Latest Current Affairs - May 2023

Download May 2023 Current Affairs PDF

Month Type

  1. GST Revenue Collection in April 2023 stood at 1.87 Lakh Crores (Highest ever), including CGST 38440 crores, SGST 47412 crores, IGST 89158 crores & cess 12025 crores.
  2. May 1 is Formation day of Gujarat and Maharashtra. Both states were formed on May 01, 1960, when Bombay state was split.
    1. Also, May 1 is observed in Maharashtra as Marathi Official Language Day.
      1. Notably, Similar sounding Marathi Language Pride Day is observed on 27th February.
  3. May 1 -  Labour Day, also known as International Worker's Day and May Day.
    1. In India, first celebration of the Labour Day was organised in Madras by Labour Kisan Party of Hindustan on May 1, 1923. 
    2. Labour Day commemorates happenings of May 4, 1886, the Haymarket affair (Haymarket Massacre) in the Chicago. It was a big event as workers were on the general strike for their eight-hour workday, with protests getting violent.
  4. Ajit Kumar Mohanty (BARC Director) has been appointed as chairman of Atomic Energy Commission and secretary in Department of Atomic Energy.
  5. Book Collective Spirit, Concrete Action, by former Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar has been released, documenting PM Modi's 'Mann Ki Baat' programme.
  6. Obituaries (May 2023) -
    1. Tina Turner - Noted American singer, Known as the Queen of Rock 'n' Roll.
    2. Samares Majumdar - Noted Bengali writer.
    3. Sathyam Babu Dixithulu (known as Sarath Babu) - Noted Tamil and Telugu actor.
    4. Rattan Lal Kataria - Former Union Minister (from Haryana).
    5. Ved Kumari Ghai - Noted Sanskrit scholar (from J&K).
    6. Tori Bowie - Noted American Sprinter and Former 100m world champion.
    7. Ranajit Guha - Noted historian.
    8. Srichand Parmanand Hinduja - Noted Industrialist & chairman of Hinduja Group.
    9. Antonio Carbajal - Noted Former Mexican Footballer.
    10. AR Khaleel - Former Indian Football Administrator (AIFF VP).
  7. On occasion of World Intellectual Property Day (April 26), G20 engagement group Startup20, along with Pandit Jasraj Cultural Foundation launched UPAJ: A Festival of Innovations in Arts, at NITI Aayog (New Delhi).
  8. Misc. Defence News / Events (May 2023) -
    1. Ministry of Defence's flagship initiative Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) signed its 250th contract (also first under Mission DefSpace), with InspeCity.
      1. Also, 100th SPRINT (Navy) contract was also signed, with Siliconia Technologies Pvt Ltd.
    2. DRDO conducted successful maiden test trial of indigenously designed and developed Air Droppable Container ADC-150, with 150 kg payload capacity.
    3. Indian Navy Sailboat INSV Tarini completed 17000-nm long trans-ocean inter-continental voyage in seven months.
    4. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh inaugurated Indian Air Force (IAF) Heritage Centre in Chandigarh, as an embodiment of IAF’s history and legacy.
    5. 35th edition of India-Thailand Coordinated Patrol (Indo-Thai CORPAT) conducted in the Andaman Sea.
    6. Indian Army's Gajraj Corps conducted Joint Flood Relief 'Exercise Jal Rahat at Hagrama Bridge on Manas River (Assam).
    7. Joint Bangladesh-US Naval Exercise Tiger Shark 40 held at Chattogram (Bangladesh).
  9. Misc. Science News / Events (May 2023) -
    1. Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated Integrated Biological Control Laboratory at National Institute of Plant Health Management (Hyderabad).
    2. As a step towards decarbonisation of aviation sector, Airline AirAsia operated India’s first commercial passenger flight using an indigenously produced Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) blend supplied by Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL).
    3. ISRO announced a new introductory-level online training programme Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START), aimed at postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students of Physical Sciences and Technology.
    4. Russian Financial Firm Sberbank launched its AI chatbot GigaChat, to rival OpenAI's much talked about ChatGPT.
    5. A 5000 year old Patagonian cypress tree in Chile has been officially recognized as world’s oldest, located in Alerce Costero National Park. It has been nicknamed  Great Grandfather.
    6. Pune based MIT-World Peace University launched Asia's first Subsea Research Lab, called Centre for Subsea Engineering Research (CSER), showcasing a working prototype of deep-water offshore petroleum operations.
    7. NASA and IT Firm IBM partnered to develop new artificial intelligence (AI) foundation models to help analyze geospatial satellite data, to help better understand and tackle climate change.
    8. IT Firm Infosys launched Topaz, as comprehensive suite of services & solutions, that harness power of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  10. Misc. MOUs (May 2023) -
    1. India Post signed MoU with Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Tripta Technologies, to facilitate operationalisation of Bharat EMart portal, which will enable pick-up of consignments from premises of traders and will ensure delivery at doorsteps of consignees, to benefit 8 crore traders across country.
    2. NTPC signed Joint Venture Agreement with Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), for development of Nuclear Power Projects.
      1. Initially, the JV company shall develop two Pressurized Heavy-Water Reactor (PHWR) projects, Chutka Madhya Pradesh Atomic Power Project 2x700 MW and Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project 4x700 MW.
    3. NTPC Green Energy Limited (NGEL) and HPCL Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL) signed MoU, to collaborate in field of Renewable Energy through sourcing of 250 MW RE-RTC (Round-The-Clock) power by HMEL and also exploring opportunities in Green Hydrogen business & its derivatives (Green Ammonia & Green Methanol).
    4. MoU has been signed among IWAI, Sagarmala Development Corporation (SDCL), Assam Tourism Development Corporation (ATDC) and Assam govt's Department of Inland Waterways Transport (DIWT), for development of Riverine Based Religious Tourism Circuit, to connect seven Religious places on Brahmaputra river.
    5. Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and Ministry of Railways jointly signed MoU with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for Station Area Development along Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (Project-SMART), to develop surrounding areas of Mumbai - Ahmedabad High Speed Railway Stations to enhance accessibility and convenience for commuters.
    6. MoU signed between India's Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Israel's Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), for Industrial Research and Development Cooperation in high tech areas such as Artificial Intelligence, Quantum and semiconductors, synthetic biology etc.
    7. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) signed MoU with PSU RITES Limited, for technical assistance in Solid Waste Management (SWM) & Used Water Management (UWM) under Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0.
    8. MoU signed between Telangana govt and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), to establish a Technology Centre of Excellence in Hyderabad.
    9. State govt of Goa and Uttarakhand signed MoU, to enhance tourism activities across both states.
    10. India & Israel signed letter of Intent to establish an India - Israel Center of Water Technology (CoWT) in Water Resources Management and Water Technologies at IIT Madras.
  11. Misc. Sports News / Events (May 2023) -
    1. Indian athletes won 17 medals at Wushu Stars Championship 2023 in Moscow (Russia).
    2. Athlete Praveen Chithravel created new triple jump national record of 17.37meters at an athletic meet in Havana (Cuba), surpassing previous men’s triple jump national record of 17.30m.
    3. Pakistani cricketer Babar Azam became fastest player to score 5000 runs in One Day International (ODI) cricket.
    4. South African Female Cricketer Shabnim Ismail announced her retirement from international cricket. She is known as fastest bowler in women’s cricket, having bowled fastest ball ever recorded in women’s cricket, with speed of 128 kph.
    5. Geoffrey Emmanuel became first Indian to participate in FIM World JuniorGP World Championship, a junior class race event organized by Dorna Sports under FIM regulations.
    6. Odisha govt extended its sponsorship for Men and Women Indian Hockey Teams (senior and junior) for another 10 years, upto 2033.
    7. South Asian Youth Table Tennis Championship 2023 held in Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh).
    8. Barcelona FC won 2022–23 La Liga (Spain's premier football competition).
    9. V. Prraneeth (Telangana) became India's 82nd Chess Grandmaster, during Baku Open 2023.
  12. Misc. Appointments (May 2023) -
    1. New Indian Air Force Command Chiefs -
      1. Narmdeshwar Tiwari - South Western Air Command.
      2. Balakrishnan Manikantan - Southern Air Command.
    2. Ajay Yadav has been named MD of PSU Solar Energy Corporation of India Limited (SECI).
    3. Saju Balakrishnan has been appointed as new Commander-in-Chief of Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only tri-service theater command of Indian Armed Forces.
    4. India's Omar Rashid has been named Chair for Technical Officials Committee of Badminton Asia.
    5. Former England cricketer Mark Nicholas has been named next president of Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).
    6. P Krishna Bhat (Former judge of Karnataka HC) has been named as administrator of Basketball Federation of India (BFI), until a newly-elected body takes charge of BFI.
    7. British telecom giant Vodafone named Margherita Della Valle as its CEO.
    8. Govt named A K Jain as chairman of Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB).
    9. Paytm parent firm One97 Communications named Bhavesh Gupta as its President and Chief Operating Officer (COO).
    10. Indian American Geeta Rao Gupta has been named by US as Ambassador at Large for Global Women's Issues.
    11. Linda Yaccarino has been named new CEO of social network Twitter, succeding Elon Musk.
    12. National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) named Rajiv Dhar as MD & CEO.
      1. NIIF is investment platform for international / Indian investors anchored by Government of India.
    13. Actress Alia Bhatt has been named first global ambassador from India by Italian Fashion Brand Gucci.
    14. S N Subrahmanyan has been named CMD of India-based multinational engineering Firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T).
    15. Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been named Ambassador for Maharashtra's Swachh Mukh Abhiyan, to spread awareness about oral health and hygiene across state.
