Correct Answer : Option (C) - Ben Whishaw

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Ben Whishaw has received the best leading actor award for his role in 'This is Going to Hurt (BBC One)' at the BAFTA TV Awards 2023.

While Kate Winslet won the leading actress award for her role in I Am Ruth (Channel 4).

Other awards :

* Drama series: Bad Sisters (Apple TV Plus)
* Mini-series: Mood (BBC Three)
* International: Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (Netflix)
* Supporting actor: Adeel Akhtar – Sherwood (BBC One).

Source : Independent

Correct Answer : Option (A) - NASA

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NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program has launched a second football-stadium-sized, heavy-lift super pressure balloon (SPB) from Wānaka Airport, New Zealand, on a technology mission aimed for 100 days or more of flight in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

* “To have two long-duration super pressure balloons in flight at the same time performing science in the Southern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes has been a goal more than 15 years in the making, and I’m so thrilled that on this day, we did it!” said Debbie Fairbrother, NASA’s Scientific Balloon Program chief. “I could not be prouder of our balloon and science teams for their accomplishment. With these two flights, we are setting ourselves up to support more and more-advanced science in the coming years.”

* Flying on this second balloon is the Extreme Universe Space Observatory 2 (EUSO-2), a science mission from the University of Chicago that aims to build on data collected during a 2017 mission.

* EUSO-2 will detect ultra-high energy cosmic-ray particles from beyond our galaxy as they penetrate Earth’s atmosphere. The origins of these particles are not well known, so the data collected from EUSO-2 will help solve this science mystery. Along with EUSO-2 being a science mission of opportunity, the overall goal of the mission is to test and qualify the super pressure balloon technology for flight.

* This balloon launch is the second and final for NASA’s 2023 New Zealand balloon launch campaign. The first balloon launched at 11:42 a.m. NZST, Sunday (16 April 2023) (7:42 p.m. April 15 in U.S. Eastern Time). That mission is performing nominally and has already completed three revolutions about the Earth’s southern hemisphere flying at about 108,000 feet..

Source : NASA

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Arinze Ifeakandu

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* Writer Arinze Ifeakandu has won Swansea University's Dylan Thomas Prize 2023 for a “kaleidoscopic reflection of queer life and love in Nigeria”,  for his debut book God’s Children Are Little Broken Things ' at a ceremony in London on May 11, 2023.

* Started in 2006, the Dylan Thomas Prize is "awarded for the best published literary work in the English language, written by an author aged 39 or under," reads a statement on their website. It further reads, "the Prize celebrates the international world of fiction in all its forms including poetry, novels,

* His debut book is God’s Children Are Little Broken Things', which is a collection of nine short stories on the themes of queer life, love, and humanity...

Source : India Times.

Correct Answer : Option (C) - Hriday Hazarika and Nancy Mandhotra

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Indian shooters Hriday Hazarika and Nancy Mandhotra have bagged silver medals in the men’s and women’s 10 meter air rifle events, at the ongoing ISSF World Cup 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

* It was the first-ever ISSF World Cup medal for 21-year-old Hriday Hazarika as well as 19-year-old Nancy Mandhotra.

* Hazarika made it to the men’s 10m air rifle final.

* The Baku meet is the penultimate stage of the ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol shooters.

* The final stage will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before the ISSF World Championships in November at Doha.

* India have sent a 34-member team to the ISSF World Cup Baku 2023. The event will end today. .

Source : AIR

Correct Answer : Option (D) - 4th

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INS Kavaratti, indigenously designed & built ASW Corvette, arrived at Batam, Indonesia to participate in the 4th edition of India-Indonesia Bilateral exercise Samudra Shakti-23 from 14-19 May 23.

* An Indian Navy Dornier Maritime Patrol aircraft and Chetak helicopter is also participating. The Indonesian Navy will be represented by KRI Sultan Iskandar Muda, CN 235 Maritime Patrol Aircraft and AS565 Panther Helicopter.

* Exercise Samudra Shakti is aimed at enhancing interoperability, jointness and mutual cooperation between both the navies.

* The Harbour phase will comprise Cross deck visits, professional Interactions, Subject Matter Expert Exchanges, and sports fixtures.

* During the Sea Phase, weapon firing, Helicopter Operations, Anti-submarine warfare & air defence exercises and boarding operations are planned.

* Samudra Shakti -23 will showcase the high level of interoperability between the two navies and their shared commitment towards peace and stability in the region...

Source : PIB

Correct Answer : Option (B) - Indian National Congress

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* After the BJP’s debacle in the Karnataka Assembly polls, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has stepped down from the post.

* The Congress has won 135 seats, well above the majority mark of 113 seats in a 224-seat state Assembly.

* The BJP, on the other hand, is set to finish with 65 seats.

