadav Payeng
(4) Dia Mirza (5) None of these
64. Which Indian judge has been appointed as Judge of Supreme Court of Fiji?
(1) Sharad Arvind Bobde (2) Madan B Lokur (3) N V Ramana
(4) Abhay Manohar Sapre (5) None of these
66. Who has officially been elected as the new President of Indonesia?
(1) Maruf Amin (2) Prabowo Subianto (3) Joko Widodo
(4) Sandiaga Uno (5) None of these
67. Who has been elected as the new President of South Africa?
(1) Julius Malema (2) Thabo Mbeki (3) Mmusi Maimane
(4) Cyril Ramaphosa (5) None of these
70. Pungam Kannan, who passed away recently, was the well-known player of which sports?
(1) Football (2) Hockey (3) Basketball (4) Carrom (5) None of these
71. Negasso Gidada, who passed away recently, was the former President of which country?
(1) Kenya (2) Ethiopia (3) Nigeria (4) Tanzania (5) None of these
72. Duti Krushna Panda, who passed away recently, was the veteran politician of which party?
(1) CPI (2) INC (3) BJP (4) BSP (5) None of these
73. Mrinal Mukherjee, who passed away recently, was the renowned actor of which regional cinema?
(1) Odia (2) Bengali (3) Urdu (4) Kannada (5) None of these
74. Baidyanath Mishra, who passed away recently, was the renowned personality of which field?
(1) Economy (2) History (3) Geography (4) Polity (5) None of these
75. Thopil Mohammed Meeran, who passed away recently, was the renowned novelist of which
language?
(1) Tamil (2) Telugu (3) Kannada (4) Odia (5) None of these
76. Y C Deveshwar, who passed away recently, was the noted industry leader of which company?
(1) Infosys (2) ITC (3) Bajaj (4) Grasim (5) None of these
77. Hiralal Yadav, who passed away recently, was the veteran musician of which regional cinema?
(1) Urdu (2) Bhojpuri (3) Rajasthani (4) Marathi (5) None of these
78. Surya Prakash, who passed away recently, was the renowned artist from which state?
(1) Karnataka (2) Telangana (3) Andhra Pradesh (4) Kerala (5) None of these
79. Vijaya Mulay, who passed away recently, was the renowned personality of which field?
(1) Photography (2) Sports (3) Film Industry (4) Journalism (5) None of these
80. Murray Gell-Mann, who passed away recently, won 1969 Nobel Prize in which category?
(1) Medicine (2) Physics (3) Chemistry (4) Peace (5) None of these
82. Which hockey player has been nominated for the 2019 Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award?
(1) Chinglensana Singh Kangujam (2) P R Sreejesh
(3) Akashdeep Singh (4) Romesh Pathania (5) None of these
83. Which former ISRO chief has been bestowed with France's highest civilian award?
(1) U Ramachandra Rao (2) G Madhavan Nair (3) A S Kiran Kumar
(4) Satish Dhawan (5) None of these
84. Who of the following Indians are among 115 UN personnel staff honoured for sacrifice in line of
duty?
(1) Sunny Rajput & Sukhpreet Kaur
(2) Prithvi Shaw & Manju Sharma
(3) Jitender Kumar & Shikha Garg
(4) Narendra Singh Rathore & Neha Gupta
(5) None of these
85. Which of the following golfers has been honoured with 2019 US Presidential Medal of Freedom?
(1) Rickie Fowler (2) Phil Mickelson (3) Tiger Woods (4) Justin Rose (5) None of these
86. Who has been honored with the 2019 JFK Profile in Courage Award?
(1) Paul Ryan (2) Kevin McCarthy (3) Nancy Pelosi
(4) Charles Manatt (5) None of these
87. Jokha Alharthi, who won the 2019 Man Booker International Prize, is from which country?
(1) Iran (2) Saudi Arabia (3) UAE (4) Oman (5) None of these
88. Which Indian personality has been awarded the 2019 Dr. Lee Jong-wook Prize for public health?
(1) Nikhil Kumar (2) Balram Bhargava (3) Asha Kishore
(4) Amit Sharma (5) None of these
89. Who will become the first Indian wrestler to fight at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New
York?
(1) Ravinder Singh (2) Bajrang Punia (3) Pawan Kumar
(4) Sangram Singh (5) None of these
90. Who has been named the 2019 footballer of the year by the Football Writers' Association (FWA)?
(1) Lionel Messi (2) Raheem Sterling (3) Neymar (4) Francesco Totti (5) None of these
91. Claire Polosak, who became the first female umpire to stand in a men's ODI, is from which
country?
(1) West Indies (2) South Africa (3) New Zealand (4) Australia (5) None of these
92. Which Indian wrestler has won gold in the men's 65kg freestyle at the 2019 Ali Aliyev wrestling
tournament?
(1) Mausam Khatri (2) Bajrang Punia (3) Rahul Aware
(4) Sumit Malik (5) None of these
93. The TePe Sigeman & Co International tournament is associated to which of the following sports?
(1) Judo (2) Tennis (3) Swimming (4) Chess (5) None of these
95. Who won the 2019 men's singles title at the Madrid Open Tennis tournament?
(1) Roger Federer (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas (3) Novak Djokovic
(4) Rafael Nadal (5) None of these
96. Andre Russell, who has been named Most Valuable Player at the 2019 IPL tournament, is from
which of the following teams?