    16. K Govindaraj has been elected as President of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Asia.
    17. Former cricketer Sourav Ganguly has been named brand ambassador by Tripura govt for promoting Tourism in state.
  13. Misc. Economy / Financial News (May 2023) -
    1. RBI imposed penalty of 2.92 crores on Canara Bank, for violation of several RBI norms.
    2. RBI imposed penalty of 1.73 crore on Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd (HSBC Bank) for violating several Credit related norms.
    3. Defence PSU Shipyard Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) launched GRSE Accelerated Innovation Nurturing Scheme (GAINS 2023), to identify innovative solutions towards technological advances in shipbuilding by Startups.
    4. RBI launched 100 Days 100 Pays campaign for banks to trace and settle top 100 unclaimed deposits of every bank in every district, within 100 days, effecttive between Jun - Aug 2023.
      1. Unclaimed Deposits are Balances in bank accounts / term deposits which are not operated / claimed for 10 years.
    5. SBI announced raising $750 million worth of foreign currency bonds, as part of SBI's $10 billion 'Global Medium Note' programme under which it will fund its overseas business growth.
      1. Funds were raised at platforms like India INX's Global Securities Market (GSM) and GIFT International Financial Services Centre (Gujarat).
    6. To boost off-shore wind energy projects, govt granted complete waiver of ISTS (Inter-State Transmission) Charges for 25 years to projects commissioned on or before 31st Dec, 2032.
      1. Also, ISTS waiver of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia projects has been extended from 30 June 2025 to 31 Dec 2030.
    7. Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved proposed merger of Swiss Financial Giants Credit Suisse Group with UBS Group.
      1. Notably, both entities are Switzerland based. Still, the merger requires seperate CCI approval to be effective for operations in India.
    8. Fintech Firm BharatPe rebranded multi-brand loyalty program PAYBACK India, as Zillion.
      1. BharatPe had acquired Payback earlier in 2021.
    9. Fitch Ratings affirmed India’s long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating (IDR) at BBB-, with a stable outlook.
      1. It cited India’s robust growth outlook and resilient external finances, despite concerns over weak public finances and lagging structural indicators.
    10. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) concluded Myanmar Port sale for $30 million.
    11. Sri Lankan telecom firm Dialog Axiata and India's Bharti Airtel announced merger of their operations in Sri Lanka, creating Sri Lanka's largest telecom operator.
    12. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced to invest USD 12.7 billion into cloud infrastructure in India by 2030, to meet growing demand for cloud services in India.
    13. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts -
      1. UN World Economic Situation and Prospects 2023 (UN WESP) - 5.8 % in FY 2023 (2022-23) & 6.7 % in FY 24 (2023-24).
        1. As per UN WESP, Global GDP growth is projected to decelerate from 3 % in 2022 to 1.9 % in 2023, and pick up to 2.7 % later in 2024.
    14. All India Bank Employees’ Association (AIBEA) has set up portal named Bank Clinic, to assist customers with grievance redressal.
    15. Equitas Small Finance Bank partnered with IT Firm IBM, to develop a digital banking platform, to enhance Equitas’ digital product offerings and service capabilities.
    16. HDFC Bank partnered with Manipal Global Skills Academy to launch Leadership Excellence Program, to hire and train women branch managers and enhance gender diversity.
    17. Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) announced to provide 30 % financial support for promotion of green shipping.
  14. Misc. / Industrial Awards (May 2023) -
    1. PSU RINL has been conferred with GreenTech Safety Award 2023 by Greentech Foundation, for its contribution to improve workplace safety.
    2. Noted Sanskrit scholar and Executive Director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan centre in London, M.N. Nandakumara has been awarded an honorary MBE by King Charles III for his contributions to Indian classical arts in Britain.
    3. Buddhanjali Research Foundation honoured Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath with its Bharat Ratna Dr Ambedkar Award, for creating a fear-free State. Award was presented by Former President Ram Nath Kovind.
  15. May 2 - UN World Tuna Day.
  16. Department of Expenditure (Ministry of Finance) launched scheme Vivad se Vishwas I – Relief to MSMEs, for providing relief to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) for COVID-19 period, as announced in Union Budget 2023-24. Under it -
    1. 95 % of forfeited performance security / bid security / Liquidated Damages amount will be returned to MSMEs, in cases of failure by MSMEs to execute contracts during COVID period. Claims can be submitted till 30-06-2023.
  17. As first such initiative across country, Telangana Govt introduced a Robotics Framework, which provides a roadmap to promote robotic ecosystem in State.
    1. State govt will set up a Telangana Robotics Innovation Centre (TRIC), to implement the framework.
  18. Kerala Govt launched Kerala Institutional Ranking Framework (KIRF), modelled on the lines of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), to assess quality of higher education institutions in State.
    1. Kerala became first state in country to establish a State-specific ranking framework for its higher education institutions.
  19. KK Shailaja (Kerala Legislative Assembly member)’s autobiograpy My Life As A Comrade has been released.
  20. First Republic Bank became 3rd large American bank to fail recently, after a bank run (Sudden withdrawal of deposits by many depositors). Similar fate was recently observed with Silicon Valley Bank & Signature Bank.
    1. Struggling FRB was seized and sold by California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, to JP Morgan Chase and Co.
      1. Notably, failed Silicon Valley Bank was acquired by First Citizens Bank & Signature Bank was acquired by Flagstar Bank.
    2. Failure of FRB was third-largest bank failure in US history, after Silicon Valley Bank collapse (2023) and Washington Mutual's closure in 2008.
  21. New Managing Directors (MD) named by Govt in Public Sector Banks -
    1. Debadatta Chand - Bank of Baroda.
    2. Rajneesh Karnatak - Bank of India.
  22. Ding Liren (China) won World Chess Championship 2023 (Astana, Kazakhstan), becoming 1st world chess champion from China.
  23. Central Bank of Zimbabwe introduced a digital token backed by gold as legal tender, to help stabilize Zimbabwean dollar and protect citizens from currency fluctuations.
    1. Over past year, value of Zimbabwean dollar has declined by approx 700 %, amid catastrophic inflation.
  24. Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy laid foundation stone for development of Bhogapuram International Airport (Visakhapatnam).
    1. 1st phase will be developed as a Greenfield airport, to serve 6 million passengers per annum (MPPA), with capacity addition of 6 MPPA in successive 2 more phases.
    2. Cost for phase 1 will be 4592 crores, to be developed by GMR Group. 
  25. RBI released Report on Currency and Finance (RCF) for 2022-23, with theme Towards a Greener Cleaner India. Highlights -
    1. India’s goal of achieving the net zero target by 2070 would require an accelerated reduction in energy intensity of GDP by around 5 % annually, and a significant improvement in its energy-mix in favour of renewables to around 80 % by 2070-71.
    2. India’s green financing requirement is estimated to be at least 2.5 % of GDP annually till 2030.
  26. May 3 - World Press Freedom Day. 2023 Theme is Shaping a Future of Rights.
    1. Annually, UNESCO confers UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize on this day.
      1. Three imprisoned Iranian women journalists - Niloofar Hamedi, Elaheh Mohammadi and Narges Mohammadi have been named laureates of 2023 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.
    2. On this occasion, Global Press Freedom Index 2023 was released by Reporters Without Borders -
      1. Top 3- Norway (1), Ireland (2), Denmark (3)
      2. Bottom 3 - North Korea (180), China (179), Vietnam (178)
      3. India ranks 161st, compared to 150th rank last year.
      4. Neighbors - China (179), Sri Lanka (135), Pakistan (150), Bangladesh (163)
  27. NTPC marked its first overseas capacity addition by adding Unit-1 (660 MW capacity) of 1320 MW (2x660) Maitree Super Thermal Power Plant (MSTPP) in Rampal (Bangladesh). It takes Installed Capacity of NTPC to 72304 MW.
  28. Under India’s G20 Presidency, RBI and BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) of Bank for International Settlements jointly launched 4th edition of G20 TechSprint, a global technology competition to promote innovative solutions aimed at improving cross-border payments.
    1. It will focus on 3 problem statements -
      1. AML/CFT/Sanctions technology solutions to reduce illicit finance risk.
      2. FX and liquidity technology solutions to enable settlement in emerging market and developing economy (EMDE) currencies.
      3. Technology solutions for multilateral cross-border CBDC platforms.
    2. Winners for each problem statement will receive an award of INR 40 Lakh
  29. Indian-origin Person Ajay Banga (former Mastercard CEO) has been appointed as new President of World Bank, becoming first Indian to assume this role.
  30. Indian Air Force (IAF) participated in Exercise INIOCHOS-23, a multi-national air exercise hosted by Hellenic Air Force (Greece), with participation of 12 countries.
  31. Indian Air Force (IAF) participated in Exercise Orion, a multi-national air exercise hosted by French Air and Space Force, with participation of 9 countries.
  32. May 4 is observed as International Firefighters' Day (IFFD), established in 1999, after deaths of five firefighters in a bushfire in Australia.
  33. Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao launched Geetha Karmikula Bhima (insurance for toddy tappers), on the lines of Rythu Bhima for farmers.
    1. It will provide 5 lakh life insurance in case any toddy tapper dies accidentally while collecting toddy from palm trees in the fields.
  34. May 5 is observed as -
    1. World Hand Hygiene Day.
    2. International Day of the Midwife, Observed since 1991.
    3. UN World Portuguese Language Day.
  35. Indian-American Neera Tandon has been named to head Domestic Policy Council (US), as first Asian-American to lead any of the three major White House policy councils. Other 2 are National Security Council & National Economic Council.
