News

Who has been appointed as the chairman of IRDAI ?                                                Subhash Chandra Khuntia

Former IAS officer Subhash Chandra Khuntia was on May 01, 2018 appointed as the new chairman of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) for a three year term or till the age of 65 years whichever is earlier after the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) gave its nod to his appointment. Khuntia succeeded T. S. Vijayan who completed his five-year term as IRDAI Chief in February, this year. Khuntia is a 1981-batch Karnataka Cadre IAS officer. He has vast administrative experience in several central government departments like finance ministry, HRD Ministry and Petroleum and Natural Gas department.

Lieutenant–General Sukhdeep Sangwan became the DG of                                                            Assam Rifles

Lieutenant–General Sukhdeep Sangwan, an alumnus of the Chennai-based officers training School, assumed office of the Director–General of Assam Rifles on May 14, 2018. He is the 20th DG of the Assam Rifles, India’s one of the oldest paramilitary forces. He succeeded Lt. Gen. Shokin Chauhan on this post.

Who has been appointed the CMD of Coal India Limited ?                                                             Anil Kumar Jha

Anil Kumar Jha was on May 18, 2018 appointed the chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Coal India Limited, the prominent state-owned coal mining company. Prior to this new assignment, he was the CMD of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. Jha succeeds acting Chairman Suresh Kumar as the CMD of the CIL. He will remain the CMD of CIL till January 31, 2020, the date of his superannuation.

Who became the first Indian father-daughter duo to climb Mount Everest ?                            Ajeet Bajaj and his daughter Deeya Suzannah

Ajeet Bajaj and his 24-year-old daughter Deeya Suzannah Bajaj successfully scaled together Mount Everest on May 16, 2018, becoming the first father-daughter duo from India to climb Everest, the highest peak of the world. Deeya and her father reached the summit from the Tibet-China or the north side. In 2012, Ajeet and Deeya became the first Indians to ski across the Greenland Ice cap.

Which Indian state made it compulsory for students to answer roll calls by saying ‘Jai Hind’ ?                    Madhya Pradesh

The Madhya Pradesh state government on May 15, 2018 issued an order that makes it compulsory for students to answer roll calls with ‘Jai Hind’ to mark their attendance in schools, replacing the usual and traditional ‘yes sir’ or ‘yes madam’ as the roll call answer. This new norm will be applicable in all state-run schools from the next academic session. The main objective of this decision is to instill patriotic sense and feelings among the students. In September, 2017 School Education Minister Vijay Shah had announced that students of government schools in Satna district would answer their rolls calls with ‘Jai Hind’ from October 1 on an experimental basis. After initial success, the order was issued for the whole state’s government school now.

Mahathir Mohamad was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of                                                                  Malaysia

Mahathir Mohamad was on May 10, 2018 sworn in as Malaysia’s seventh Prime Minister, ousting his predecessor Najib Razak from power through a stunning general election win. Malaysia’s constitutional Monarch Sultan Muhammad V administered the oath of office to Mr. Mahathir at a ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. Mahathir is referred to as the ‘Father of Modern Malaysia’, a name he earned during his previous 22 years in power until 2003. 92 years old Prime Minister became the oldest elected head of a country in the world.

Who became the first female director of the CIA ?                                                                                  Gina Haspel

Gina Haspel was on May 21, 2018 sworn in as the director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the American Spy Agency. Gina is the first female director of the CIA. The US Senate approved her nomination to the top CIA post by a 54 to 45 vote on May 17. She succeeded Mike Pompeo, who is now President Trump’s new secretary of state, on this post. She has served the CIA for more than three decades. Haspel, a native of Kentucky, is the first career operations officer to be elevated to the top CIA post since William Colby in 1973.

Who scaled Mount Everest for record 22nd time to set a record of most ascents of the world’s highest peak ?   Frank-Walter Steinmeier

48-year old Nepali mountaineer Kami Rita Sherpa successfully scaled Mount Everest, the 8,850-metre world’s highest peak on May 16, 2018 for record 22nd time, creating a new record for the most ascents of Mount Everest. Kami Sherpa reached the summit via the Southeast Ridge route, accompanied by 13 other climbers. Kami Sherpa bettered the previous record of 21 Mount Everest ascents held by Apa Sherpa, Phurba Tashi Sherpa and himself by his 22nd successful ascent of Everest. In the meanwhile, Lhakpa Sherpa improved her own record of the most ascents of Mount Everest by a woman, by climbing it successfully for the ninth time.

Which country unveiled the world’s first floating nuclear power station ?                                                      Russia

Russia on May 19, 2018 unveiled the world’s first floating nuclear power station named the ‘Akademik Lomonosov’ at a ceremony at port city of Murmansk. Built in St. Petersburg shipyard by Russian state nuclear power firm Rosatom, the Akademik Lomonosov can produce enough electricity to power a town of 200,000 residents. It has length of 144 metres and width of 30 metres. It has displacement of 21000 tonnes. It is loaded with two 35 megawatt nuclear power reactors. The world’s first floating nuclear power plant built in Russia is named after Mikhail Lomonosov, a Russian academician.