* As the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) office swung into celebrations after the party’s resounding victory in the Assembly polls, top Congress leaders including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, state party chief DK Shivakumar, and former CM Siddaramaiah displayed a show of strength during a press conference there.

* Will it be Siddaramaiah or DK Shivakumar? All eyes are now on who the Congress will pick as the next chief minister.



Source : Eci.gov

Correct Answer : Option (B) - RBI

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has joined forces with the Global Financial Innovation Network (GFIN) to participate in the Greenwashing TechSprint.

The event aims to address concerns surrounding exaggerated, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials. The TechSprint will bring together 13 international regulators, firms, and innovators to develop a tool that could help regulators and the market more effectively tackle the risks of greenwashing in financial services.

RBI’s participation in the TechSprint : The RBI will be among the 13 international regulators taking part in GFIN’s Greenwashing TechSprint. The central bank has invited Indian firms to participate in the event and has opened the application window for all India-based firms and innovators to apply. The window will close on May 21, 2023. RBI will participate in a virtual TechSprint hosted on the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) Digital Sandbox.

Objective of the TechSprint : The objective of the Greenwashing TechSprint is to develop a tool that can help regulators and the market more effectively tackle or mitigate the risks of greenwashing in financial services. Firms will get the opportunity to work with regulatory experts, a variety of stakeholders, and professionals from across the globe to develop the tool. The TechSprint will launch on June 5, 2023, and will run for three months, ending with a showcase day in September 2023.

Support for firms interested in participating : The GFIN will provide an information pack for firms interested in participating in the event to support the application process. Firms that are successful in their applications will proceed through to on-boarding, which will take place on June 1 and 2. This will provide firms with training on the Digital Sandbox and an in-depth overview of the TechSprint process.

Addressing concerns of greenwashing : The TechSprint aims to address concerns surrounding greenwashing, which is the practice of making exaggerated, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about the environmental benefits of a product, service, or investment opportunity. Greenwashing can mislead investors and consumers and harm the overall goal of promoting sustainable finance. The development of a tool to tackle greenwashing risks in financial services is, therefore, an important step towards promoting transparency and credibility in ESG investing...

Source : Economic Times

Correct Answer : Option (A) - Cochin Port

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* The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways honoured the Cochin Port Authority (CPA) with the Sagar Shreshtha Sammaan for the best turnaround time in non-container category during 2022-23.

* Minister for Ports and Shipping Sarbananda Sonowal presented the award to CPA Chairperson M. Beena in New Delhi on Wednesday (10th May 2023).

* The award is in recognition of the ‘excellent performance of the Cochin Port in handling dry bulk and liquid bulk cargo vessels’.

* The port recorded 48 hours in turning around vessels of an average parcel size of 43,800 MT. The turnaround time is an important performance parameter. The function was attended by senior functionaries of the Ministry, major ports and industry representatives..

Source : The Hindu

Correct Answer : Option (C) - 13 Balls

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Yashasvi Jaiswal, a player for the Rajasthan Royals, has been performing exceptionally well in the IPL 2023. During a match against the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens on Thursday (11th May 2023), he set a new record by scoring the fastest 50 in IPL history, achieving this feat in just 13 balls.

This surpassed the previous record held by KL Rahul and Pat Cummins, who both reached 50 in 14 balls while playing for Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders, respectively.

Although Jaiswal’s 13-ball 50 is the quickest in IPL history, it ranks as the second-fastest 50 in the T20 format.

The record for the fastest 50 in T20s is held by former Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh, who achieved it in 12 balls against England in 2007..

Source : Hindustan Times

Correct Answer : Option (B) - 4.7%

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India’s retail inflation in the month of April 2023 eased to an 18-month low of 4.70%, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Friday (12th May 2023).

* At 4.70, the consumer price index (CPI) in April 2023 remained below the upper threshold of the Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term 4+/- 2% target.

* The country’s headline inflation remained within the tolerance range of the RBI for the second consecutive month. In March 2023, India’s headline inflation stood at 5.66%.

* The consumer food price index (CFPI) eased to 3.84% in April, as against 4.79% in March.

* Meanwhile, the rural inflation in April stood at 4.68%, and the urban inflation came at 4.85 per cent.

* In a bid to keep inflation under the tolerance band, the RBI since 2022 May has hiked the key lending rate –repo rate — by 250 basis points. The RBI’s repo rate currently stands at 6.50 per cent.

* India’s industrial output in March grew 1.1%, the NSO stated in separately released data. Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 2.2% in March 2023.

* The manufacturing sector’s output increased by 0.5% in March while the mining output increased 6.8% in the same month, the data showed.

* India’s power output in March declined by 1.6 in March. In fiscal 2023, the IIP grew 5.1% in 2022-23, as compared to 11.4% in FY2021-22..

Source : Indian Express