Q1. The defence ministers of India, Russia, China and other member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Apr 28  deliberated on pressing regional security challenges and related issues at a conclave hosted by

1. Russia
2. China
3. India
4. Uzbekistan
5. None of These

Q2. Name the Arunachal Pradesh BJP MLA whose election was declared void by the Gauhati High Court for concealing information about her properties in the election affidavit ?

1. Dangwimsai Pul
2. Kalikho Pul
3. Dasanglu Pul
4. Pema Khandu
5. None of These

Q3. Name the  state government  will roll out air ambulance service from April 28 , in a first-of-its-kind initiative to boost medical transport facilities to higher medical centers in emergency-like situations?

1. Uttarakhand
2. Jharkhand
3. Bihar
4. Odisha
5. None of These

Q4. India will set up 157 government nursing colleges in co-location with existing medical colleges over the next two years in 27 states and Union territories at a cost of

1. Rs 1,570 crore
2. Rs 1,000 crore
3. Rs  970 crore
4. Rs   875 crore
5. None of These

Q5. Name the former JD(U) leader, a regular on TV debates who has  joined the BJP on  Apr 28  in the presence of Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

1. Neeraj Kumar
2. Anshul Avijit
3. Bhakta Charan Das
4. Ajay Alok
5. None of These

Answers

1---------------3    India

2---------------3   Dasanglu Pul

3--------------2    Jharkhand

4--------------1    Rs 1,570 crore

5--------------4   Ajay Alok

A team comprising officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation reached the residence of Former Governor of Jammu and Kashmir Satyapal Malik on Apr 28  at R K Puram in New Delhi post noon, to record his depose on the agency’s queries in connection with the two graft cases mounting to Rs 300 crore in a group medical insurance scheme of J&K administration, registered in April 2022, based on bribery allegations levelled by him.

The CBI contacted Malik last week seeking his time to record his statements for further clarity in the matter in view of questions and clarification sought from him in the case which is at present under investigation.

Malik had offered to make himself available tentatively either on April 27 or 28 depending upon his availability in view of his busy personal schedule.

This is the second time CBI is recording Malik’s statement in connection with the two bribery cases registered in J&K, based on his (Malik’s) complaint that he was approached by private parties, when she was the J&K Governor, to get two files cleared for which he was offered an alleged bribe of Rs 300 crore.

He appeared before the CBI to depose for the first time in the matter immediately after his tenure as J&K Governor ended on October 4.

The incident happened between August 23, 2018, and October 30, 2019, when Malik was the governor of J&K. In his complaint, Malik had mentioned that he was approached by two private entities — one associated with a well-known corporate house and the other with well-placed political connections to get two files cleared.

The files were pertaining to awarding of a contract for a group medical insurance scheme for government employees and civil work worth Rs 2,200 crore related to the Kiru hydroelectric power project in the erstwhile state of J&K, now a union territory.

Following allegations of irregularities in the award of contract for the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Health Care Insurance Scheme which involved releasing Rs 60 crore in 2017-18, Malik at the capacity of J&K Governor cancelled the contract in October 2018. The allegation mainly pertained to the process adopted and rates fixed under the scheme.

Malik, who was the J&K Governor from August 2018 to October 2019, had made the disclosure at a gathering during an event in Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan in October 2021 following which the CBI in April 2022 registered the two FIRs in connection with bribery allegations levelled by him.

The Rajasthan incident was reported in the media where Malik was quoted alleging that two files came to him for clearance, one belonging to Ambani and another to an RSS-affiliated man who was a minister in the previous Mehbooba Mufti-led PDP-BJP coalition government and claimed to be very close to the Prime Minister.

He told the gathering that secretaries of the two relevant departments told me that he would get “Rs 150 crore each for clearing the files to which he responded by saying “I have come with five kurta-pyjamas and will leave with that only.” He later informed the gathering that he cancelled both deals after the secretaries alerted him that there was a scam.

Former JD(U) leader Ajay Alok, a regular on TV debates, joined the BJP on  Apr 28  in the presence of Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Joining the BJP is like coming to a family, Alok said, vowing to contribute to the "Modi mission".

He has been a strong defender of the BJP's policies and is seen by the party as a sharp and articulate voice.

