Current Affairs | May 2021

    This article lists the current affairs of May 2021 in a consolidated form for the preparation of all upcoming Kerala PSC, UPSC, SSC, Banking, railways, and other competitive examinations.

      Current Affairs May 2021

      • World No Tobacco Day – May 31.
        • Theme – Commit to Quit.
      • Anti-terrorism Day – May 21.
      • World Laughter Day – May 02.
      • World Red Cross & Red Crescent Day – May 08.
      • New Advocate General of Kerala – Gopalakrishna Kurup.
      • Newly appointed Private Secretary to Chief Minister of Kerala – K.K. Ragesh.
      • Newly appointed 4th Deputy Governor of RBI – T. Rabi Sankar.
      • Newly appointed Power Secretary of Kerala – Dr. B. Ashok.
      • India’s First Agriculture Export Facilitation Centre is in – Pune.
      • The Indian Navy initiative for faster transportation of medical oxygen and other supplies from foreign countries to India – Operation Samudra Setu II.
        • 7 Naval ships deployed (Kochi, Kolkata, Talwar, Tabar, Trikand, Jalashwa & Airavat).
      • Largest Producer of Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) in India – Reliance.
      • First country to allow Driverless cars on public roads – United Kingdom.
      • Name the new chatbot introduced by CSC, HDFC banks – Eva.
      • First Drive in vaccination center in India - Mumbai.
      • Who was presented with Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun? Shyamala Ganesh.
      • No. of women soldiers inducted into the Indian Army's military police for the first time – 83.
      • RBI excluded which bank from the second schedule of RBI Act – Lakshmi Vilas Bank.
      • First BRICS Employment Working Group (EWG) meeting (virtually) was held under the chairmanship of – India.
        • Apurva Chandra, the Secretary of Labour & Employment chaired the meeting.
      • Which state stands first in executing the Ayushman Bharat program  – Karnataka.
      • One of the oldest web browsers is being retired after 25 years of its service. Which is it? Internet Explorer of Microsoft.
        • Developed by – Thomas Reardon.
      • First Mobile robot to Moon – VIPER (Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover).
        • Expected launch date – late 2023.
        • Part of NASA's Artemis program for searching water on the moon.
      • India's first Mobile ATM was launched by – ICICI (2002).
      • Second Largest FDI in India – USA.
      • First Female Secretary of the Army (USA) – Christine Wormuth.
      • New Acting chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) – Justice Prafulla Chandra Pant.
      • Which social media giant collaborated with Govt. of India to launched a vaccine finder tool on its mobile app to assist people in locating the nearest vaccination centers – Facebook.
      • First female IAS officer of Assam – Parul Debi Das (Passed away).
      • Athlete ambassadors for the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) ‘Believe in Sport’ campaign – PV Sindhu & Michelle Li (Canada).
        • Aim – to prevent competition manipulation.
      • Name the sharpshooter who died lately and served as an inspiration for the award-winning Bollywood movie ‘Saand ki Aankh’ – Chandro Tomar.
        • also known as Shooter Dadi.
      • Mental Health Program for the COVID Patients launched by Armed forces – Operation “CO-JEET.”'
      • Winner of UNESCO World Press Freedom Prize of 2021 – Maria Ressa.
      • World’s largest airplane – Roc (USA, company: Stratolaunch).
      • Newly elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu – M.K. Stalin (DMK).
      • Director of Indian Institute of Rice Research – R.M. Sundaram.
        • Located at – Rajendranagar near Hyderabad, Telangana.
      • Famous Indian sitarist who died lately as a result of Covid-19 complications - Pandit Debu Chaudhuri.
      • First-ever India-France-Australia Trilateral Foreign Ministerial Dialogue was held in – London.
      • The state that is building 'Forest Ponds’ to harvest rainwater under Parvat Dhara scheme – Himachal Pradesh.
      • New Chief Minister of Puducherry – N. Rangasamy (All India NR Congress, AINRC).
      • Who won the best actor award at New York City International Film Festival 2021 – Anupam Kher (Film: Happy Birthday).
      • New Chief Minister of Assam – Himanta Biswa Sarma.
