Q1: Who has become Forbes ‘highest-paid athlete for 2023’?
a) Cristiano Ronaldo
b) Lionel Messi
c) Canelo Álvarez
d) LeBron James
Solution: option a.)
According to Forbes, Football player Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) has become the highest-paid athlete in the world for 2023, after moving to Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr.
He has signed a £175 million-a-year contract with Al-Nassr, which will expire in 2025. Lionel Messi (Argentina) ranked second with an earning of $130 million, followed by Kylian Mbappé, LeBron James, and Canelo Álvarez.
Q2: Who will receive the Honorary Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival?
a) Alexia Putellas
b) Mary Earps
c) Micheal Douglas
d) Darren Gough
Solution: option c.)
Veteran Hollywood star Michael Douglas will be felicitated with an honorary Palme d’Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. Douglas will be recognized for his brilliant career as well as his contribution to cinema, the festival organizers said in a statement.
The festival will pay tribute to the 78-year-old actor during the opening ceremony on May 16.
It’s an honour to return to the prestigious film gala and attend the opening ceremony, said Douglas, who has delivered hits such as The China Syndrome, Wall Street, Fatal Attraction, Basic Instinct and Behind the Candelabra in his career of over 50 years.
Q3: Who has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of Coal India Limited?
a) Praveer Sinha
b) PM Prasad
c) Niranjan Gupta
d) Ajay Singh
Solution: option b.)
Polavarapu Mallikharjuna Prasad has been appointed as the chairman and managing director of Coal India Limited.
He is currently posted as CMD of Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), Ranchi. In 2019, he was also appointed as CMD of BCCL.
The Union coal ministry has set a target for Coal India Limited to produce 1012 MT of coal by 2023-24.
Headquarters: Kolkata
Founded: November 1975
Q4: What is the name of the portal which was launched by UGC for unified faculties’ recruitment?
a) CU- Chayan
b) MU- Chayan
c) DU- Chayan
d) TU- Chayan
Solution: option a.)
Unified Portal, CU-Chayan launched by UGC
University Grant Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar launched a new recruitment portal called CU-Chayan for Central University faculty, declaring it to be completely user-friendly and suitable for the needs of all the stakeholders in the recruitment process.
What does CU-Chayan portal offer?
The CU-Chayan portal is a unified recruitment platform tailored specifically to recruiting faculties in Central Universities.
The portal serves as a common platform for listing vacancies, job advertisements, and postings across all Central Universities.
Moreover, the registration and application process is entirely online, from application to screening to alerts for portal users.
The CU-Chayan portal offers a personalized dashboard that is built to manage the application process. It provides transparency and access to every facet of the recruitment process.
Q5: Which state government will implement an insurance scheme ‘Geetha Karmikula Bheema’ for toddy tappers?
a) Telangana
b) Kerala
c) Andhra Pradesh
d) Karnataka
Solution: option a.)
The Telangana government has announced a new insurance scheme for toddy tappers called ‘Geetha Karmikula Bhima.’
The scheme is similar to the ‘Rythu Bhima’ program for farmers and is aimed at providing financial assistance to the families of toddy tappers who die due to accidents while collecting toddy from palm trees in the fields.
Insurance Amount and Disbursement Process:
Under the new scheme, an insurance amount of Rs. five lahks will be deposited directly into the bank account of the family members of the deceased toddy tapper.
The insurance amount will be disbursed within a week of the accident, which is much faster than the current ex-gratia process.
The Chief Minister of Telangana, K Chandrasekhar Rao.
Q6: Which bank enabled an electronic bank guarantee facility for customers in May 2023?
a) SBI
b) PNB
c) South Indian
d) ICICI
Solution: option c.)
South Indian Bank has introduced e-BG (Electronic Bank Guarantee) facility for its customers in partnership with National E-Governance Service Ltd (NeSL). It facilitates API-based paperless issues of bank guarantees, eliminating the need for physical documentation and record maintenance.
The bank issued its First e-BG favouring a leading public sector unit for an amount of Rs 4.57 crore through NeSL.
South Indian Bank’s customers can now procure e-BGs for beneficiaries on-board NeSL. Paper-based BGs involve stamping, signing and transferring the physical BGs, while e-BGs are stamped electronically, eliminating the need for purchasing physical stamp paper, printing the documents and physical signatures.
South Indian Bank Limited is a major private sector bank headquartered at Thrissur in Kerala, India. South Indian Bank has 933 branches, 4 service branches, 1 extension counter and 18 Regional Offices spread across India. The bank has also set up more than 1,200 ATMs and 120 Cash Deposit Machines.
Q7: Which institute and BIS (Bank for International Settlements) launched G20 TechSprint 2023?
a) SEBI
b) RBI
c) IRDA
d) LIC
Solution: option b.)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday launched G20 TechSprint, a global technology competition for developing innovative solutions to improve cross-border payments.
Under India’s G20 Presidency, the RBI and the BIS Innovation Hub (BISIH) of the Bank for International Settlements have jointly launched the fourth edition of the G20 TechSprint.
The 2023 TechSprint will focus on solutions for three challenges cross-border payments face. The first focus would be Anti Money Laundering and Sanctions technology solutions to reduce illicit finance risk.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is an international financial institution owned by central banks that “fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks”.