He was expelled by the JD(U), the ruling party in Bihar, last year as it believed him to be close to R C P Singh, the party's former president who quit following a fallout with its supreme leader and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

The Calcutta High Court on Apr 27  ordered the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to probe into the violence during Ram Navami celebrations in West Bengal’s Howrah, Hooghly and South Dinajpur districts last month.

Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP and others, the high court directed transfer of the investigation into violence at Shibpur in Howrah and Rishra in Hooghly district to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) from the West Bengal Police.

India will set up 157 government nursing colleges at a cost of Rs 1,570 crore in co-location with existing medical colleges over the next two years in 27 states and Union territories. The step will add approximately 15,700 nursing graduates every year.

The announcement was made by Union health minister Mandsukh Mandaviya on Apr 26 after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For each nursing college, financial assistance of Rs10 crore would be provided, the health minister said. There is a great imbalance in the country as 40% of Indian nursing colleges are in four southern states, while on the other hand, there are 13 such states where there are no nursing colleges, he said. Citing examples, the minister said in Bihar there are only two government nursing colleges, besides 10 private ones. Now, Bihar will get 8 nursing colleges.

In the same manner, Uttar Pradesh has 10 government nursing colleges, Rajasthan 11, Madhya Pradesh 11, and Jharkhand 1. Now, under the new policy, these states will get as many nursing colleges as there are medical colleges, he added. The maximum number of nursing colleges will be set up in Uttar Pradesh where 27 new nursing colleges will come up.

This will be followed by Rajasthan (23), Madhya Pradesh (14). Both Tamil Nadu and West Bengal will get 11 new nursing colleges.

The establishment of these nursing colleges will provide a significant boost to the availability of qualified human resources in healthcare. Co-location of these nursing colleges with medical colleges will allow optimal utilisation of the existing infrastructure, skill labs, clinical facilities and faculty, he said. The proposal to set up 157 new nursing colleges was made by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman during her budget speech in February.

In a first-of-its-kind initiative to boost medical transport facilities to higher medical centers in emergency-like situations, the Jharkhand government will roll out air ambulance service from April 28. According to officials, the ambulance will be ready within two hours of booking and it will be equipped with emergency equipment and doctors.

The destinations specified so for the service are New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Varanasi, Lucknow and Tirupati. To avail of the service, one can contact 918210594073 and 0651-4665515.

Service charges range between a minimum of Rs 3 lakh for Ranchi to Kolkata and up to a maximum of Rs 8 lakh for Ranchi to Tirupati or Chennai. For routes other than specified destinations, Rs 1.10 lakh will be charged on an hourly basis. 

The election of Arunachal Pradesh BJP MLA Dasanglu Pul was declared void by the Gauhati High Court for concealing information about her properties in the election affidavit.

The Itanagar bench of the high court declared her election from the Hayuliang assembly seat in Anjaw district as void under the Representation of People Act in an order on April 25.

Dasanglu Pul (45), the third wife of former chief minister Kalikho Pul, was re-elected from the seat in 2019 after winning it for the first time in a by-election in 2016 following her husband's death.

Congress candidate Lupalam Kri, who lost to Pul in 2019, had filed a petition in the court, challenging her election.

Kri in his petition had claimed that Pul's candidature was substantially defective as she did not declare her husband's four properties in Mumbai and two in Arunachal Pradesh in the affidavit filed by her.

The BJP MLA submitted to the court that in view of the legal heir certificate, Kalikho Pul's first wife Dangwimsai Pul is the owner of his properties.

Due to this, she did not mention any of those properties in the election affidavit, she told the court. Pul later told reporters that she would be challenging the high court order in the Supreme Court.

The defence ministers of India, Russia, China and other member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) on Apr 28  deliberated on pressing regional security challenges and related issues at a conclave hosted by New Delhi.

The meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, is also expected to review the overall situation in Afghanistan.

Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu, Russia's Sergei Shoigu, Tajikistan's Colonel General Sherali Mirzo, Iran's Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiyani and Kazakhstan's Colonel General Ruslan Zhaksylykov are among those attending the meeting in Delhi.

Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif was scheduled to participate in the meeting through virtual mode.

The SCO is an influential economic and security bloc and has emerged as one of the largest transregional international organisations.

The SCO was founded at a summit in Shanghai in 2001 by the presidents of Russia, China, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

India and Pakistan became its permanent members in 2017.

India was made an observer at the SCO in 2005 and has generally participated in the ministerial-level meetings of the grouping, which focus mainly on security and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region.