  36. Polavarapu Mallikharjuna Prasad has been named new Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Maharatna PSU Coal India Limited (CIL).
  37. Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved 1500 per month as Indira Gandhi Mahila Samman Nidhi to all eligible women (above 18 years age) of Spiti Valley.
  38. Forbes' World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2023 -
    1. Top 5 -
      1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugese Footabller) - $136 Million
      2. Lionel Messi (Argentina Footabller) - $130 Million
      3. Kylian Mbappé (French Footabller) - $120 Million
      4. LeBron James (American Basketballer) - $119.5 Million
      5. Canelo Alvarez (Mexican Boxer) - $110 Million
  39. Coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, took place on 6 May 2023.
    1. Charles acceded to throne upon death of his mother, Elizabeth II.
  40. Indian Olympic-Gold medalist Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra won top spot in Doha Diamond League (Qatar), with throw of 88.67 meters.
    1. Also, Neeraj Chopra claimed globally number one ranking in men’s javelin for the first time.
  41. As per National Manufacturing Innovation Survey (NMIS) 2021-22, conducted by Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) -
    1. Karnataka is most innovative in its manufacturing sector, followed by Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
    2. Uttarakhand ranked best among hill states, while Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has highest score among UTs.
  42. Nepal won ACC Men’s Premier Cup 2023 Cricket Title (hosted by Nepal), defeating UAE in final.
    1. With this, Nepal have qualified for Asia Cup 2023, to be jointly hosted by Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Sep 2023.
  43. Book Made In India: 75 Years of Business and Enterprise, authored by Former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant has been released.
  44. Red Bull's Dutch-Belgian F1 Racer Max Verstappen won Miami Grand Prix 2023.
    1. F1 Season 2023 -
      1. Grand Prix Winner Race date
        Bahrain Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 5 March
        Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 19 March
        Australian Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 2 April
        Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 30 April
        Miami Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 7 May
        Monaco Grand Prix   28 May
        Spanish Grand Prix   4 June
        Canadian Grand Prix   18 June
        Austrian Grand Prix   2 July
        British Grand Prix   9 July
        Hungarian Grand Prix   23 July
        Belgian Grand Prix   30 July
        Dutch Grand Prix   27 August
        Italian Grand Prix   3 September
        Singapore Grand Prix   17 September
        Japanese Grand Prix   24 September
        Qatar Grand Prix   8 October
        United States Grand Prix   22 October
        Mexico City Grand Prix   29 October
        São Paulo Grand Prix   5 November
        Las Vegas Grand Prix   18 November
        Abu Dhabi Grand Prix   26 November
  45. May 07, 2023 is observed as World Athletics Day. Date is decided by IAAF, held anually during month of May. 2023 theme is Athletics for All - A New Beginning.
    1. May 7 is also Birth Anniversary of India’s first Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. His birth anniversary is also known as Pochise Boishakh.
      1. On this occasion, Home Minister Amit Shah released film Luminaries of Bengal in Kolkata (West Bengal).
  46. 2023 Open Aix Provence Men's Tennis (France) -
    1. Singles - Andy Murray (UK)
    2. Doubles - Australia's Jason Kubler & John Peers
  47. 2023 Madrid Open Tennis (Spain) -
    1. Men's singles - Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)
    2. Women's singles - Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)
    3. Men's doubles - Karen Khachanov (Russia) / Andrey Rublev (Russia)
    4. Women's doubles - Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) & Beatriz Haddad Maia (Brazil)
  48. Luca Brecel (Belgium) won World Snooker Championship 2023 at Sheffield (England), defeating Mark Selby (England).
  49. May 8 - World Red Cross Day, also known as Red Crescent Day. It commemorates birth anniversary of Henri Dunant (born on 8 May 1828), the founder of Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). May 8 is also observed as  -
    1. Victory in Europe Day, Marking formal end of World War II in Europe, when allied powers defeated German leader Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Forces, On May 8, 1945.
      1. Notably, May 8 - 9 every year is also observed by UN as Time of Remembrance for Those Who Lost Their Lives during Second World War.
    2. World Thalassemia Day.
      1. On this occasion, Health Ministry launched third phase of Thalassemia Bal Sewa Yojana, supported by Coal India Limited as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.
  50. Indian Navy participated in Inaugural ASEAN India Maritime Exercise (AIME-2023).
    1. Harbour Phase of the exercise was held at Changi Naval Base (Singapore), and Sea Phase conducted in South China Sea.
  51. SEBI introduced Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) system for issuers that have listed / planning to list non-convertible securities, securitised debt instruments and security receipts.
    1. LEI is a unique global identifier for legal entities participating in financial transactions. It is a unique 20-character code to identify legally distinct entities that engage in financial transactions.
    2. Presently, RBI mandates non-individual borrowers having aggregate exposure of above 25 crores to obtain LEI code.
  52. India announced to start participating in International Civil Aviation Organisation's (ICAO) Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) and the Long-Term Aspirational Goals (LTAG) from 2027.
    1. To mitigate carbon emissions from aviation sector and its impacts on climate change, ICAO has adopted the aspirational goals, viz. 2% annual fuel efficiency improvement through 2050, Carbon Neutral Growth from 2020 onwards, and net zero by 2050. Measures identified by ICAO to achieve these goals include CORSIA and LTAG.
    2. CORSIA is implemented in three phases, out of which participation is voluntary in the first two phases for (2021-2026). India has decided not to participate in the voluntary phases of CORSIA.
  53. Russian Novelist Maria Stepanova has been Awarded 2023 Leipzig Book Prize for European Understanding, for her poetry collection Girls without Clothes.
    1. Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding is a prominent literature prize in Germany, with prize money of 20,000 euros.
  54. Former Indian Navy Officer Abhilash Tomy completed Golden Globe Race, a solo non-stop yacht race around the world. He became first Asian to complete this race.
    1. He finished 2nd after South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer.
  55. Sweden announced to build world's first permanent electrified road for Electric Vehicles to charge while driving, to be built by 2025.
    1. Earlier, European Union countries had approved a landmark law, mandating all new cars sold to have zero CO2 emissions from 2035, and 55% lower CO2 emissions from 2030 (versus 2021 levels).
    2. Notably, EU aims to be climate-neutral by 2050.
  56. Minister of State for Ports and Shipping, Shantanu Thakur flagged off MV-ITT LION (V-273) from Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (Kolkata), as inaugural shipment to operationalise Sittwe Port in Rakhine State of Myanmar.
    1. Sittwe Port was built by India in 2016, with US$120 Million financing, under Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, aimed at developing transport infrastructure in Southwestern Myanmar and Northeastern India.
  57. 42nd Summit of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) hosted by Indonesia.
    1. ASEAN Summit Meetings are hosted twice annually, by member state holding ASEAN Chairmanship (Indonesia currently).
    2. Laos will hold 10-Nations ASEAN grouping Chairmanship in 2024.
  58. Notable Pulitzer Prize Winners 2023 -
    1. Letters, Drama, and Music -
      1. Fiction -  Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver & Trust by Hernan Diaz
      2. Drama -  English by Sanaz Toossi
      3. History -  Freedom's Dominion by Jefferson Cowie
      4. Biography - G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of the American Century by Beverly Gage
      5. Autobiography - Stay True by Hua Hsu
      6. Poetry -  Then the War by Carl Phillips
      7. Music -  Omar by Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels
      8. General Non-fiction - His Name Is George Floyd by Robert Samuels and Toluse Olorunnipa
    2. Journalism -
      1. Public Service - Associated Press
      2. Breaking News Reporting - Staff of The Los Angeles Times
      3. Investigative Reporting - Staff of The Wall Street Journal
      4. Explanatory Reporting - Caitlin Dickerson of The Atlantic
      5. Local Reporting -  Anna Wolfe of Mississippi Today
      6. National Reporting - Caroline Kitchener of The Washington Post
      7. International Reporting -  Staff of The New York Times
      8. Criticsm - Andrea Long Chu of New York magazine
    3. About -
      1. Pulitzer Prize is administered by Columbia University for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within US. It was established in 1917 by provisions in will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fortune as a newspaper publisher.
      2. Prizes are awarded annually in 22 two categories.  In 21 categories, each winner receives US$15,000 cash award. The winner in public service category is awarded a gold medal.
  59. INS Magar has been decommissioned after serving in Indian Navy for 36 years.
    1. INS Magar was lead ship of Magar-class amphibious warfare vessels of Indian Navy.
  60. May 10 is observed as UN International Day of Argania.
    1. Argan tree is a native species of the sub-Saharan region of Morocco, which is resilient to a harsh environment under water scarcity, risk of erosion and poor soils.
  61. General News / Events (May 1-10, 2023) -
    1. Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan launched SAKSHAM (Stimulating Advanced Knowledge for Sustainable Health Management) Learning Management Information System (LMIS) of Health Ministry. 
    2. BizAmp outreach programme organized by Ministry of MSME in association with NSIC Venture Capital Fund Limited (NVCFL) under its Self Reliant India (SRI) Fund at Dimapur (Nagaland), aimed at empowering MSMEs from North Eastern States.
    3. To strengthen bilateral relationship, Indian Railways handed over 20 Broad Gauge (BG) locomotives to Bangladesh Railways.
    4. India's Ministry of Tourism participated in Arabian Travel Market 2023, held in Dubai (UAE).
    5. MyGov and Ministry of Culture jointly launched YUVA PRATIBHA – Painting & Singing Talent Hunt, to promote India’s rich heritage and culture at grassroots level, by identifying new art talent in various painting / singing styles.
