16 May CA — ca quiz Current Affairs

• The 21st session of UN Forum on Forests (UNFF 21) was held from 11–15 May 2026 in New York, USA — at the UN Headquarters located on Manhattan Island.

• UNFF was established in 2000. Its objective is to accelerate the implementation of the UN Strategic Plan for Forests (2017–2030).

• UNO was established on 24 October 1945; headquarters on Manhattan Island, New York; 193 member countries; latest member: South Sudan.

• COP 30 was held in Belém, Brazil; COP 31 will be held in Antalya, Turkey. COP 1 was held in Berlin, Germany.

• UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) was established in 1994; HQ in Bonn, Germany — deals with climate change.

• CTBC Bank is a Taiwanese bank that recently opened its first branch in GIFT City, Gandhinagar, Gujarat — making it the first Taiwanese bank to open a unit in GIFT City.

• GIFT City full form: Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.

• CTBC Bank already had branches in New Delhi and Chennai before this. A Lion Dance was performed at its inauguration.

• Taiwan is situated on Formosa Island in the South China Sea.

• GIFT City is India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and a global finance and technology hub.

• The 60th Jnanpith Award was given to Vairamuthu for Tamil literature.

• The Jnanpith Award carries a prize money of ₹11 lakh along with a statue of Maa Vagdevi (Goddess Saraswati).

• The award is given for outstanding contributions to Indian literature. The previous (59th) award was given to Vinod Kumar Shukla — the first person from Chhattisgarh to receive it.

• Mamta Kalia recently received the Sahitya Akademi Award 2025 for Hindi, for her work 'Jeete Ji Allahabad'.

• The Sangeet Kalanidhi Award was recently given to Jayanti Kumari.

• The foundation stone of the AMCA programme facility was laid on 15 May 2026 in Puttaparthi, Sathya Sai district, Andhra Pradesh.

• It was jointly inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Andhra Pradesh CM N. Chandrababu Naidu.

• AMCA = Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft — India's indigenously developed 5th Generation Stealth Fighter Aircraft.

• Key facts:
— Project cost: ₹15,803 crore
— Employment: 7,500 people
— Generation: 5th generation stealth aircraft (radar-evading)
— Objective: Strengthen India's indigenous aerospace capability

• Stealth means the aircraft cannot be detected by enemy radar.

• India plans to build the Middle East India Deep Water Pipeline (MEIDP) — a subsea gas pipeline from Oman to Gujarat — to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

• The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman + UAE on one side and Iran on the other; it connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

• India imports 85% of its oil and gas, much of which passes through the Hormuz region — making energy supply vulnerable during tensions.

• Key pipeline facts:
— Length: ~2,000 km through the Arabian Sea (deep water)
— Capacity: 31 million metric standard cubic metres per day
— Purpose: Uninterrupted natural gas import

• A separate Coal Gasification Scheme worth ₹37,500 crore was also approved by the Cabinet to convert lignite coal into syngas (CO + H₂).

• Both statements are correct. The Cabinet approved India's first semi high speed railway corridor on 13 May 2026.

• It runs between Sarkhej (Ahmedabad) and Dholera — both located in Gujarat. Total length: 134 km (double railway line).

• Key facts:
— Speed: 200 km/hour
— Cost: ₹667 crore
— Completion target: 2030–31
— It will also improve connectivity to Lothal — a Harappan civilisation site (dockyward) located on the banks of Bhogavo River in Gujarat

• India's other key rail projects: Vande Bharat (Delhi–Varanasi), Namo Bharat/RRTS (Delhi–Meerut), Hydrogen Train (Sonipat–Jind, Haryana), Bullet Train (Ahmedabad–Mumbai).

• Donanemab is India's first therapeutic drug for Alzheimer's disease, manufactured by Eli Lilly company.

• Alzheimer's is a neurodegenerative disease — neurons get damaged and new ones are not formed, leading to progressive memory loss (dementia), mainly in old age.

• How it works: Donanemab dissolves the accumulation of plaque protein in the brain, which slows down the progression of Alzheimer's. It cannot cure the disease completely but slows its speed.

• Dosage: Once a month. Current cost: Over ₹91,000 per dose.

• Alzheimer's is a type of dementia. Brain diseases also include: Meningitis (inflammation of outer brain layer), Parkinson's (trembling in old age), and Epilepsy (seizures).

• All three statements are correct.

• Unified Bharat E-Charge is India's national integrated electric vehicle (EV) charging platform, launched by the Ministry of Heavy Industries (Minister: H.D. Kumaraswamy) at an EV Charging conference in Bengaluru.

• It was developed by BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) with support from NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India — the body that launched UPI).

• It is part of the PM E-Drive Scheme — aimed at making EV charging infrastructure widely available across India.

• The biggest challenge for EV adoption in India is lack of charging stations and the long charging time — this platform directly addresses that issue.

• India became a member of the Common Criteria Development Board (CCDB) in 2013 and has now been nominated as its Chair from April 2026 to April 2028.

• CCDB is part of the CCRA (Common Criteria Recognition Arrangement) based in Japan.

• Work of CCDB: It serves as a single source of truth for the authenticity and quality of cross-border certified and secure IT products — ensuring that IT products crossing national borders are genuine and meet security standards.

• This is significant for India's growing role in global cybersecurity and IT product governance.

• Other key India memberships: SCO (2017, 10 members, latest member: Belarus), BRICS (founding member, 10 members, latest: Indonesia), SAARC (1985, 8 members), BIMSTEC (7 members), G20 (21 members including EU & AU).

• All three statements are correct.

• The 'Mera Bharat Mera Yogdan' campaign is a 90-day initiative launched by the Delhi Government (CM Rekha Gupta) with the objective of saving fuel and reducing pollution.

• Key features of the campaign:
— 2 days of work-from-home per week for government employees
— 50% of government meetings to be held online
— Vehicle-free days to be observed on select days
— Schools to be conducted online where possible

• The campaign was inspired by PM Modi's address at Hyderabad/Telangana where he emphasized fuel conservation.

• Delhi's Lt. Governor is Taranjit Singh Sandhu, who recently approved Delhi's first Anti-Narcotics Police Station aimed at a drug-free Delhi.