Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
Anak Krakatau volcano is located in Indonesia and was seen in news recently as it was continuously erupting ash and lava.
This was the longest eruption since 2018, when the explosion and collapse of the island caused a deadly Tsunami along the coasts of Sumatra and Java, which killed 430 people. A level 2 alert status on a scale of four was made for the eruption.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently released a notification, wherein it has exempted the operations of Fishing (Marine) and Aquaculture Industry from the nation-wide lockdown imposed to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The operations of the marine and aquaculture industry including harvesting, processing, packaging, cold chain, sale and marketing; hatcheries, movement of fish/shrimp etc. were exempted in the order. The order also directed that social distancing and proper hygiene practices must be ensured.

Notes:
Every year April 10th is observed as World Homeopathy Day. The theme of this year’s World Homeopathy Day is selected as “Enhancing the scope of Homeopathy in Public Health”.
This day is celebrated to commemorate the birth anniversary of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann, the father of the Homeopathy system of medicines. Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH), under the Ministry of AYUSH organized an international webinar on the occasion of World Homoeopathy Day.

Notes:
The World Bank has released its bi-annual flagship report titled ‘South Asia Economic Focus’ recently. In the report, it estimates a sharp economic crash in eight countries of the South Asian region.
The report has also estimated India to grow at 1.5%-2.8% this fiscal year, which will be the worst economic phase since the liberalisation policies implemented in 1991. It also forecasted that all countries would see a decline in GDP in the worst-case scenario.

Notes:
Technology giants Apple and Google recently announced a joint initiative to develop a technology solution for Contact Tracing activity, which will help the governments and health agencies to curb the spread of coronavirus.
The system which will use the Bluetooth technology, will identify people who are in contact with an infected person and provide alert message to the user. The companies also clarified that the system will be developed without compromising the privacy of the user.

Notes:
Veteran architect and photographer, also known as the father of modern Iraqi architecture, Rifat Chadirji passed away in the United Kingdom after contracting the novel coronavirus, at the age of 93.
He is known for designing some of the world-famous buildings and structures, including the “Freedom Monument” and his masterwork called “The Unknown Soldier” arch. But several of his designs were damaged in the recent years.

Notes:
The Union Ministry of Agriculture has recently set up a call- centre for enabling free inter-state movement of agricultural commodities.
Named the ‘All India Agri Transport Call Centre’, it coordinates the movement of perishable goods like vegetables and fruits as well as agricultural inputs like seeds, pesticides and fertilisers from one state to another. If any query in transport is received, the call centre forwards it to officials of state government.

Notes:
The first Law and Justice Minister of independent India was Bhim Rao Ambedkar. He was born on 14th April, 1891.
His 129th birth anniversary has been commemorated this year, across the country. Dr B.R.Ambedkar was the Chairman of the Drafting Committee, which presented the final draft of the Indian Constitution in 1949. He was presented the highest civilian honour of India, Bharat Ratna in 1990, posthumously.

Notes:
The Chairmanship of the ASEAN group is held annually by the member countries based on the alphabetical order of their English names.
In the year 2020, Vietnam holds the Chairmanship of the ASEAN group. The country assuming Chairmanship chairs the ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN Coordinating Council and related summits. Thailand was the Chair of ASEAN for 2019. Recently Vietnam chaired the virtual ASEAN Special Summit and ASEAN+3 Special Summit on Covid-19 response.

Notes:
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has recently released a set of revised guidelines after the extension of lockdown till May 3 has been announced.
Spitting has been made punishable across the country with a fine under Section 51 (b) of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Refusal to follow the orders may result in imprisonment up to one year or a fine, or both. Several states including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana have ordered for banning smokeless tobacco products and spitting in public places. Sale of liquor, gutka and tobacco has also been totally banned