      • Author of 'Elephant In The Womb' – Kalki Koechlin (Actress).
      • 14th NASA Administrator – Bill Nelson.
      • RBI recently appointed a Malayali as the Executive Director. Who is it? Jose J. Kattoor.
      • First Indian To Win 15th Sheikh Zayed Book Award – Dr. Tahera Qutbuddin.
        • Sheikh Zayed Book Award is known as the 'Nobel Prize of the Arab World.'
        • For her book "Arabic Oration – Art and Function."
      • First-ever commercial lunar payload paid entirely in the cryptocurrency Dogecoin – DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon (Company: SpaceX).
      • 3 cost-effective ventilators and oxygen concentrators developed by ISRO – Prana, VaU & Svasta.
      • R. Sankar Award 2021 winner – Remesh Chennithala.
      • Newly appointed CEO of BAD Bank – Padmakumar Nair.
        • also known as National Asset Reconstruction Company.
        • a financial institution that takes over the bad assets of lenders and undertakes resolution.
      • The naval exercise conducted by India & Indonesia – Passage Exercise (PASSEX).
      • Second longest-serving MLA in Kerala Legislative Assembly – KR Gouri Amma.
        • First Revenue Minister of Kerala.
      • The largest recipient of remittances in 2020, according to World Bank – India. (Second: China)
      • India's First Electric tractor - Sonalika Tiger Electric.
      • World Food Award 2021 – Dr. Shakuntala Hark Singh Thilstad (Indian-origin).
      • Re-appointed Prime Minister of Nepal – K.P. Sharma Oli.
      • World’s first country to ban synthetic cannabinoids – China.
      • First Mars Rover of China – ZhuRong.
      • Famous Kerala Politician who passed away recently - R. Balakrishna Pillai.
      • New senior adviser of White House – Neera Tanden.
      • 69th Miss Universe 2020 – Andrea Meza (Mexico).
      • Winner of Whitley Awards 2021 aka Green Oscar – Nuku Phom (Nagaland).
      • Winner of 10th Italian Open title – Rafael Nadal.
      • Author of 'Sikkim: A History of Intrigue and Alliance' which was released on Sikkim Day (May 16) – Preet Mohan Singh Malik (Former Diplomat).
      • Only Indian mathematician to receive the King Faisal International Prize – Professor MS Narasimhan.
        • Passed away on May 15, 2021.
        • Along with C. S. Seshadri, were known for their proof of the Narasimhan–Seshadri theorem.
      • Cyclone Taukate was named by – Mynamar.
      • New President of Tibetan exile government – Penpa Tsering.
      • Reappointed Prime Minister of Mali – Moctar Ouane.
      • New ocean observation satellite launched by China – Haiyang-2D.
      • 2nd largest insurance-technology market in Asia-Pacific – India.
      • Newly formed 23rd district of Punjab – Malerkotla.
      • Six Heritage Sites added to India’s UNESCO World Heritage sites Tentative List
        • Ganga Ghats (Varanasi)
        • Hire Benkal Megalithic site,
        • Maharashtra Military Architecture,
        • Temples of Kancheepuram (Tamil Nadu),
        • Satpura Tiger Reserve (Madhya Pradesh),
        • Bhedaghat Lametaghat of Narmada Valley (Madhya Pradesh).
      • First woman chief justice of Kenya – Martha Koome.
      •  Winner of Dublin Literary Award 2021 - Valeria Luiselli (Book: Lost Children Archive).
      • The first destroyer of the Indian Navy was decommissioned on May 21. What was its name? INS Rajput.
        • Commissioned on – 04 May 1980. 
        • Original name – Nadezhny.
        • INS Rajput was built with Russian collaboration in the 61 Communards Shipyard.
        • It participated in many operations like Operation Aman, Operation Pawan, Operation Cactus, etc.
      • Which state ranked first in the country for implementation of Smart City Mission programs?  Jharkhand.
      • First Woman Commercial Pilot Of Kerala - Jeni Jerome.
      • Indian freedom fighter and Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary who passed away on May 4, 2021 - V. Kalyanam.
