Q1. ‘Puneet Sagar Abhiyan’ is the flagship campaign of which institution?

1. Indian Coast Guard
2. National Cadet Corps
3. Border Security Force
4. Indian Navy
5. None of These

Q2. Which company won the bid to build the national capital region’s new airport at Jewar?

1. Adani Group
2. Tata Projects
3. Shapoorji Pallonji Group
4. Larsen & Toubro
5. None of These

Q3. Mahatma Gandhi Setu (bridge), the longest steel bridge in the country, is located in which state?

1. Uttar Pradesh
2. Bihar
3. Gujarat
4. Karnataka
5. None of These

Q4. ‘India’s first e-waste Eco-park’ is to be developed in which state/UT?

1. Karnataka
2. New Delhi
3. Andhra Pradesh
4. Kerala
5. None of These

Q5. India signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to develop privileged relations between Parliaments of India and which country?

1. Germany
2. Chile
3. Mozambiqu
4. Nepal
   
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------2  National Cadet Corps

2--------------------------2    Tata Projects

3--------------------------2    Bihar

4------------------------2    New Delhi

5---------------------3    Mozambique

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal 'Prachanda'  vowed to resolve the vexed boundary dispute in the spirit of friendship even as the two sides signed several major pacts including one on increasing New Delhi's import of power from the neighbouring country to 10,000 megawatt in the next 10 years from the current 450 megawatt.

In the wide-ranging talks between Modi and Prachanda, the Indian side agreed to the first trilateral power trade from Nepal to Bangladesh through India for up to 40 megawatt of power, a move that is seen as a significant step towards ensuring greater regional cooperation.

In his media statement, Modi said both sides will continue to strive in taking the India-Nepal partnership to the "Himalayan heights" and that the important decisions taken at the talks are to make the ties 'superhit' in the future.

In total, the two sides signed seven pacts which included a revised treaty of transit that was described by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra as "once in a generation kind of an agreement" as it would provide Nepal access to inland waterways of India for the first time and expected to contribute very significantly to the expansion of trade and investment linkages.

The two sides also firmed up several new initiatives to expand cooperation in areas of hydroelectric power, petroleum infrastructure, railway connectivity, cross-border payment systems and trade and investment as part of a futuristic approach to strengthen the overall trajectory of ties.

The ties between the two countries came under severe strain after Kathmandu published a new political map in 2020 that showed three Indian territories -- Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh -- as part of Nepal.

India reacted sharply, calling it a "unilateral act" and cautioned Kathmandu that such "artificial enlargement" of territorial claims will not be acceptable to it.

The prime minister also referred to the religious and cultural ties between India and Nepal, saying they are very old and very strong.

Following the talks, Modi and Prachanda remotely unveiled the Kurtha-Bijalpura section of the railway line, virtually flagged off a cargo train from Bathnaha (India) to Nepal Customs Yard and inaugurated Integrated Checkposts (ICPs) at Nepalgunj in Nepal and Rupaidiha on the Indian side.

They also remotely joined the groundbreaking ceremonies for ICPs at Bhairahawa (Nepal) and Sonauli (India), phase-II facilities under the Motihari-Amlekhgunj petroleum pipeline as well as kick-start the project for the construction of the Indian portion of Gorakhpur-Bhutwal transmission line.

At present, India imports around 450 MW of power from Nepal.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old "Roti Beti" relationship.

The country shares a border of over 1850 km with five Indian states - Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services.

Nepal's access to the sea is through India, and it imports a predominant proportion of its requirements from and through India.

The India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations between the two countries.

The Congress welcomed the measures announced by Home Minister Amit Shah to bring back normalcy in Manipur but asked why he did not do this earlier and allowed the state to burn for a month.

In Imphal, Shah said a judicial committee headed by a retired high court chief justice will soon be announced to inquire into the violent clashes that has claimed over 80 lives.

He also announced that a peace committee under Governor Anusuiya Uikey having representatives of all parties, Kuki and Meitei communities and social organisations will be set up.