      1. 1st prize will be 1 lakh for painting and 1.5 lakh for singing competitions.
    6. India’s first International Multi Modal Logistics park will be launched in Jogighopa (Assam), in 2024.
    7. Tripura govt announced to go paperless, to ensure digitized, smart & people-friendly governance.
    8. Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao laid foundation for 400 feet tall Hare Krishna Heritage Tower in Hyderabad.
    9. First movie in Tagin language of Arunachal Pradesh has been released, named Love in 90s.
    10. Uttar Pradesh govt approved establishment of state’s first Pharma Park in Lalitpur district of Bundelkhand.
    11. Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai inaugurated Land Port at Dawki (Meghalaya), to strengthen trade ties with Bangladesh.
    12. UAE hosted Machines Can See 2023 Summit in Dubai, as an international conferences on Artificial Intelligence (AI).
    13. As first such move, Australian High Commission in India announced its Government Grant for a Project in Kargil, named Return to Roots. The project aims to integrate traditional knowledge with current school science curriculum in alignment with new National Education Policy.
    14. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suspended Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) registration of Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR), for 180 days.
  62. Annual Petersberg Climate Dialogue 2023 co-hosted by Germany and UAE, in Berlin (Germany).
    1. Notably, UAE is chair for 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 2023 (Also called Conference of Parties, COP). COP 28 is to be held in Dubai in Nov-Dec 2023.
  63. Laureus World Sports Awards 2023 -
    1. Sportsman of the year - Lionel Messi (Football, Argentina)
    2. Sportswoman of the year -Shelly-ann Fraser Pryce (Athletics, Jamaica)
    3. Team of the year - Argentina Men's Football Team
    4. Breakthrough of the year - Carlos Alcaraz (Tennis, Spain)
    5. Comeback of the year - Christian Eriksen (Football, Denmark)
    6. Action Sportsperson of the year - Eileen Gu (Freestyle Skiing, US-China)
  64. Book Droupadi Murmu: From Tribal Hinterlands to Raisina Hills written by Kasturi Ray has been released.
  65. 7th edition of biennial joint Indo-UK Army exercise AJEYA WARRIOR-23 conducted at Salisbury Plains (UK).
  66. May 11 - National Technology Day in India.
    1. It marks anniversary of Pokhran Nuclear Tests (Operation Shakti) of 1998. It was coined by late PM Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, as a reminder of India’s technological advancements.
    2. May 11 also marks flight of Hansa-3, India’s first indigenous aircraft which was developed by National Aerospace Laboratories.
  67. Govt announced to develop Indian Carbon Market (ICM), where a national framework will be established to decarbonise Indian economy by pricing Green House Gas (GHG) emission through trading of Carbon Credit Certificates.
    1. It is intended to help India in achieving NDC goal of reducing Emissions Intensity of GDP by 45 % by 2030 against 2005 levels.
  68. World Bank approved $82 million loan for India, towards adoption of global best practices for animal health management to prevent, detect, and respond to endemic zoonotic, transboundary, and emerging infectious diseases.
  69. Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) became 1st Indian city to join global movement on localization of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with launch of An Agenda for Action: Sustainable Urban Transformation, India’s first city-level Voluntary Local Review (VLR).
    1. In 2015, 193 UN member-states adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which consists of 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets.
  70. May 12 - International Nurses Day, Being observed since 1965. It is observed on Birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, noted British social reformer and founder of modern nursing. She was born on May 12, 1820. 2023 Theme is Our Nurses. Our Future.
    1. Also, UN Observes May 12 as International Day of Plant Health, to raise awareness on importance of protecting plant health.
  71. First ASI Govind Swarup Lifetime Achievement award has been conferred on Jayant V. Narlikar (Former ASI President).
    1. In 2022, Astronomical Society of India (ASI) instituted Govind Swarup Lifetime Achievement award to recognise eminent Indian astronomers, in honour of Prof. Govind Swarup, who is regarded as founder of Indian radio astronomy.
  72. Home Ministry formed Model Prisons Act 2023, aimed at addressing gaps in existing colonial-era Prisons Act 1894.
    1. Along with Prisons Act 1894, relevant provisions of The Prisoners Act 1900 and The Transfer of Prisoners Act 1950 have also been assimilated in Model Prisons Act 2023. Old Acts mainly focused on keeping criminals in custody and enforcement of discipline and order in prisons, with no provision for reform and rehabilitation of prisoners.
    2. Model Prisons Act 2023 -
      1. Aims at reforming prison management and ensuring transformation of inmates into law-abiding citizens and their rehabilitation in society.
      2. Will lay more emphasis on safety of women & transgender prisoners and bring transparency in prison management and provide for correction and rehabilitation of prisoners.
  73. Prashant Kumar Mishra & K V Viswanathan have been named new Judges in Supreme Court, taking number of sitting judges in SC to 31 (including Chief Justice), against maximum possible strength of 34.
  74. Noted Indian author Ruskin Bond's new book The Golden Years: The Many Joys of Living a Good Long Life, has been released.
  75. May 13, 2023 is observed as World Migratory Bird Day. It is observed on second Saturday in May and in October. 2023 theme is Water and its importance for Migratory Bird.
  76. Ministry of Corporate Affairs established Centre for Processing Accelerated Corporate Exit (C-PACE), as a step towards centralising strike off process of companies.
    1. C-PACE will help reduce stress on Registry along with keeping registry clean besides availability of more meaningful data to the stakeholders.
  77. Book Guts Amidst Bloodbath : Anshuman Gaekwad Narrative, authored by Aditya Bhushan has been released, based on former cricketer Aunshuman Gaekwad's life.
  78. Ludovit Odor has been named New Prime Minister of Slovakia (Central Europe).
  79. Uttar Pradesh Govt inaugurated online rural education programme Pahal, prepared by state department of secondary education in collaboration with IIT Kanpur.
    1. Under this, free online education will be provided at 10 government secondary schools of state in initial phase, to be expanded across state later.
  80. 2023 IBA Men's World Boxing Championships (Tashkent, Uzbekistan) -
    1. Medal Table -
      1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total
        1  Uzbekistan 5 2 2 9
        2  Kazakhstan 4 1 0 5
        3  Russia 2 0 4 6
        4  Cuba 1 3 2 6
        5  France 1 1 1 3
    2. India won 3 Medals (3 Bronze), ranking 12th (Jointly with Spain). Indian Medalists -
      1. Mohammad Hussamuddin (Featherweight)
      2. Nishant Dev (Light middleweight)
      3. Deepak Bhoria (Flyweight)
  81. Group constituted by Ministry of Power for suggesting measures for Development of Electricity Market in India submitted its report, under chairmanship of Alok Kumar (Power Secretary).
  82. Govt named Ravneet Kaur as Chairperson of Competition Commission of India (CCI).
  83. Govt marked Tungnath Shiva Temple (Uttarakhand) as a national monument. It was built by The Pandavas.
    1. Tungnath is third of Panch Kedar temples, and is also highest temple of Lord Shiva in world (at 12106 feet).
  84. Govt named Praveen Sood as new director general of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
  85. May 15 is observed as International Day of Families, proclaimed by United Nations General Assembly in 1993. 2023 theme is Demographic Trends and Families.
  86. Ashutosh Dixit has been named new Deputy Chief of the Air Staff.
    1. Notably, the position is different from Vice Chief of the Air Staff.
  87. Tata Group Chairman N. Chandrasekaran has been honored with France's highest civilian award Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur, for his contributions in strengthening trade relationships between India and France.
  88. UN General Assembly marked November 26 to be observed annually as World Sustainable Transport Day.
  89. Monthly Trade and Inflation Data (April 2023) -
    1. Inflation and Trade Data for April 2023 -
      1. Wholesale price Index Based (WPI) -
        1. WPI based inflation fell to -.92 % (Negative) in April  2023, which is lowest in 34 months.
        2. WPI Inflation in last 12 months -
          1. March 2023 - 1.34 %
          2. February 2023 - 3.85 % 
          3. January 2023 - 4.73 %
          4. December 2022 - 4.95 %
          5. November 2022 - 5.85 %
          6. October 2022 - 8.39 %
          7. September 2022 - 10.07 %
          8. August 2022 - 12.41 %
          9. July 2022 - 13.93 %
          10. June 2022 - 15.18 %
          11. May 2022 - 15.88 % (30 Year High)
          12. April 2022 - 15.08 %
      2. Consumer Price Index (CPI) Based (retail inflation) -
        1. CPI-based inflation rate for April  2023 fell to 4.7 % (18 month low).
        2. CPI Inflation in Last 12 Months -
          1. March 2023 - 5.66 %
          2. February 2023 - 6.44 %
          3. January 2023 - 6.52 %
          4. December 2022 - 5.72 %
          5. November 2022 - 5.88 %
          6. October 2022 - 6.77 %
          7. September 2022 - 7.41 %
          8. August 2022 - 7.01 %
          9. July 2022 - 6.71 %
          10. June 2022 - 7.01 %
          11. May 2022 - 7.04%
          12. April 2022 - 7.79 % (8 Year High)
      3. Trade -
          1. Overall Trade in April  2023 (Merchandise + Services) -
            1. Overall Imports - 66.40
            2. Overall Exports - 65.02
            3. Overall Trade Deficit - 1.38 Billion USD (21 month low)
          2. Compared to Last Month (March 2023)
            1. Overall Imports - 72.18
            2. Overall Exports - 66.14
            3. Overall Trade Deficit - 6.04 Billion USD
          3. Notably, India’s overall exports stood at highest ever USD 770.18 billion during FY 2022-23, growing 13.84 % over FY 2021-22.