(1) Sunrisers Hyderabad (2) Kolkata Knight Riders (3) Chennai Super Kings
(4) Mumbai Indians (5) None of these
97. Which of the bowlers has been adjudged as 2019 CEAT International Bowler of the Year?
(1) Jasprit Bumrah (2) Kuldeep Yadav (3) Rashid Khan (4) Ashutosh Aman (5) None of these
98. Who of the following spinners has become the world's most successful women's ODI spinner?
(1) Cathryn Fitzpatrick (2) Sana Mir (3) Jhulan Goswami
(4) Rajeshwari Gayakwad (5) None of these
99. Who has been appointed as the first female match referee by ICC?
(1) Mary Waldron (2) Shivani Mishra (3) Jacqueline Williams
(4) G S Lakshmi (5) None of these
100. Which country to host the 2023 Asian Cup Football tournament?
(1) Japan (2) India (3) South Korea (4) China (5) None of these
101. Who clinched the men’s title at the 2019 Italian Open Tennis tournament?
(1) Novak Djokovic (2) Rafael Nadal (3) Roger Federer
(4) Andy Murray (5) None of these
102. Which of the following social media platforms has become the team sponsor of Indian Wheelchair
Cricket Association for 2019 Asia Cup?
(1) Instagram (2) Twitter (3) Helo (4) Facebook (5) None of these
103. Which of the following teams has clinched the 2019 Sudirman Cup badminton tournament?
(1) Germany (2) South Korea (3) Japan (4) China (5) None of these
104. Rahi Sarnobat, who booked 2020 Tokyo Olympic quota for India, is associated to which sports?
(1) Shooting (2) Badminton (3) Sprint (4) Wrestling (5) None of these
105. Which of the following countries is the biggest spender on military expenditure in 2018, as per
new data by SIPRI?
(1) Russia (2) China (3) Saudi Arabia (4) United States (5) None of these
106. What is the theme of the Indian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale 2019?
(1) Swami Vivekananda & his preaching
(2) Hundred and Fifty years of Mahatma Gandhi
(3) Tribute to Madam Bhikaji Cama
(4) India since Independence
(5) None of these
108. India has been chosen to co-chair Consultative Group (CG) of GFDRR in which fiscal year?
(1) 2022 (2) 2021 (3) 2020 (4) 2022 (5) None of these
109. Operation Swift Retort, which is in news recently, is associated to which of the following
countries?
(1) Sri Lanka (2) Afghanistan (3) India (4) Pakistan (5) None of these
110. Generalized System of Preference (GSP) is associated to which of the following countries?
(1) Japan (2) United States (3) China (4) France (5) None of these
111. Which of the following countries are members of inter-governmental forum Arctic Council?
(1) Canada, Denmark & India (2) Russia, Sweden & United States
(3) Russia, India & China (4) France, Iceland & Germany (5) None of these
112. Which country has recently blocked all language editions of Wikipedia?
(1) US (2) China (3) Iran (4) Russia (5) None of these
113. The Services Trade Restrictiveness Index (STRI) is associated to which of the following
organizations?
(1) OECD (2) United Nations (3) IMF (4) World Bank (5) None of these
114. Cocos (Keeling) Islands is an external territory of which of the following countries?
(1) India (2) Sri Lanka (3) Indonesia (4) Australia (5) None of these
115. Christchurch Call to Action, which is in news recently, is the brainchild of which of the following
countries?
(1) Canada & UK (2) Netherlands & Sweden (3) Germany & Spain
(4) New Zealand & France (5) None of these
116. Which country has become the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage?
(1) Japan (2) Taiwan (3) Indonesia (4) Malaysia (5) None of these
117. Which of the following countries has been removed from US currency watchlist?
(1) Italy (2) South Korea (3) Switzerland (4) Japan (5) None of these
118. Who is the author of the “Politics of Jugaad: The Coalition Handbook”?
(1) Saba Naqvi (2) Madhu Trehan (3) Shereen Bhan (4) Patricia Mukhim (5) None of these
Ans: 1-3, 2-1, 3-3, 4-4, 5-2, 6-2, 7-3, 8-2, 9-2, 10-4,11-3, 12-4, 13-2, 14-4, 15-4, 16-3, 17-3, 18-1, 19-3, 20-4, 21-
4, 22-2, 23-1, 24-2, 25-3, 26-4, 27-1, 28-3, 29-1, 30-3, 31-3, 32-1, 33-2, 34-1, 35-3, 36-4, 37-1, 38-2, 39-3, 40-3,
41-1, 42-1, 43-3, 44-1, 45-2, 46-4, 47-2, 48-3, 49-1, 50-4, 51-3, 52-3, 53-3, 54-1, 55-2, 56-1, 57-1, 58-3, 59-2, 60-
3, 61-3, 62-3, 63-4, 64-2, 65-3, 66-3, 67-4, 68-1, 69-4, 70-1, 71-2, 72-1, 73-2, 74-1, 75-1, 76-2, 77-2, 78-2, 79-3,
80-2, 81-4, 82-2, 83-3, 84-3, 85-3, 86-3, 87-4, 88-2, 89-2, 90-2, 91-4,92-2, 93-4, 94-3, 95-3, 96-2, 97-1, 98-2, 99-
4, 100-4, 101-2, 102-3, 103-4, 104-1, 105-4, 106-2, 107-4, 108-3, 109-4, 110-2,111-2, 112-2, 113-1, 114-4, 115-
4, 116-2, 117-3, 118-1, 119-2.