• On 10 May 2022, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee received the Bangla Academy Award for her ‘relentless literary pursuit’. The award was presented for her book “Kabita Bitan”, which pays tribute to the best writers of West Bengal and the book contains a collectio n of over 900 poems.

• Oil giant Saudi Aramco has surpassed Apple Inc. to become the world’s most valuable company due to the recent surge in oil prices.
• Aramco traded near its highest level on record with a market capitalization of about USD 2.43 trillion, surpassing that of Apple for the first time since 2020. Apple Inc. fell 5.2% to close at USD 146.50 per share, giving it a valuation of USD 2.37 trillion.

• On May 24 2022, The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched the 8th edition of Swachh
• Survekshan 2023 (SS 2023) under Swachh Bharat Mission Urban 2.0 (SBMU 2.0). It is an annual cleanliness survey with the theme of “Waste to Wealth” for garbage free cities.

Key Points:

• Under the SS 2023, the Mayors of the cities are also being encouraged to participate in the ranking and felicitate the cleanest wards.
• In addition to that, the cities would also be assessed on dedicated indicators on the issues of ‘open urination’ (Yellow Spots) and ‘open spitting’ (Red Spots)

• World Turtle Day is annually observed across the globe on 23rd May to create awareness about the plight of turtles and tortoises and their natural habitats.
• 23rd May 2022 marks the celebration of the 22nd World Turtle Day. The theme of World Turtle Day 2022 is “Shellebrate!” Asks Everyone to Love and Save Turtles.

• Released by: World Economic Forum.
• Index assesses 117 economies biennially, identifying key factors in enabling the sustainable and resilient growth of travel and tourism economies.
• India ranked at 54th position out of 117 assessed countries while Japan ranked 1st in the index.

• Consumer goods companies and makers of electronics goods have to ensure at least 60% of their electronic waste is collected and recycled by 2023 with targets to increase them to 70% and 80% in 2024 and 2025, respectively, according to a draft notification by the Environment Ministry made public this week.
• The rules bring into effect a system of trading in certificates, akin to carbon credits, that will allow companies to temporarily bridge shortfalls.

• In a bid to cool inflation inedible oils, the Centre allowed duty free import of 20 lakh tonnes each of crude soybean oil and crude sunflower oil for this year as well as 2023-24.
• Inflation: Inflation is defined as a situation where there is sustained, unchecked increase in the general price level and a fall in the purchasing power of money.

• At the fourth Quad summit — the second since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there were divergences among the leaders of Australia, India, Japan and US on the war in Europe.
• There was unanimity in their response to China’s belligerence as they strongly opposed “any coercive, provocative or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo” in the Indo-Pacific.
• Indian Prime Minister said: At the Quad level, mutual cooperation is encouraging a free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region, which is a shared objective for all of us,”
• Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) is the informal strategic dialogue between India, USA, Japan and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a “free, open and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.

• Yuri Averbakh, a Russian Grandmaster, a trainer, international arbiter, chess composer, and endgame theoretician, has passed away at the age of 100 in Moscow, Russia. He was the world’s oldest living Grandmaster. He was born on 8 February 1922 in Kaluga, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Vivek Kumar, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS)
• Officer of the 2004 batch, as the Private Secretary (PS) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Joint Secretary level.