      • 1st Indian to win annual ‘World Choreography Award 2020′ – Suresh Mukund.
      • The new book released by Ruskin Bond – All time favourites or children.
      • The Covid-19 antibody detection kit developed by DRDO – DIPCOVAN.
      • The Gandhian environmentalist who started the Chipko movement in 1973 – Sunderlal Bahuguna.
        • Passed away on May 21, 2021.
        • Chipko slogan – 'Ecology is the permanent economy.'
      • CEO of Reserve Bank Innovation Hub – Rajesh Bansal.
      • Re-elected FIH President (International Hockey Federation) – Narinder Batra.
      • First state in India to have an online flood reporting system - Assam. (Flood Reporting and Information Management System)
      • India’s first-ever foreign portfolio investor (FPI) license FPI license to GIFT IFSC alternative investment fund (AIF) of True Beacon Global was issued by – Kotak Mahindra Bank.
      •  Host Country of the Global G20 Summit – Italy.
      •   Recipient of 2021 Templeton prize – Jane Goodall (Naturalist; for life’s work).
      • Kerala's second biomedical Waste treatment facility under Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited (KEIL) is being set up at - Brahmapuram.
      • Host of FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup – India (October 2022).
      • The book titled “Nehru, Tibet and China” authored by – Avtar Singh Bhasin.
      • First Dronacharya winning coach of Indian boxing – O. P. Bhardwaj. 
      •  Cyclone Yaas was named by – Oman (Persian language, means jasmine-like fragrance).
      • Keralite who won the India Biodiversity Award 2021 – Shaji N.M. 
        1. Nickname – ‘Tuber Man’ of Kerala
        2. In the individual category of ‘Conservation of domesticated species’.
      • ‘UNITE AWARE’ – Mobile tech platform deployed by India for UN peacekeepers.
      • Amazon’s new CEO – Andy Jassy (July 5th).
      • First Indian to win Rudolf V. Schindler award – Dr. Nageshwar Reddy.
      • Autobiography of Neena Gupta – Sach Kahun Toh.
      • The famous Indian economist who was conferred with Spain’s top award 'The Princess of Asturias Award’  in the social sciences category – Amartya Sen.
      • Winner of International Eni Award 2020 (also called the Energy Frontier award) – C.N.R. Rao.
        1. Noted Indian scientist & Bharat Ratna winner.
        2. International Eni Award is considered to be the 'Nobel Prize in Energy Research.'
        3. For his work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes & other materials, and 2-D systems.
      • India’s 1st woman flight test engineer – Aashritha V. Olety.
      • The only Indian referee to officiate in wrestling in Tokyo Olympics – Ashok Kumar.
      • Re-Elected as Syrian President for 4th Term – Bashar Al-Assad.
      • Who is going to be the New Commerce Secretary of India? B.V.R. Subrahmanyam.
      • One-year extension for RAW chief Samant Goel, IB head Arvind Kumar.
      • Winner of Belgrade Open 2021 – Novak Djokovic.
      • First female president of the world’s largest museum Musée du Louvre in Paris, in its 228 years history – Laurence des Cars.
      • PM's New Scheme For Mentoring Young Authors – YUVA (Young Upcoming and Versatile Authors).
      • The new book written by Salman Rushdie – Languages of Truth: Essays 2003-2020.
      • The Nepalese woman who set a record for climbing Mt. Everest 25 times - Kami Rita Sherpa.
      • The volcano that erupted in the Republic of Congo – Mount Nyiragongo.
      • First Woman Commanding Officer of Border Roads Organization – Vaishali S. Hiwase.
      • Formula One Portuguese Grand Prix 2021 Winner - Lewis Hamilton.
      • Portable Breathing Bank was first introduced by which state in India - Rajasthan (Jodhpur).
      • The new name of Mohali International Hockey Stadium - Balbir Singh Sr. International Hockey Stadium.
      • The Jury award for the Best Film at the 11th Dada Saheb Phalke International Film Festival 2021 was given to - Jungle Cry. (Director: Sagar Ballary)
      • Lightest form of Uranium - Uranium 214.