            1. Out of this, Merchandise exports stood at USD 447.46 billion & Services exports at USD 322.72 billion, both a new annual record.
            2. US and UAE retained first and second places respectively as India's largest export destinations, during FY 2022-23. Netherlands rose to third place, replacing China.
            3. In terms of overall trade too (exports + imports), US remained India's top partner in 2022-23, with $128.55 Billion Trade (Exports $78.31 billion & imports $50.24 billion).
  90. May 16 Statehood Day of Sikkim. Sikkim Joined Indian Union as 22nd state on May 16, 1975.
    1. May 16 is also observed as UN International Day of Living Together in Peace.
    2. May 16 is also observed by UNESCO as International Day of Light. It marks anniversary of first successful operation of laser in 1960 by physicist Theodore Maiman.
    3. May 16 is also observed as National Dengue Day in India.
    4. May 16 is also observed as World Agri Tourism Day.
  91. RBI directed banks / regulated entities to ensure complete transition away from London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or Mumbai Interbank Forward Outright Rate (MIFOR), by July 01, 2023.
  92. Annual 6th Indian Ocean Conference 2023 held in Dhaka (Bangladesh), attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on India's Behalf.
  93. Supreme Court ruled in favour of Delhi government on the issue of who controls bureaucracy in national capital.
    1. SC held that legislature has control over bureaucrats in administration of services, except in areas outside legislative powers of National Capital Territory (NCT).
    2. There are three areas outside control of Delhi government - public order, police and land.
  94. May 17 - World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD). It marks establishment of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and also signing of first International Telegraph Convention in 1865 in Paris.
    1. May 17 is also observed as World Hypertension Day.
  95. Govt announced to form 1100 New Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) in Cooperative Sector, to boost vision of Sahkar se Samriddhi.
    1. National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) will set up these FPOs, under its Formation and Promotion of 10,000 FPOs scheme.
    2. Under it, assistance of 33 lakhs is provided to each FPO. Also, assistance of 25 lakhs per FPO is provided to Cluster Based Business Organizations.
    3. With integration of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in FPO scheme, PACS will be able to expand their business in several areas, including higher income generating activities.
  96. Cabinet Approvals (May 17, 2023) -
    1. General -
      1. Approved Production Linked Incentive Scheme 2.0 for IT Hardware with a budgetary outlay of 17000 crores, and tenure 6 years.
        1. Features -
          1. PLI Scheme 2.0 for IT hardware covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers and ultra small form factor devices.
          2. Expected incremental production is 3.35 Lakh crores, with Expected incremental direct employment of 75000.
        2. Notably -
          1. Seeing consistent growth, Electronics manufacturing in India crossed 105 billion USD in 2022, a new benchmark. India also became 2nd largest manufacturer of mobile phones.
    2. MOUs -
      1. Approved signing of Project Collaboration Agreement between Department of Health Research (DHR) and World Health Organization (WHO) for promoting access to high quality affordable assistive technology mainly through fostering research, innovation, and capacity building.
      2. Approved MOU between Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) and Chartered Accountants of the Maldives (CA Maldives).
      3. Approved MoU between Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA).
  97. Noted Nepalese climber Kami Rita Sherpa has set new record for most Mount Everest climbs by a single person, after climbing it for 28th time.
    1. Also, Ex-British Gurkha soldier from Nepal, Hari Budha Magar became first double-amputee climber to climb Mount Everest with artificial legs.
  98. Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways launched Harit Sagar Green Port Guidelines, to help meet vision of achieving Zero Carbon Emission Goals.
    1. These Guidelines envisage ecosystem dynamics in port development and operation while aligning with Working with Nature concept and minimizing impact on biotic components of harbor ecosystem.
  99. Communications & IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched 'Sanchar Saathi portal, which aims to provide various services related to mobile connections and telecommunications. Modules include -
    1. Central Equipment Identity Register, which has been introduced for blocking stolen or lost mobiles.
    2. Know your mobile connections.
    3. Artificial Intelligence and Facial Recognition powered Solution for Telecom SIM Subscriber Verification, to identify fraudulent subscribers.
  100. Govt announced New Union Minister Level appointments -
    1. Arjun Ram Meghwal - Minister of Law and Justice (Independent Charge)
    2. Kiren Rijiju -Minister of Earth Sciences.
    3. S P Singh Baghel - Minister of State in Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
  101. May 18 is Observed as International Museum Day. 2023 Theme is Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing.
    1. On this occasion -
      1. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated International Museum Expo 2023 at Pragati Maidan (New Delhi).
    2. May 18 is also observed as World AIDS Vaccine Day.
    3. May 18, 2023 is also observed by UN as Global Vesak Day, as most sacred day to Buddhists around world. In India, it is observed as Buddha Purnima.
    4. May 18, 2023 also observed as Global Accessibility Awareness Day, marked annually on third Thursday of May.
  102. Book The Indian Metropolis: Deconstructing India’s Urban Spaces, authored by Feroze Varun Gandhi has been released.
  103. Under Clean Note Policy, RBI announced to withdraw ₹2000 denomination banknotes from circulation, though they will continue to be legal tender.
    1. Citizens can deposit ₹2000 banknotes into their bank accounts and/or exchange them into banknotes of other denominations at any bank branch, until Sep 30, 2023.
      1. There is no restrictions on Deposit of ₹2000 into bank accounts. However, exchange of ₹2000 banknotes into banknotes of other denominations can be made upto ₹20000 at a time.
    2. About -
      1. ₹2000 denomination banknote was introduced in Nov 2016, to meet currency requirement of economy after withdrawal of legal tender status of all ₹500 and ₹1000 banknotes.
      2. Printing of ₹2000 banknotes was stopped in 2018-19. Total value of these banknotes in circulation declined from ₹6.73 lakh crore on March 31, 2018 to ₹3.62 lakh crore on March 31, 2023.
    3. Notably, this is different from demonetisation, as ₹2000 banknotes continue to be a legal tender.
  104. Ministry of Tourism organised first Global Tourism Investor’s Summit (GTIS) in New Delhi, As an initiative under India’s 2023 G20 Presidency.
  105. 4th India-Indonesia bilateral Naval Exercise Samudra Shakti-23 conducted in the South China Sea.
  106. Value of defence production in FY 23 (2022-23) crossed Rs 1 lakh crore for first time ever, standing at 1,06,800 crores, compared to 95,000 crores in FY 22 (2021-22).
  107. May 20 is observed as UN World Bee Day.
    1. May 20 is also observed as World Metrology Day. 2023 theme is Measurements supporting the global food system. The date is the anniversary of the signing of the Metre Convention in 1875.
  108. General News / Events (May 11-20, 2023) -
    1. India's first elevated 8-lane access controlled Dwarka expressway of 29.6 km length will be completed in April 2024, being built at cost 9000 crores. 34 meter wide single pillar expressway will connect Dwarka in Delhi to Gurgaon (Haryana).
    2. Ministry of Civil Aviation will organize Wings India 2024 in Hyderabad (Telangana), during January 2024. It will be organized as Asia’s largest commercial, general, and business aviation event.
    3. Home Minister Amit Shah laid foundation stone of permanent campus of National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) at Dwarka (Gujarat).
    4. Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav Inaugurated Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management at ICFRE Dehradun, to help check land degradation and improve soil quality.
      1. He also inaugurated Pashmina Certification Centre (PCC) set up in Wildlife Institute of India (Dehradun).
    5. WCD Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi Early Childhood Care and Education program under Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0, to ensure holistic development of children under 6 years age, with focus on building skills in key development domains identified under NEP.
    6. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) announced to set up an ethanol plant at Una district (Himachal Pradesh).
    7. India and Bangladesh launched 50 start-ups exchange programme, under which 50 Start-ups from both countries will exchange visits to each other’s countries, for exploring partnerships.
    8. University Grants Commission (UGC) launched portals UTSAH (Undertaking Transformative Strategies and Actions in Higher Education) & PoP (Professors of Practice) to facilitate recruitment of experienced professionals. UGC also launched CU-Chayan, a unified faculty recruitment portal for Central Universities.
    9. National Homeopathic Conference Homeocon-2023 held at Dehradun (Uttarakhand).
    10. North Indian Ocean Severe Cyclonic Storm Mocha struck Myanmar & Bangladesh.
    11. Ministry of Education and World Bank organised first workshop on School-to-Work Transition under STARS (Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States) Program in Mumbai.
      1. World Bank sponsored STARS Project is being implemented in 6 States - Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.
  109. 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections -
    1. Indian National Congress won Majority, winning 135 out of 224 seats. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) remained 2nd largest party, with 66 seats.
    2. Siddaramaiah (INC) has been named New Chief Minister of Karnataka, for his 2nd term. Also, D K Sivakumar has been named as Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka.
  110. May 21 is observed as UN International Tea Day, observed since 2020.
    1. May 21 is also observed by UNESCO as World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development.
    2. May 21 is also observed in India as National Anti-Terrorism Day, marking death anniversary of Former PM Rajiv Gandhi.
  111. Govt named Angshumali Rastogi as India’s representative to Montreal (Canada)-based council of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
  112. India won NSC-CAVA Women’s Volleyball Challenge Cup 2023 held in Kathmandu (Nepal), defeating Kazakhstan in final.
  113. New book NTR-A Political Biography, authored by Ramachandra Murthy Kondubhatla has been released, based on life of Noted Telugu Actor and Leader Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (NTR).