A CBI probe to look into FIRs alleging five criminal conspiracies and one general conspiracy behind the violence in Manipur was also announced.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said Shah's series of announcements on measures related to bringing Manipur back to normalcy is welcome.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a bilateral meeting with South African Foreign Minister Nalendi Pandor on the sidelines of the BRICS Foreign Ministers Meeting in Cape Town. He also met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The EAM urged all nations to take resolute measures against terrorism. “Among the key threats to international peace and security is that of terrorism. Nations must take resolute measures against it, including its financing and propaganda,” he said, adding that terrorism must be combated in all its forms and manifestations and never be condoned under any circumstances.

Jaishankar met his Russian counterpart Lavrov earlier, and discussed issues of bilateral and global interests.

Jaishankar also met Saudi Arabian FM in Cape Town on the sidelines of the BRICS FM meet. Saudi Arabia is not a member but has expressed interest in joining the grouping.

The EAM is expected to meet other foreign ministers too on the sidelines of the meet. Meanwhile, from South Africa, Jaishankar will travel to Namibia for a visit from June 4 to 6. His visit to Namibia will be the first by an external affairs minister of India to the African nation. 

With great power comes great responsibility, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said quoting a famous dialogue from the Hollywood blockbuster "Spiderman" to emphasise that India's responsibility will increase in sync with its rising global stature.

In an address at an event, Singh also noted that when India emerges as a superpower, it will have to ensure that universal values like democracy, religious freedom, the dignity of human beings and global peace are established all over the world.

The defence minister said the government is working to build a developed India by 2047, focusing on almost all sectors of the country.

Talking about the political landscape in the country, Singh said that political parties are integral to democracy and it cannot survive without them.

At the same time, he rued that many political parties in India do not operate based on any ideology and their politics revolve around a person or a family or a caste.

Dev Shah, a 14-year-old eighth-grader from Florida, who correctly spelled the word "psammophile" has won the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee, a prestigious contest where children of Indian origin have ruled the roost.

Shah correctly spelt the word to win the 95th national bee and the USD 50,000 prize.

After much anticipation about a possible spell-off, a smiling Shah won by correctly spelling 'psammophile,' a plant or animal that thrives in sandy areas, the Washington Post newspaper reported.

This was Shah's third attempt. His previous two attempts were in 2019 and 2021.

Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, was the runner-up.

A half-hour after Shah won, she returned to the stage to offer a congratulatory hug.

In 2022, Harini Logan, a 14-year-old Indian-American eighth-grader from Texas, won the contest, beating Vikram Raju, her compatriot.

The National Bee is a high-profile, high-pressure endurance test as much as a nerd spelling match and spellers spend months preparing for it.

Over the past 20 years, Indian-Americans have been dominating the Spelling Bee contest even though they comprise only about 1 per cent of the US population.

The US Spelling Bee reflects the dominance young children from the small ethnic community have had on this prestigious test for more than a decade now.

Since Balu Natarajan won it in 1985, more than 20 Indian-origin children have been crowned champions at the competition.

The Spelling Bee, which features elementary and middle school students spelling words that would cause most adults to stumble, has had a tumultuous few years.

The National Spelling Bee was launched in 1925.

litre with immediate effect, in line with the global The Centre  has directed edible oil associations to further reduce the maximum retail price (MRP) of major edible oils by Rs 8-12 per market.

The international and domestic prices of edible oil were on an upward swing during 2021-22 due to many geopolitical factors including higher input and logistic costs.

However, the edible oil prices in the international market are witnessing a fall since mid-June 2022

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party president Chaudhry Pervez Elahi, a close aide to former prime minister Imran Khan, was arrested outside his residence.

The former Punjab chief minister's arrest comes amidst the powerful establishment's efforts to break the party of Khan. Currently, over 100 PTI leaders and former lawmakers have quit Khan's party following May 9 attacks on military installations in the country.

Khan, 70, who is facing more than 100 cases ranging from corruption to terrorism, said he sympathises with everyone who were forced to leave the party.