        • Half-life period - 0.52 ms.
        • Created - Heavy Ion Research Facility in Lanzhou, China.
      • First Female Chief Minister of West Bengal - Mamata Banerjee.
        • Founder of All India Trinamool Congress.
      • Author of 'BENGAL 2021: An Election Diary' - Deep Halder.
      • New Telemedicine app of Kerala police released in April 2021 -Blue Telemed.
      • World’s first Artificial Intelligence ship - Mayflower 400. (Company:  ProMare in collaboration with IBM)
      • Second African Country to eliminate trachoma - Gambia. 
        • First - Ghana (2018).
        • Caused by - Chlamydia trachomatis (bacteria).  
      • World Press Freedom Day – May 03.
      •  Recently the state of Odisha introduced a health insurance scheme of Rs 2 lakh for each Journalist. Name the scheme - Gopabandhu Sambadika Swasthya Bima Yojana.
      • First single dose Covid 19 vaccine in the world - Sputnik Light (Russia).
      • Author of the book titled ‘7 Lessons from Everest’ -  Aditya Gupta.
      • Name of the Malayali nurse who was killed recently in Israel by the Palestinian militants from Gaza - Soumya Santhosh.
      • 3 part multinational exercise series that is currently undergoing in Atlantic and Europe under NATO - Steadfast Defender 2021.
      • Hollywood movie giant MGM Studios (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) was acquired for $8.45 billion by - Amazon.
      • Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award 2021 - Rafael Nadal.
        • Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year - Naomi Osaka.
      • Chinese rocket debris that crash-landed in the Indian Ocean - Long March 5B (Chang Zheng 5).
      • Author of ‘Stargazing: The Players in My Life’ - Ravi Shastri. 
      • Anti-Covid 19 medicine developed by DRDO - 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG).
      • Chinese vaccine recently approved by WHO - Sinopharm.
      • First in Kerala to deploy drones for public sanitation purposes - Thrissur.
      • Digital payments partner of the National Agriculture Market (eNAM) - Kotak Mahindra Bank.
      • Recipient of Shakti T.K Ramakrishnan Cultural Award - T. Padmanabhan.
        • Instituted by - Shakti Theatres.
      • First plastic surgeon of Kerala - Dr. P. A. Thomas. (Passed away)
      • Author of 'Life in the Clock Tower Valley' - Shakoor Rather.
      • Go Air Airlines is re-branded as - Go First.
      • The Malayali who received the coveted ‘Point of Light' award from British Prime Minister David Cameron - Prabhu Natarajan.
        • for the selfless service, he performed in offering food and other delights to individuals in need during the Covid 19 times.
      • Chairman of the Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) - Justice Vikramjit Sen. 
        • a self-regulatory organization founded by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation for the complaints process of OTT platforms.
      • Father of Hybrid Rice in China - Yuan Longping. (Passed away)
      • Auto rickshaw Ambulance Service was launched in which part of Kerala? Kochi.
      • First BioHub facility of WHO is going to be launched in - Spiez (Switzerland).
      • India's first Yellow fungus case was reported in - Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh).
      • India's first Black fungus case in Kids was reported in - Gujarat.
      • What is the other name for Black fungus? Mucormycosis.
      • Who renounced the ONV Literary award 2021 because of #MeToo related controversies - Vairamuthu (Tamil poet).
      • Which decommissioned Indian Navy Fast Attack Craft recently was handed over to Alappuzha Port Museum - INFAC T-81.
      • Peoples Advocate for UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) - Sir David Attenborough.
      • Winner of Khasakkinte Itihasam Golden Jubilee Novel Award - King Jones (Book: Chattambi Shastram).
        • instituted by - DC Books
      • The Taliban has captured the second-biggest dam in Afghanistan in recent times. What is its name? Dahla Dam (also known as Arghandab Dam; Kandahar Province).
      • RBI cancelled a Pune-based bank's licence on May 31, 2021 under the provisions of Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Name the bank - Shivajirao Bhosale Sahakari Bank.
      • First Blind Asian to climb Mount Everest - Zhang Hong (China).
      Thanks for reading!!!