Current Affairs Quiz - May, 2020

Notes:
For the year 2020, Russia is the Chair of the BRICS bloc, which has 5 members namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
Recently, Russia chaired the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting on coronavirus, conducted through video conferencing. Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar also participated in the virtual meeting. The representatives discussed on the significance of joint vaccine production and strategic partnerships within the BRICS.

Notes:
Veteran Freedom fighter and follower of Gandhian principles Hema Bharali, recently passed away at the age of 101.
The freedom fighter strived hard to uplift the condition of women and empower the marginalised sections of society. She was the recipient of several prestigious awards including the Padma Shri in 2005, National Communal Harmony Award by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2006 and the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Memorial Award for National Integration from the Assam government.

Notes:
The International Labour Organization has recently released a report titled ‘ILO Monitor third edition: COVID-19 and the world of work’.
In the report, it is said that almost 1.6 billion workers in the informal economy, which is about half of the global workforce, face an immediate danger of losing their livelihoods due to the continued lock-down imposed. Out of 3.3 billion workers, 2 billion have vulnerable jobs under informal economy.

Notes:
The Centre has recently launched a ‘Project Monitoring Unit’ (PMU) to help obtain various clearances required from the Centre and state government authorities for operationalisation of coal mines, as announced by the Ministry of Coal.
This decision is expected to enable the allocatees of coal mines to obtain timely approvals for operationalising the mines, thereby promoting the ease of doing business in India. This is also expected to improve the production of coal in the country.

Notes:
Thangjam Dhabali Singh, a doctor from Manipur and founder of the Manipur Tourism Forum (MTF), was conferred the ‘Order of Rising Sun – Gold and Silver Rays’ by Japan. He was selected for promoting a better understanding of Japan in India and deepening ties between the two countries.
The award was constituted by Japanese Emperor Meiji in 1875. It is awarded to persons who contribute in promotion of Japanese culture, environmental preservation and international relations.

Notes:
International Astronomy Day is celebrated twice a year, during autumn and spring. The Astronomy Day 2020 is celebrated on May 2 and the next edition of this year on September 26, 2020.
The President of the Astronomical Association of Northern California had organised the celebration of first Astronomy Day in 1973. The objective of celebrating this day is to inculcate the awareness about the universe and the field of astronomy.

Notes:
The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) under the Ministry of Jal Shakti along with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) organized an IDEAthon on ‘The future of River Management’.
The international webinar conducted with about 500 participants from different countries and international organizations, discussed about how the COVID-19 crisis can lead to the River Management strategies for the future.

Notes:
As per the recent reports, the Parliament of Iran has passed a bill to allow the Government to change the national currency from Rial to Toman.
Since 2017, the value of Iranian currency fell after heavy U.S. sanctions, which led to huge inflation and resultant street protests across the country. Now under the bill, the Government will slash four zeroes from the from its currency ‘Rial’. This bill should be approved by the clerical body before coming into effect.

Notes:
NITI Aayog and the Department of Biotechnology have launched the Consortium for Affordable & Rapid Diagnostics (CARD) project.
The project aims to scale up India’s capacity to make coronavirus testing kits. The primary goal is to manufacture at least 10 million rapid antibody tests for Covid-19 by July. It also aims to expand RT-PCR test kits in India. The announcement has come after quality issues faced with Chinese-made antibody testing kits.

Notes:
French cybersecurity researcher and ethical hacker Robert Baptiste who writes in the pseudonym Elliot Alderson on Twitter, warned about the security issues in the Aarogya Setu application. He also explained how the application could be manipulated to retrieve data of people infected in a given area.
As per the recent announcement of the Indian government, more than 90 million people have downloaded the application. However, the team of Aarogya Setu assured that no data or security breach has been identified.