13 May 2026 Current Affairs MCQ Quiz — 10 Questions with Answers & Explanations

C. Joseph Vijay founded Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in 2024 and contested his first-ever election in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member assembly, making it the single largest party. Under Article 164 of the Constitution, the Governor appoints the leader of the party commanding majority confidence as Chief Minister — and following sustained constitutional pressure and Supreme Court observations, the Governor administered the oath to Vijay. This makes him Tamil Nadu's first CM from a first-election party and without prior political or administrative experience.

India hosted the KP Intersessional Meeting from May 11–14, 2026, in Mumbai — India's diamond trading and export hub. India assumed the Kimberley Process Chairship on January 1, 2026, marking its third time holding this rotating annual role. The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS) was adopted in November 2002 to prevent conflict diamonds from entering the global market. India's chairship theme for 2026 is the 3Cs: Credibility, Compliance, and Consumer Confidence. Mumbai was the natural host city given its central role in India's diamond trade, while Surat is the cutting and polishing capital processing roughly 90% of the world's rough diamonds.

PMGSY-IV (2024–2029) was launched with a total outlay of ₹70,125 crore, targeting the construction of 62,500 km of rural roads to connect 25,000 unconnected habitations. Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana was first launched on December 25, 2000, and May 2026 marked its 25th anniversary. The scheme uses a 60:40 Centre-State funding ratio for general states and 90:10 for North-Eastern and Himalayan states. PMGSY-IV also converges with PM-JANMAN — the scheme targeting India's 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups — covering over 384 km and 168 tribal habitations.

Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy, and the National Florence Nightingale Awards are presented on or around this date every year. Instituted in 1973 by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, these awards are the highest national honour for nursing professionals in India, recognising registered nurses, midwives (ANMs), and Lady Health Visitors for meritorious service. Florence Nightingale is best remembered as the "Lady with the Lamp" — a title she earned for her night rounds tending to wounded soldiers during the Crimean War (1853–56). She also pioneered the use of the Coxcomb (polar area diagram) to show that most soldiers died from preventable disease, not battle wounds.

The Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) is a 49,000 sq km mosaic of grasslands, forests, and wetlands running along the foothills of the Himalayas — straddling both India and Nepal. It is home to the Bengal Tiger, Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros, Asian Elephant, and Gangetic River Dolphin (India's National Aquatic Animal), all of which regularly cross national borders. India's protected areas here include Corbett National Park, Dudhwa National Park, and Valmiki Tiger Reserve; Nepal's include Chitwan National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), Bardia, and Shuklaphanta. The TAL is also designated a WWF Living Planet priority area — one of only 13 globally.

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant constituted the Judicial Infrastructure Advisory Committee, which is headed by Justice Aravind Kumar of the Supreme Court. The committee's mandate is to create a National Judicial Infrastructure Plan addressing India's chronic court infrastructure gaps — including over 5 crore pending cases, approximately 21,000 courtrooms, and a 30–35% judge vacancy rate in High Courts. The committee works alongside the National Judicial Infrastructure Corporation (NJIC), established in 2022. The e-Courts Phase III programme (₹7,210 crore) is already underway, but physical infrastructure remains the bigger bottleneck, which this committee directly targets.

The Ahmedabad (Sarkhej)–Dholera Semi High-Speed Double Line project covers approximately 134 km at an approved cost of ₹20,667 crore. The project is strategically critical because Dholera Special Investment Region (SIR) — India's first greenfield industrial smart city under the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) — currently has no rail connectivity. Operating at 160–200 km/h, the semi high-speed double line will make Dholera genuinely accessible for workers, businesses, and logistics, unlocking the full potential of one of India's most ambitious smart city projects. This sits within India's broader three-track rail modernisation: bullet trains, semi high-speed Vande Bharat corridors, and Dedicated Freight Corridors.

Under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) — signed in February 2022 and implemented from May 2022 — UAE-origin gold attracts a preferential import duty of 13%, compared to the standard rate of 15%. Since the UAE does not produce gold but re-exports it after sourcing from global markets, this 2-percentage-point gap created a round-tripping incentive — gold from Switzerland, South Africa, and elsewhere is routed through Dubai to access the lower rate. This made the UAE India's largest source of gold imports, pushing India's total gold import bill to approximately $72 billion in FY26 — worsening the current account deficit at a time when PM Modi was publicly urging gold restraint.

Faustino Oro is an Argentine chess prodigy nicknamed the "Messi of Chess" — a nod both to his extraordinary talent and his country of origin. Crossing the 2500 FIDE rating places him at the International Master (IM) threshold, with the Grandmaster (GM) title requiring 2500+ along with three GM norms. FIDE (Fédération Internationale des Échecs) — the international chess governing body — was founded in 1924 and is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland. The current World Chess Champion is India's D. Gukesh, who became the youngest-ever World Champion in 2024 by defeating China's Ding Liren in Singapore.

IORA is headquartered in Ebène, Mauritius, with its Secretariat in Port Louis, Mauritius. Founded in 1997, IORA has 23 member states and 10 dialogue partners (including the USA, UK, China, and Japan). India is a founding member and one of its most influential voices. The Indian Ocean handles approximately 70% of global oil trade and one-third of the world's bulk cargo — making IORA a platform of enormous strategic value. India's engagement with IORA is guided by the SAGAR doctrine (Security and Growth for All in the Region), articulated by PM Modi in 2015, and the updated MAHASAGAR framework of 2025.