Daily Top-10 Current Affairs MCQs / News (May 21, 2022) for CSS, PMS

Table of Contents

6. PM removes 17pc GST on solar panels

• In a move to encourage power generation through alternative energy sources, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on May 20, 2022 announced removal of 17 per cent general sales tax on solar panels imposed by the previous PTI government, claiming that it is only way forward to reduce the country`s oil import bill that stood at $20 billion amid the fast rising prices of the US currency that has crossed the barrier of Rs200.
• The announcement from the premier came during his meeting with Karachi industrialists and businessmen at CM House to discuss `key issues of economy` and `suggest measures to meet the current challenges` that has crippled the country`s financial system and put the new PML-N-led coalition government at the crossroads.
• After almost half-an-hour address, PM Sharif invited proposals and questions from the businessmen that led to immediate orders on few and promises of review on others

7. National Assembly adopts bill on fiscal responsibility and debt limitation

• The National Assembly on Friday passed the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation (FRDL) (Amendment) Bill, 2022, with a majority vote after reaching an understanding with a small group of opposition members.
• The bill, which was not in the original agenda, was presented for its passage by Minister of State for Finance Aisha Ghaus Pasha through a supplementary agenda amid protest by members of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA).
• The amendment bill will strengthen the Debt Office with the mandate and resources for effective planning and execution of debt management functions of the government.
• The bill, according to the Statement of Objects and Reasons, provides for reduction of federal fiscal deficit and ratio of public debt to gross domestic product to a prudent level by effective public debt management

8. Sunak becomes first UK politician to make rich list

• British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak became on May 20, 2022 the first high-profile British politician to make the Sunday Times Rich List, weeks after his family`s tax arrangements attracted controversy and amid a cost-of-living crisis.
• Sunak and his Indian wife Akshata Murty, whose father co-founded the IT behemoth Infosys, made the annual list for the first time with their joint 730 million ($911 million, 861 million euros) fortune.
• The bulk of their wealth is believed to come from Murty`s 690-million stake in Infosys, but Sunak also had a highly lucrative career in finance before entering politics in 2015. The listing, which started in 1989, this year estimates the minimum wealth of Britain`s 250 richest people or families, and features far fewer Russian billionaires due to Western sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine

9. Kyiv orders troops to lay down arms in Mariupol

• Ukraine on May 20, 2022 ordered its last troops holed up in Mariupol`s besieged Azovstal steelworks to lay down their arms after nearly three months of desperate resistance against a ferocious Russian assault.
• Russia`s flattening of the strategic port city has drawn multiple accusations of war crimes, including a deadly attack on a maternity ward, and Ukraine has begun a reckoning for captured Russian troops.
• The first post-invasion trial of a Russian soldier for war crimes neared its climax in Kyiv, after 21-year-old sergeant Vadim Shishimarin admitted to killing an unarmed civilian early in the offensive. The verdict is due on Monday

10. Biden arrives in Seoul amid fears of N-test by North Korea

• US President Joe Biden arrived in South Korea on May 20, 2022, his first Asia trip as US leader, aiming to cement ties with regional security allies despite growing fears of a North Korean nuclear test.
• Biden wants the trip to boost a years-long US pivot to Asia, where rising Chinese commercial and military power is undercutting Washington`s dominance.
• He received a warm welcome from South Korea`s new President Yoon Suk-yeol, but there is growing concern that North Korea`s unpredictable leadership could conduct a nuclear test while he is in the region