  114. Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Girish Chandra Murmu has been re-elected as External Auditor of World Health Organisation (WHO) for 4 year term till 2027.
  115. 2023 Italian Open Tennis -
    1. Men's singles - Daniil Medvedev (Russia). He defeated Holger Rune (Denmark).
    2. Women's singles - Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan).
    3. Men's doubles - Hugo Nys (Monaco) & Jan Zieliński (Poland)
    4. Women's doubles - Storm Hunter (Australia) & Elise Mertens (Belgium)
  116. American space infrastructure developer firm Axiom Space 's Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) to International Space Station (ISS) has been launched onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
    1. The mission was aimed at research for cancer, cloud seeding, and microgravity in space.
    2. Notably, crew included Saudi Arabian Astranauts Ali AlQarni & Rayyanah Barnawi.
  117. May 22 is observed as UN International Day for Biological Diversity. 2023 Theme is From agreement to action: build back biodiversity.
  118. Indian Industrialist (RIL Chairman) Mukesh Ambani has been appointed as member of Advisory Committee to the President of 28th Session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
    1. Notably, UAE is chair for 28th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change 2023 (Also called Conference of Parties, COP). COP 28 is to be held in Dubai in Nov-Dec 2023.
    2. Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE's Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, is President-Designate of upcoming COP28 climate change conference.
  119. ISRO announced to launch its XPoSat (X-ray Polarimeter Satellite) mission later in 2023, as India’s first (and world's 2nd) dedicated polarimetry mission to study various dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources in extreme conditions.
    1. Payloads will include POLIX (Polarimeter Instrument in X-rays, Developed by Raman Research Institute (RRI)) & XSPECT (X-ray Spectroscopy and Timing).
    2. Other such mission is NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE), which was launched in 2021.
  120. Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has been recognized as best bank in managing bad loans, with low net non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio of 0.25% during FY 23. It is best among all banks with business exceeding 3 lakh crores.
  121. Sapta Shakti Command of Indian Army conducted exercise Sudarshan Shakti 2023 along western borders in Rajasthan and Punjab.
  122. May 23 is observed as World Turtle Day.
  123. World Meteorological Congress approved to establish Global Greenhouse Gas Watch as a new greenhouse gas monitoring initiative, to support urgent action to reduce heat-trapping gases which are fuelling temperature rise across globe.
    1. Global Greenhouse Gas Watch will include satellite-based system for observation of CO2, CH4 and N2O concentrations. Notably -
      1. Between 1990 - 2021, warming effect on our climate by long-lived greenhouse gases rose by nearly 50%, with carbon dioxide accounting for about 80% of this increase.
      2. CO2 remains in atmosphere for many decades. Methane is more potent but has a shorter life-span of about 10 years.
  124. R. Dinesh (TVS) has been named as President of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for 2023-24, while ITC MD Sanjiv Puri has been named as President-designate.
  125. Ireland became first country to mandate health labelling on alcoholic drinks, to alert people on various health risks associated with alcohol consumption.
  126. Axis Bank launched Sarathi as first-of-its-kind digital onboarding assistant for merchants to adopt Electronic Data Capture (EDC) or Point of Sale (PoS).
  127. May 24 - Commonwealth Day in India. It is globally observed on Second Monday of March. However, in some nations Including India, it is observed on May 24.
    1. May 24 is Birth Anniversary of Queen Victoria (1819), who was Queen of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. On 1 May 1876, she adopted additional title of Empress of India.
  128. Ministry of Civil Aviation launched UDAN 5.1, to further enhance connectivity to remote areas of country and achieve last mile connectivity through helicopters.
    1. For the first time under RCS-UDAN, this round is designed specifically for helicopter routes.
    2. Features -
      1. Scheme will now allow routes where one of the origin or destination locations is in a priority area. Earlier both points had to be in priority areas.
      2. Airfare caps have been reduced by up to 25% to make flying in helicopters more affordable.
  129. India's AI Supercomputer AIRAWAT PSAI (installed at C-DAC Pune) has been ranked 75th globally, in latest Top 500 Global Supercomputing List releasd at International Supercomputing Conference 2023 in Germany.
    1. AIRAWAT PSAI (AI Research Analytics and Knowledge Dissemination Platform) gives sustained compute capacity of 8.5 Petaflops (Double Precision, Rmax). The peak compute capacity (Double Precision, Rpeak) is 13.17 Petaflops.
      1. Notably, Mixed Precision peak compute capacity is 200 AI for AIRAWAT, planned to be enhanced to 1000 AI Petaflops.
    2. Other 3 Indian Supercomputers on List -
      1. PARAM Siddhi-AI (131) - Installed at Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) Pune, with RPeak of 5.27 Petaflops.
      2. Pratyush (169) - Installed at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, with RPeak of 4.01 Petaflops.
      3. Mihir (316) - Installed at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting, with RPeak of 2.81 Petaflops
    3. Top 3 Globally (with Rmax/Rpeak capacity in Petaflops ) -
      1. Frontier (Oak Ridge National Laboratory, US) - 1194 / 1680
      2. Fugaku (RIKEN Center for Computational Science, Japan) - 442/537
      3. Lumi (Finland) - 309/428
    4. Notably, India announced to acquire its fastest Supercomputer by March 2024, with RPeak of 18 Petaflops. It will be used to improve weather forecasting.
  130. 76th WHO World Health Assembly held in Geneva (Switzerland), with theme WHO at 75: Saving lives, driving health for all.
    1. It was attended by Health and Family Welfare Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on India's behalf.
      1. He also attended BRICS Health Ministers Meeting 2023, held on side-lines of World Health Assembly in Geneva.
      2. India reiterated its goal to eliminate TB by 2025, five years ahead of global Sustainable Development Goal of UN.
  131. Ministry of Education (India) and US Department of State launched India-US Working Group on Education and Skill Development, to enhance cooperation in field of education and skill development.
    1. It is in line with announcement made during 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue held between India and US in Apr 2022.
  132. Notable Points from PM Narendra Modi's Tri-nation tour to Japan, Papua New Guinea & Australia.
    1. Japan -
      1. Attended G7 summit 2023 as an Invited Country, held in Hiroshima. G7 Includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US.
      2. Attended 3rd in-person Quad Summit in Hiroshima, Along with US, Japan, and Australia. Some notable initiatives announced during 3rd Quad Summit -
        1. Clean Energy Supply Chains Initiative, to facilitate research and development and support Indo-Pacific’s energy transition.
        2. Quad Infrastructure Fellowships Programme, to support policy makers in region to design, build and manage sustainable and viable infrastructure in their countries.
        3. Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience, to leverage Quad’s collective expertise in operations of undersea cables, to secure and diversify these critical networks.
        4. Quad support for a small-scale ORAN (Open Radio Access Networ) deployment in oceania nation Palau, the first in the Pacific region.
        5. Quad Investors’ Network, launched as a private sector led platform to facilitate investments in strategic technologies.
    2. Papua New Guinea -
      1. This was first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Papua New Guinea.
      2. Attended 3rd FIPIC (Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation) summit, which was launched during PM Modi’s visit to Fiji in 2014.
        1. FIPIC includes 14 island countries that are located in Pacific Ocean, to the northeast of Australia.
      3. PM Modi was honored with Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu, highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea.
        1. He was also honored with Order of Fiji, the highest honour of Fiji.
    3. Australia -
      1. Announced to open a new Indian consulate in Brisbane. Also, Australia announced establishment of a new Australian Consulate in Bengaluru.
      2. India and Australia signed agreements in field of migration and mobility partnership and on the Green Hydrogen task force.
  133. Karnataka Bank named Srikrishnan Hari Hara Sarma as its MD & CEO.
  134. Bulgarian author Georgi Gospodinov won International Booker Prize 2023, for his Novel Time Shelter. It has been translated into English by Angela Rodel (US).
    1. About -
      1. International Booker Prize (formerly Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in UK.
        1. Background -
          1. Introduction of International Prize to complement Man Booker Prize was announced in 2004. Between 2005 - 2015, the award was given every two years to a living author of any nationality for work published in English or generally available in English translation.
          2. Since 2016, the award has been given annually to a single book translated into English and published in UK/Ireland, with £50,000 prize for winning title, shared equally between author and translator.
      2. Notably -
        1. International Booker Prize is different from Booker Prize, Earlier called Man Booker Prize, which is a literary prize awarded each year for best novel written in English and published in UK / Ireland.
        2. Indian Author Perumal Murugan’s novel Pyre was nominated for 2023 International Booker Prize longlist, Originally written in Tamil under title Pukkuli.
  135. May 25 is observed as World Thyroid Day.
    1. May 25 is also observed as International Missing Children’s Day.
  136. Manoj Soni has been appointed as Chairman of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
    1. Also, Suman Sharma has been named as Member (UPSC).
  137. To Oversee Cheetah Project, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) constituted a Project Steering Committee, headed by Rajesh Gopal (Global Tiger Forum).
  138. Asian Development Bank (ADB) Approved $141 million loan to support development of high-quality internal infrastructure in three industrial clusters in state of Andhra Pradesh.
    1. This financing is 2nd tranche of $500 million multi-tranche financing facility (MFF) for program approved by ADB in 2016.
  139. 2nd edition of bilateral Naval exercise Al Mohed Al Hindi 23 between Indian Navy and Saudi Arabia Navy held at Al Jubail (Saudi Arabia).
  140. Maharashtra govt launched initiative called Shasan Aplya Dari (government at your doorstep), to provide citizens with easy access to government schemes and documents, all in one place.
  141. Kerala became India’s first fully e-governed state, after several initiatives aimed at transforming state into digitally-empowered.