Headquarters: Basel, Switzerland
Founded: 17 May 1930
Founders: Montagu Norman, 1st Baron Norman, Hjalmar Schacht
Q8: India’s First Undersea Tunnel to set up in which city in November 2023?
a) Bengaluru
b) Chennai
c) Kolkata
d) Mumbai
Solution: option d.)
The tunnels begin close to Girgaon (before Marine Drive), travel under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty, and Malabar Hill, and finally terminate at Priyadarshini Park.
The high-speed coastal route aims to reduce the 45-minute peak-time trip from Gurgaon to Worli to only 10 minutes.
The diameter of the tunnels is 12.19 meters which is 17-20 meters below sea level.
About 1 kilometre part is under the sea. (2.07-km tunnels) The construction of tunnels is a part of the Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) being built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Q9: Which state ranked The Most ‘Innovative’ State by the National Manufacturing Innovation Survey?
a) Kerala
b) Karnataka
c) Goa
d) Maharashtra
Solution: option b.)
The National Manufacturing Innovation Survey 2021-22 was recently released by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
The survey found that Karnataka, overall, is the most “innovative” State, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu (DNH&DD), Telangana, and Tamil Nadu.
Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu had the highest share of innovative firms at 46.18%, 39.10% and 31.90%, respectively, with Odisha, Bihar, and Jharkhand reporting the lowest share of such firms at 12.78%, 13.47% and 13.71%.
Q10: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has recently unveiled a statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in which country?
a) Fiji
b) Indonesia
c) Maldives
d) Mauritius
Solution: option b.)
• Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has unveiled a statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Mauritius.
• The sculpture was created in India by a Delhi-based artist and sent to Mauritius in a container ship.
• Fadnavis also announced a grant of 44 million Mauritius rupees for building a multi-purpose hall and a scholarship for 10 students. • Also, an MoU was signed between the Economic Development Board of Mauritius and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to establish a platform for investment between the Western State and the island nation.
• Capital – Port Louis
Q11: Indian Army recently conducted the ‘Buland Bharat’ exercise in the longest high-altitude Artillery Ranges in which state?
a) Sikkim
b) Arunachal Pradesh
c) Mizoram
d) Himachal Pradesh
Solution: option b.)
Buland Bharat Exercise is an integrated surveillance and firepower training exercise conducted by the Indian Army.
It was conducted in the recently operationalised longest High Altitude Artillery Ranges of Eastern Theatre located in Arunachal Pradesh.
Arunachal Pradesh CM: Pema Khandu
Arunachal Pradesh Governor: Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik
Arunachal Pradesh Capital: Itanagar
Q12: The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, is participating in the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2023, being held in which country?
a) UAE
b) Saudi Arabia
c) Russia
d) USA
Solution: option a.)
The ATM 2023 is a leading global event for the travel and tourism industry, attracting visitors and exhibitors from around the world.
The Indian pavilion is participating in the ATM 2023 event with the theme “Incredible India”.
It shall showcase India’s rich cultural and natural heritage, including its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, wildlife sanctuaries, and spiritual destinations.
Q13: The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), New Delhi celebrated its ___ th Foundation they on May 02, 2023.
a) 65
b) 60
c) 55
d) 50
Solution: option b.)
IIFT celebrates 60th Foundation Day
Established in 1963, IIFT is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
It is a leading business school in India with its main campus in New Delhi and additional campuses in Kolkata and Kakinada.
It also functions as a civil services training institute Late Shri HD Shourie was the founding Director General, who laid the foundation of IIFT with the motto, ‘Excellence is a way of life’.
Q14: India to build Harbour for which country Coast Guard?
a) Sri Lanka
b) Mauritius
c) Maldives
d) Thailand
Solution: option c.)
India and Maldives launched the construction of ‘Ekatha Harbour’ for the Coast Guard of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
The foundation stone for the Coast Guard ‘Ekatha Harbour’ was laid by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart, Mariya Didi, at Sifavaru in Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) a toll, where India is assisting in the construction of a naval dockyard.
This is the biggest grant-in-aid project in India in the Maldives. UTF project The UTF project, announced during External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit in February 2021, has been at the centre of a political controversy in the Maldives.
Q15: Olympic silver medalist Amos banned for 3 years is associated with which sports?
a) Swimming
b) Shooting
c) Sprinting
d) Ice Hockey
Solution: option c.)
The runner from Botswana tested positive for the banned substance GW1516 last year in the run-up to the track world championships and received a reduction on the standard four-year ban because he admitted to the charges. The ban rules Amos out of next year’s Paris Olympics.
The 29-year-old Amos is a three-time Olympian who has won titles at the African Championships and Commonwealth Games. His time of 1 minute, 41.73 seconds from the 2012 Olympics remains the world junior record.
Q16: International Firefighters Day is observed on which date?
a) 4 May
b) 5 May
c) 6 May
d) 7 May
Solution: option a.)
International Firefighters’ Day (IFFD) is observed every year on 4 May to honour and pay tribute to the great work done by the firefighters while protecting the life and property of people.
Firefighters put their lives at risk, work tirelessly, and volunteer anytime to prevent the damages caused by fire accidents.