QwikStudy Current Affairs - May 23, 2025

 Appointments & Resignations

• Sudan's New PM: Kamil al-Taib Idris was appointed as Sudan's first Prime Minister since the April 2023 civil war. He was appointed by Sudan's army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan and replaced Abdalla Hamdok.
  
  • About Sudan: Capital is Khartoum, Currency is Sudanese Pound.
    
  • Other Recent PM Appointments: Nawaf Salam (Lebanon), Jotham Napat (Vanuatu), Sarra Zaafrani Zenzri (Tunisia), Duro Macut (Serbia), Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Trinidad and Tobago), Mark Carney (Canada), Salem Saleh Bin Braik (Yemen).
    
• Manipur High Court Chief Justice: Justice K. Somashekar, a Judge of the Karnataka High Court, was appointed as the 9th Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court under Article 217(1) of the Constitution. He replaced Justice D. Krishna Kumar.
  
• Other Recent Judicial Appointments:
  • Justice Arun Palli: Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
    
  • Justice Dinesh Maheshwari: Chairperson of the 23rd Law Commission of India (LCI).
    
  • Justice B R Gavai: Next (52nd) Chief Justice of India (CJI).
    
  • Justice Surya Kant: Executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority.
    
  • Former CJI DY Chandrachud: "Distinguished professor" at National Law University (NLU), Delhi.

Banking/Finance/Economy

• EnKash Payment Gateway: EnKash (Mumbai) launched India's first payment gateway specifically for Small to Medium-sized Businesses (SMBs) and Startup merchants.
  
  • About EnKash: Established 2018, HQ Mumbai, MD & CEO Deep Sehgal.
    
• MMRDA Loan from BoM: Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) secured a Rs. 1,500 crore loan from Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) for a 15-year tenure.
  
  • Objective: To redevelop slum areas along the Eastern Express Highway in Ghatkopar (Mumbai), Maharashtra.
    
  • Project Cost: Total cost is Rs. 8,498 crores.
    
  • Rehabilitation: Aims to rehabilitate about 17,000 slum dwellers with free 1 BHK houses of 300 sq ft.
    
  • About Bank of Maharashtra: Established 1935, HQ Pune, MD & CEO Nidhu Saxena, Tagline "One Family One Bank".

MoUs & Agreements

• BEL & Indian Army: Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) signed a contract with the Indian Army Air Defense to manufacture the Integrated Drone Detection and Interdiction System (IDDIS). IDDIS was developed by DRDO and BEL.
  
  • About BEL: Established 1954, HQ Bangalore, Karnataka, CMD Manoj Jain.
    
• India & Maldives: India and Maldives signed 13 MoUs for projects under Indian grant assistance (Phase III of HICDP).
  
  • Objective: To enhance ferry services, expand maritime connectivity, and uplift community livelihoods with a MVR 100 million grant (approx. Rs. 55.3 crore).
    
• Recent Agreements with India:
  • Cotton Association of India (CAI) & Australian Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA): Exchange ideas and data on cotton production, trade trends, global pricing, market outlooks.
    
  • Govt of India & Govt of Israel: Enhance bilateral cooperation in agriculture to boost productivity, innovation, and sustainability.
    
  • India & Denmark: Focus on accelerating clean energy transitions and support India's net-zero emissions goal by 2070.
    
  • Govt of Fiji & Govt of India: Strengthen cooperation in the health sector, including medicines and medical supplies.

National News

• e-Zero FIR for Cybercrime: The Government of India launched e-Zero FIR to strengthen cybersecurity and expedite probes in high-value cyber financial crimes.
  
  • Pilot Project: Launched in Delhi, it automatically converts eligible cybercrime complaints (over Rs. 10 lakh financial frauds) into FIRs.
    
  • Initiated by: Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a nodal agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
    
• Special Apprenticeship Scheme for Northeast Youth: Launched as a pilot under the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS).
  
  • Launched by: Union MoS Jayant Chaudhary and Mizoram CM Lalduhoma.
    
  • Objective: To boost apprenticeship opportunities in the North Eastern Region with structured, paid, high-quality training.
    
  • Outlay: Rs. 43.93 crore.
    
  • Benefit: Approx. 26,000 youths will receive an additional Rs. 1,500/month for one year.
    
  • Target: 1,000 youth to be trained by 2026 through a blended model (classroom and OJT).

International News

• Colombia Joins China's BRI: Colombia officially joined China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) by signing a cooperation pact.
  
  • Impact: Expected to boost Colombia's exports, attract Chinese investment, and improve connectivity.
    
  • About BRI: Launched in 2013 by China, it's a global infrastructure and investment strategy.
    
  • Reach: As of 2024, over 140 countries have joined BRI, covering ~75% of world population and over half of global GDP.

Awards & Honours

• 58th Jnanpith Award: President Draupadi Murmu presented the 58th Jnanpith Award in New Delhi to:
  • Sanskrit Scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.
    
  • Renowned Indian Urdu poet and lyricist Sampooran Singh Kalra, popularly known as Gulzar.
    
  • About Jagadguru Ramabhadracharya: Born 1950, founder of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, awarded Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
    
  • About Gulzar: Born 1934, received Oscar (2009) for "Jai Ho", Sahitya Akademi Award (2002), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (2013), Padma Bhushan (2004), Grammy Award (2010).
    