  142. Paytm Money launched a bonds platform for retail investors in India, aimed at easing up investment in government bonds, corporate bonds, and tax-free bonds.
  143. Notable Awardees at 2023 Cannes Film Festival (France) -
    1. Palme d'Or (Best Film) - Anatomy of a Fall by Justine Triet
    2. Best Director - Tran Anh Hung for The Pot-au-Feu
    3. Best Actress - Merve Dizdar for About Dry Grasses
    4. Best Actor - Kōji Yakusho for Perfect Days
    5. Honorary Palme d’Or - Michael Douglas (US) and Harrison Ford (US), for their outstanding career and contributions to cinema.
  144. India's Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) acquired contract to develop a second hydropower project in Nepal, as 669-megawatt (MW) Lower Arun Hydropower project.
    1. 1st SJVN project in Nepal is under-construction 900-MW Arun -III hydroelectric project, on Arun River.
  145. Noted Konkani novelist Damodar Mauzo received 57th Jnanpith Award (for 2022).
    1. Jnanpith Awards, India’s highest literary honour is bestowed on writers for their outstanding contribution to the Literature. It includes cash prize of 11 lakh.
  146. International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2023 Winners -
    1. Best Film - Drishyam 2
    2. Best Director - R Madhavan for Rocketry: The Nambi Effect
    3. Best Actor (Female) - Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi
    4. Best Actor (Male) - Hrithik Roshan for Vikram Vedha
    5. Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) - Mouni Roy for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
    6. Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) - Anil Kapoor for Jugg Jugg Jeeyo
    7. Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal for Rasiya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
    8. Best Playback Singer (Male) - Arijit Singh for the song Kesariya from Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
    9. Best Music Direction - Pritam for Brahmastra: Part One – Shiva
    10. Outstanding Achievement in Indian Cinema - Kamal Haasan
  147. Microsoft launched Jugalbandi AI-driven multilingual chatbot for India's rural areas, to assist farmers. It has been developed in collaboration with IIT Madras initiative AI4Bharat.
  148. Maharashtra Govt marked to observe May 28, the birth anniversary of freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, as Swatantrya Veer Gaurav Diwas in state.
  149. Tayyip Erdogan has been re-elected as President of Türkiye, for his 5th term.
  150. Red Bull's Dutch-Belgian F1 Racer Max Verstappen won Monaco  Grand Prix 2023.
    1. F1 Season 2023 -
      1. Grand Prix Winner Race date
        Bahrain Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 5 March
        Saudi Arabian Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 19 March
        Australian Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 2 April
        Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sergio Pérez (Mexico) 30 April
        Miami Grand Prix Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 7 May
        Monaco Grand Prix  Max Verstappen (Dutch-Belgian) 28 May
        Spanish Grand Prix   4 June
        Canadian Grand Prix   18 June
        Austrian Grand Prix   2 July
        British Grand Prix   9 July
        Hungarian Grand Prix   23 July
        Belgian Grand Prix   30 July
        Dutch Grand Prix   27 August
        Italian Grand Prix   3 September
        Singapore Grand Prix   17 September
        Japanese Grand Prix   24 September
        Qatar Grand Prix   8 October
        United States Grand Prix   22 October
        Mexico City Grand Prix   29 October
        São Paulo Grand Prix   5 November
        Las Vegas Grand Prix   18 November
        Abu Dhabi Grand Prix   26 November
  151. RBI approved Amalgamation of Maratha Sahakari Bank with Pune-based Cosmos Co-operative Bank.
    1. Maratha Sahakari Bank was placed under regulatory directions by RBI in August 2016.
  152. Himachal Pradesh govt announced to formulate state green hydrogen policy, to promote commercial use of hydrogen, using state's abundant renewable energy resources.
  153. RBI Released its Annual Report for FY 23 (2022-23) -
    1. Global -
      1. Global inflation surged to 8.7 % in 2022 from 4.7 % in 2021.
      2. Global trade (goods and services) growth slowed from 10.4 % in 2021 to 5.1 % in 2022.
    2. Indian Economy -
      1. Amidst strong global headwinds, Indian economy recorded real GDP growth of 7.0 % in 2022-23. Real GDP growth for 2023-24 is projected at 6.5 %.
      2. To tackle rising inflation, Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) increased policy repo rate by 250 bps during 2022-23 in phases, from 4.00 % to 6.50 %.
      3. Gross fiscal deficit (GFD) of govt declined from 6.75 % of GDP in 2021-22 to 6.45 % of GDP in 2022-23.
      4. Overall, headline inflation increased to 6.7% in 2022­23 from 5.5% in 2021­22, reaching 8 year peak of 7.8 % in April 2022.
      5. General govt deficit and debt moderated to 9.4% and 86.5% of GDP respectively, in FY23 from peak levels of 13.1% and 89.4% in FY21, respectively.
      6. Key fiscal Indicators (As % of GDP) -
        1. Year Primary Deficit Revenue Deficit Primary Revenue Deficit Gross Fiscal Deficit Outstanding Liabilities@ Outstanding Liabilities$
          2021-22 3.3 4.4 1.0 6.8 58.4 60.1
          2022-23 (Revised estimates) 3.0 4.1 0.6 6.5 56.6 58.0
          2023-24 (Budget estimates) 2.3 2.9 -0.7 5.9 56.6 57.8
    3. RBI Financials in FY 23 (2022-23) -
      1. RBI’s balance sheet grew by 2.50 % in FY 23, to 63.45 Lakh crores.
      2. Key metrices of RBI Financials -
          2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
        Income 1,93,035.88 1,49,672.46 1,33,272.75 1,60,112.13 2,35,457.26
        Total Expenditure 17,044.152 92,540.933 34,146.754 1,29,800.685 1,48,037.046
        Net Income 1,75,991.73 57,131.53 99,126.00 30,311.45 87,420.22
        Transfer to funds 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00
        Surplus transferred to Central Government 1,75,987.73 57,127.53 99,122.00 30,307.45 87,416.22
    4. RBI Assets -
      1. Increase on the asset side was due to rise in foreign investments, gold, and loans and advances by 2.31 %, 15.30 % and 38.33 %, respectively. 
      2. Domestic assets constituted 27.69 % while foreign currency assets and gold (including gold deposit and gold held in India) constituted 72.31 % of total assets.
      3. As on March 31, 2023, total gold held by RBI was 794.63 metric tonnes, compared to 760.42 metric tonnes as on March 31, 2022.
      4. RBI’s holding of domestic securities decreased by 5.53 per cent, from 14.89 lakh crores as on March 31, 2022 to 14.06 lakh crores as on March 31, 2023.
    5. Govt debt -
      1. General government deficit moderated to 9.4% of GDP, while government debt stood at 86.5% of GDP. These figures represent a decline from peak levels of 13.1% and 89.4% recorded in 2020-21, respectively.
    6. FDI Inflows -
      1. Source/Industry 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 (P)
        Total FDI 44.4 50.0 59.6 58.8 46.0
        Country-wise Inflows
        Singapore 16.2 14.7 17.4 15.9 17.2
        Mauritius 8.1 8.2 5.6 9.4 6.1
        US 3.1 4.1 13.8 10.5 6.0
        UAE 0.9 0.3 4.2 1.0 3.4
        Netherlands 3.9 6.5 2.8 4.6 2.5
      2. Top 3 sectors for FDI Inflows - Manufacturing, Financial Services, Computer Services.
    7. NPAs / Bank Frauds -
      1. Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) as share of total advances has decreased from 15.5% in 2018-19 to 5.8% in quarter ending December 2022 (Q3).
      2. 13530 cases of bank frauds were identified in 2022­23 involving an amount of 30252 crores, compared to 9097 frauds amounting 59819 crores in 2021-22.
    8. Currency Notes in Circulation -
      1. Value and volume of banknotes in circulation increased by 7.8% and 4.4%, respectively, during 2022-23.
      2. In value terms, share of ₹500 and ₹2000 banknotes together accounted for 87.9% of total value of banknotes in circulation.
      3. In volume terms, ₹500 denomination constituted highest share at 37.9%, followed by ₹10 denomination banknotes which constituted 19.2% of total banknotes in circulation.
    9. Credit -
      1. Scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) reported credit growth of 15.4 % in FY23, against 9.7 % in FY22.
  154. ISRO launched its GSLV-F12 Mission from SDSC-SHAR (Sriharikota), to deploy NVS-01 navigation satellite, weighing about 2232 kg, into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.
    1. NVS-01 is first of 2nd generation satellites envisaged for Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) services. NVS satellites will sustain and augment NavIC with enhanced features. For first time, an indigenous atomic clock was flown in NVS-01.
  155. 2023 Indian Premier League (16th Edition, Sponsored by TATA) -
    1. Chennai Super Kings won the title (their 5th), defeating Gujarat Titans in Final.
    2. Notable Players -
      1. Most runs - Shubman Gill (Gujarat Titans)
      2. Most Wickets - Mohammed Shami (Gujarat Titans)
    3. Notably -
      1. Kagiso Rabada (Punjab Kings) became fastest to get 100 Wickets in IPL.
      2. Chennai Super Kings batter Ambati Rayudu announced his retirement from IPL.
    4. Also, As per D&P Advisory, IPL became India’s first decacorn Sports league, with valuation of $10.9 billion.
  156. PM Narendra Modi inaugurated new Parliament building in New Delhi, developed As part of India's Central Vista Redevelopment Project.
    1. Features -
      1. Shaped Hexogonally and with area of 2.25 Lakh sq ft (10 % lesser than older house), the new building is designed to have lifespan of over 150 years.
