Vocabulary: incumbent, quietus, plummet, flout, precarious, paucity, convene, mire, kith and kin, inculcate

1) incumbent (adjective)
Synonyms: official

Meaning: to be someone’s duty or responsibility to do something

Vocabulary: brazen, furore, sycophant, mala fide, shroud, tiff, en masse

1) brazen (adjective)
Synonyms: brassy - impudent - shameless - barefaced - impertinent

Meaning: behaving in a way that is not moral or socially acceptable, and not caring if other people are shocked or offended

Indian Polity: Sources of the Constitution of India

With the features of federal systems, office of the governor etc., the Government of India Act, 1935 formulated the basis or 'blue print' of the Constitution of India.

Vocabulary: perjure, intransigence, fraught, amnesty, flounder, abut, depose

1) perjure (verb)
Synonyms: forswear

Meaning: willfully tell an untruth when giving evidence to a court

Sentence: It is necessary for the court to proceed against those who had perjured themselves.

GK: Malyalam joins Tamil, Kannada and Telugu as fourth 'classical' language of South India

The United Nations has proclaimed 22 May - The International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB) to increase understanding and awareness of biodiversity issues.

Vocabulary: perennial, adjudicate, burgeoning, interred, encomium, subvert

1) perennial (adjective)
Synonyms: perpetual - everlasting - eternal - permanent

Meaning: always existing, or never seeming to change

Sentence: For people living on the outskirts of city the scarcity of water has been a perennial problem.

Vocabulary: unrelenting, beleaguered, rile, melee, inundate, incessant

1) unrelenting (adjective)
Synonyms: inexorable - relentless - merciless - implacable

Meaning: used about people’s actions or feelings

Sentence: Sonia Gandhi forcefully defended the PM against the unrelenting criticism he has been facing recently.

Phrases: ruffle someone’s feathers, rule the roost, eke out, the big bad wolf

Phrase: ruffle someone’s feathers

Meaning: to make someone feel worried or annoyed

Sentence: Review of announced schemes by the newly elected CM ruffled the feather's of the opposition party.

Awards: Man Booker International Prize - Lydia Davis grabs 2013 edition

Man Booker International Prize.

- a biennial international literary award.

- awarded to a living author of any nationality for a body of work published in English or generally available in English translation - Fiction.

GK: Death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi is observed on Anti-Terrorism Day 21 May

Defence secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, 61, was appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 21/05/2013.

Phrases: nip something in the bud, cock a snook at

Phrase: nip something in the bud           

Meaning: to stop a bad situation from becoming worse by taking action at an early stage of its development   

Vocabulary: besiege, ostensibly, lackadaisical, reining, erring

1) Besiege (verb)
Synonyms: beleaguer - beset - surround - invest - encircle   

Meaning: to make more requests, offers, comments, or complaints than someone can deal with