  • About Jnanpith Award: Started 1965, sponsored by Bharatiya Jnanpith, prize includes Rs 11 lakhs, a citation, and a Vagdevi statue.
    
  • 59th Jnanpith Award: Vinod Kumar Shukla selected, first from Chhattisgarh.
    
• Sansad Ratna Awards 2025: Prime Point Foundation (PPF) announced recipients, honoring 17 MPs and 2 Parliamentary Standing Committees (PSCs).
  
  • Ceremony: 15th edition, scheduled for July 2025 in New Delhi.
    
  • State-wise Awards: Maharashtra leads (7 awards), followed by UP, Jharkhand, Rajasthan (2 each), and Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam (1 each).
    
  • Jury Head: Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Chairman of NCBC.
    
  • Special Awards for "Outstanding and Consistent Contribution to Parliamentary Democracy": Bhartruhari Mahtab, N.K. Premachandran, Supriya Sule, Shrirang Appa Barne.

Summits & Conferences

• 2025 World Hydrogen Summit: Santosh Kumar Sarangi (Secretary, Union Ministry of New & Renewable Energy) addressed the summit in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
  
  • India's Renewable Energy: Installed over 223 GW, including 108 GW solar and 51 GW wind.
    
  • Targets: Energy independence by 2047, net-zero carbon emissions by 2070.
    
  • Green Hydrogen Hubs: Kandla, Paradip, and Tuticorin ports identified.
    
  • National Green Hydrogen Policy (Launched 2023):
    • Goal: 5 million metric tonnes production capacity per year by 2030.
      
    • Averting Emissions: Nearly 50 MMT of annual greenhouse gas emissions.
      
    • Investment & Jobs: Attract USD 100 billion investment, generate over 6 lakh jobs by 2030.

Defence News

• NCC Mount Everest Expedition: An NCC contingent successfully scaled Mount Everest for the third time, after 2013 and 2016.
  
  • Flagged Off by: Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on April 3, 2025.
    
  • Contingent: 10 NCC cadets (5 boys, 5 girls) from all over India, trained at Army Mountaineering Institute, Siachen Base Camp.
  • Age: Average age 19, youngest member 16.

Science & Tech

• ISRO's PSLV-C61 Mission Failure: ISRO's 101st mission, carrying the Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-09) aboard PSLV-C61, failed due to a third-stage (PS3) anomaly.
  
  • Launch Site: Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
    
  • Satellite: EOS-09 (also known as RISAT-1B), 1,696.24 kg, carried a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload.
    
  • Cause of Failure: Drop in chamber pressure within the motor case during the third stage.
    
  • About PSLV: Four-stage launch vehicle. PS1 (solid rocket + boosters), PS2 (liquid-fueled Vikas engine), PS3 (solid rocket motor), PS4 (two Earth-storable liquid engines).
    
  • About ISRO: Established August 15, 1969, HQ Antariksh Bhavan, Bangalore, Chairman V. Narayanan.

Books & Authors

• "The Diary of a Cricketer’s Wife": A memoir written by Puja Pujara (wife of Cheteshwar Pujara) and Namita Kala.
  
• Recent Books:
  • "The Undying Light: A Personal History of Independent India": Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
    
  • "The Johnson & Johnson Files: The Indian Secrets of a Global Giant": Kaunain Sheriff M.
    
  • "India@2047: Leading the Global Economic Order": Shyam Prakash Sharma.
    
  • "Janta Ki Kahani – Meri Aatamkatha": Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya.
    
  • "The Tamils: A Portrait of Community": Nirmala Lakshman.

Important Days

• International Tea Day 2025: May 21 (6th edition).
  
• National Anti-Terrorism Day 2025: May 21 (34th edition).
  
  • Significance: Marks the death anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi (assassinated 1991).
    
• Other Important May Days:
  • May 18: International Museum Day (Theme: The Future of Museums in Rapidly Changing Communities).
    
  • May 18: 28th World AIDS Vaccine Day 2025.
    
  • May 20: 26th World Metrology Day 2025 (Theme: Measurements for all times, for all people).
    
  • May 20: World Bee Day 2025 (Theme: Bee inspired by nature to nourish us all).

State/UT News

• Rajasthan's 'Sangri' Bean Gets GI Tag: Rajasthan's traditional 'Sangri' (slender bean) received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in the agricultural products category.
  
  • Origin: Grows on the Khejri tree (Prosopis cineraria), known as "Wonder of the Thar Desert".
    
  • Khejri Tree: State tree of Rajasthan.
    
  • GI Tags in India: Uttar Pradesh has the highest number (77 GI-certified products).
    
  • About Rajasthan: Capital Jaipur, CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Governor Haribhau Bagade, National Parks (Desert, Keoladeo, Mukundara Hills, Ranthambore, Sariska).
    
• Mizoram Achieves Full Functional Literacy: Mizoram became the first state in India to achieve full functional literacy.
  
  • Key Factor: Government's ULLAS scheme.
    
  • Criteria: 95% or more of the population is functionally literate.
    
  • Note: Ladakh was the first UT/State to achieve this status on June 24, 2024.
    
  • About ULLAS Scheme: Full form "Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society", launched 2022 (Tenure 2022-2027), aims to empower adults aged 15+ who missed schooling.
    
  • About Mizoram: Capital Aizawl, CM Lalduhoma, Governor Vijay Kumar Singh, National Parks (Murlen, Phawngpui Blue Mountain).