      2. Lok Sabha chamber has 888 seats and Rajya Sabha chamber has 384, to accommodate more members in future as number of MPs may increase with India's growing population.
    2. Notably -
      1. Follwing a Tamil tradition, Adheenam priests handed over a gold-plated scepter, Sengol to PM Narendra Modi, who installed it in Lok Sabha in new Parliament building.
      2. Sengol was originally gifted to First PM Jawaharlal Nehru on eve of Independence (14 August 1947), by a delegation of holy men from Adheenam monastery.
      3. New parliament house also houses a map of Akhand Bharat, depicting spread of an ancient Indian civilization encompassing today's Pakistan in north and Bangladesh and Nepal in east.
    3. On this occasion -
      1. PM Narendra Modi launched a special ₹75 coin to commemorate inauguration of India’s new parliament building, coinciding with celebration of 75 years of independence.
    4. Background -
      1. Proposals for a new parliament building to replace existing complex emerged in early 2010s due to stability concerns with 93 year old older structure, which was constructed between 1921 and 1927. It was largely influenced by Hindu Yogini Temple at Mitaoli.
    5. About Central Vista Redevelopment Project -
      1. It refers to ongoing redevelopment to revamp Central Vista, India's central administrative area located near Raisina Hills (New Delhi), which was originally designed by British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker during British rule.
      2. It aims to revamp -
        1. 3 km long Kartvyapath between Rashtrapati Bhavan and India Gate
        2. Convert North and South Blocks to publicly accessible museums by creating a new common Central Secretariat to house all ministries
        3. New Parliament building with increased seating capacity for future expansion.
        4. New residence and office for Vice-President and Prime Minister and convert some older structures into museums.
      3. Overall Cost is 13450 crores, spread over four years (till 2026).
  157. May 29 is observed as International Everest Day. On this day in 1953, Tenzing Norgay (Nepal) and New Zealand's Edmund Hillary climbed Mt. Everest, as first humans to achieve this feat.
    1. Nepal decided to observe the day as International Everest Day in 2008 when the legendary climber Hillary passed away.
    2. May 29 is also observed as International Day of UN Peacekeepers, with 2023 theme Peace begins with me (75th anniversary in 2023).
    3. May 29 is also observed as World Digestive Health Day, by World Gastroenterology Organisation.
  158. May 30 is statehood day for Goa. On this day in 1987, Goa became 25th state of India. It was a Union Territory along with Daman and Diu from December 1961 onwards when Goa was liberated from Portugese rule.
  159. Ashwani Kumar has been named new MD & CEO of PSB UCO Bank.
  160. Govt. launched ERSO (Electronics Repair Services Outsourcing) Pilot initiative to validate certain transformational policy and process changes to make India Repair Capital of the World, and fetch India upto 20 billion USD revenue in 5 years.
  161. Newly appointed Chief justices in various High courts -
    1. Bombay HC - Nitin Madhukar Jamdar (Acting)
    2. Himachal Pradesh HC - M S Ramachandra Rao
    3. Rajasthan HC - Augustine George Masih
    4. Madras HC - Sanjay V. Gangapurwala
    5. Andhra Pradesh HC - Akula Venkata Sesha Sai (Acting)
    6. Calcutta HC - T. S. Sivagnanam
  162. American Financial Firm Blackstone acquired belgium based diamond, colored stone and jewelry certification organization International Gemological Institute (IGI), for approx 550 Million USD.
  163. Visits from India (May 2023) -
    1. Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh visited Maldives.
      1. During the visit, India handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel and a Landing Craft Assault ship to Maldives National Defence Forces.
      2. He also visited Nigeria, as first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Nigeria.
    2. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan visited Singapore.
  164. Cabinet Approvals (May 31, 2023) -
    1. General -
      1. Approved City Investments to Innovate, Integrate and Sustain 2.0 (CITIIS 2.0) program for 2023-2027, conceived by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in partnership with French Development Agency (AFD), Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), European Union (EU), and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA).
        1. It envisages to support competitively selected projects promoting circular economy, with focus on integrated waste management at city level, climate-oriented reform actions at State level, and institutional strengthening and knowledge dissemination at National level.
        2. Funding for CITIIS 2.0 will include loan of EUR 200 million from AFD and KfW (EUR 100 million each) and assistance grant of EUR 12 million from EU.
        3. CITIIS 2.0 aims to leverage and scale up learnings and successes of CITIIS 1.0, which was launched in 2018.
      2. Approved to establish a Regional Office of Universal Postal Union (UPU) in New Delhi, to undertake UPU’s development cooperation and technical assistance activities in region.
      3. Approved constitution and empowerment of an Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC) for facilitation of World’s Largest Grain Storage Plan in Cooperative Sector, by convergence of various schemes of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
        1. It will be chaired by Minister of Cooperation (Amit Shah Currently).
        2. Schemes to be converged -
          1. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare -
            1. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF)
            2. Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure Scheme (AMI)
            3. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH)
            4. Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)
          2. Ministry of Food Processing Industries -
            1. Pradhan Mantri Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Scheme (PMFME)
            2. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY)
          3. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution -
            1. Allocation of food grains under National Food Security Act
            2. Procurement operations at Minimum Support Price
  165. Central Electricity Authority (CEA) notified National Electricity Plan (NEP) for period 2022-32, including review of last five years (2017-22), detailed plan for next five years (2022-27) and prospective plan for next five years (2027-32).
    1. Likely Installed Capacity for 2026-27 will be approx 610 GW, and 900 GW for 2031-32, up from 416 GW Currently.
      1. Share of non-fossil based capacity will increase to 57.4% by end of 2026-27 and 68.4% by end of 2031-32, from 42.5% currently.
      2. Projection of capacity addition is in line with India's target of achieving non-fossil based installed capacity of 500 GW by 2029-30.
  166. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's National Statistical Office released Provisional Estimates of National Income for 2022-23 and Quarterly Estimates of GDP for quarter January -March of 2022-23 (Q4 FY 23 (2022-23)) -
    1. At Constant Prices ((2011-12) -
      1. GDP estimated at ₹43.62 lakh crores in Q4 FY 23 (2022-23), as against ₹41.12 lakh crore in Q4 FY 22 (2021-22), showing growth of 6.1 %.
        1. GDP Growth for last 4 Quarters -
          1. Q3 FY 23 (2022-23) - 4.4 %
          2. Q2 FY 23 (2022-23) - 6.3 %
          3. Q1 FY 23 (2022-23) - 13.5 %
          4. Q4 FY 22 (2021-22) - 4.1 %
      2. GDP estimated to attain a level of ₹160.06 lakh crores, as against ₹149.26 lakh crore for FY 2021-22, showing growth of 7.2 %.
    2. At Current Prices -
      1. GDP Growth in Q4 (2022-23) came to be 10.4 %.
      2. FY 23 (2022-23) GDP growth came to be 16.1 %.
    3. Also, As per data on Accounts of Union Govt (Provisional) for FY 2022-2023 -
      1. Govt received ₹24,55,706 crore during 2022-23, Notably comprising -
        1. ₹20,97,368 crore as Tax Revenue
        2. ₹2,86,151 crore as Non-Tax Revenue
      2. Total Expenditure incurred by Govt is ₹41,88,837 crore, Notably comprising -
        1. ₹34,52,518 crore on Revenue Account
          1. Out of Total Revenue Expenditure, ₹9,28,424 crore is on account of Interest Payments and ₹5,30,959 crore is on account of Major Subsidies. 
        2. ₹7,36,319 crore on Capital Account.
  167. Visit to India (May 2023) -
    1. Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited India.
    2. Norodom Sihamoni, King of Cambodia visited India.
  168. May 31 is Observed as No Tobacco Day, established by World Health Organization (WHO). 2023 theme is Grow food, not tobacco.
    1. WNTD is one of eight official global public health campaigns marked by WHO, Others are -
      1. World Tuberculosis Day - Mar 24
      2. World Health Day - Apr 7
      3. World Malaria Day - Apr 25
      4. World Immunization Week - Last week of April
      5. World Blood Donor Day - June 14
      6. World Hepatitis Day - July 28
      7. World AIDS Day - Dec 1
  169. General News / Events (May 21-31, 2023) -
    1. 1st Mining Start-up Summit organized by Ministry of Mines in collaboration with IIT Bombay.
    2. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment organized Divya Kala Shakti Program in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), for disabled artists.
    3. Communications and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw launched fibre connectivity at Chardham, along with country's 200000th 5G site (at Gangotri).
    4. PM Narendra Modi flagged off Assam’s (And Northeast region's) first Vande Bharat Express, connecting Guwahati with New Jalpaiguri (West Bengal).
    5. 1st Ministerial meeting of India- EU Trade and Technology Council held in Brussels (Belgium).
    6. National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) and Indian National Science Academy (INSA) jointly launched NCGG – INSA Leadership Programme in Science & Technology (LEADS), to empower scientific leadership with capabilities required to effectively navigate evolving landscape of science and technology.
    7. Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (named after Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee) will be completed by Dec 2023, as longest sea bridge in India.
      1. This 21.8 km 6-lane bridge will connect Mumbai with Navi Mumbai.
    8. International Climate Research Conclave held at DST’s Centre of Excellence in Climate Studies at IIT Bombay. India’s National Climate Research agenda was released on the occasion.
    9. As per 3rd Advance Estimates of production of major crops for agricultural year 2022-23, foodgrain production of 3305.34 Lakh Tonnes is estimated during 2022-23.

Top



Advertisement