Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has recently inked an agreement with the Indian non-profit organisation CUTS International, to empower consumers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS) International is a Rajasthan-based non-profit organisation founded in 1983. UNIDO and CUTS have also planned to develop a BRICS e-commerce project, which was implemented as a pilot project by UNIDO in the BRICS countries between 2016 and 2018.

Notes:
Veteran advocate and former Attorney General of India Ashok Desai has passed away recently at the age of 87.
Ashok Desai was considered as one of the leading advocates in post-Independence India and was largely involved in striking down of censorship laws in Maharashtra. He held various crucial designations including the offices of Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India. He was also a recipient of the prestigious ‘Padma Bhushan’ award.

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:
According to a recent notification from the Ministry of Finance, the Government of India has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds, after consultation with the Reserve Bank of India.
The Gold Bonds are set to be issued in six tranches from April 2020 to September 2020. As per the prevalent practice, the minimum subscription for an individual in the bond is 1 gram of gold whereas the maximum subscription is 4 kg. The maximum subscription for a HUF and trusts are 4 kg and 20 kg respectively.

Notes:
During the 40th session of General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2019, it was proclaimed to celebrate April 15 as World Art Day every year.
The day is celebrated to create awareness about the diversity of artistic freedom and highlight the contribution of artists to sustainable development of the world. April 15 is also the birth anniversary of the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci.

Notes:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has recently released the first stage of Long Range Forecast (LRF) for south-west monsoon season.
As per its forecast, the southwest monsoon from June to September over India may be normal across the country. It also forecasted that the intensity of monsoon rainfall would be between 96 and 104 per cent of the long period average (LPA) of the country, which is 880 mm during 1961-2010.

Notes:
The Union Home ministry has recently announced a set of revised guidelines on the extended lock-down till May 3, 2020.
As per the guidelines, travel by air, rail, metro, public buses, taxis, cab aggregators will remain suspended. However, the industries operating in rural areas, outside the limits of municipal corporations and municipalities, will be exempted. The industries should maintain measures of social distancing and sanitation.

Notes:
Trade Deficit is defined as the difference between the total imports of the country and the total exports. This condition occurs when a country is importing more goods than it is exporting.
Recently, the Commerce Ministry announced that the trade deficit in the month of March fell to $9.76 billion, which is the lowest in the last 13 months. Due to the steep fall in export of leather, gems and jewellery and petroleum products, the total exports in the year 2019-20 decreased.

Notes:
In India, the Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test has been used for testing the SARS-CoV-2 virus or Corona virus. It is an expensive test as it is performed using imported machines and it takes over 5 hours to provide result after sample has been taken.
Recently, Scientists from the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram has developed a diagnostic kit Chitra Gene LAMP-N, which uses RT-LAMP technique. It is less expensive and can give results in less than two hours.

Notes:
The mascot for the 4th Asian Paralympic Games named ‘Feifei’ has been recently released. The event has been scheduled to be held from October 2022 in Hangzhou, China.
As per the Asian Paralympic Committee President, the mascot’s design is inspired by the ‘Divine Bird’ motif described in the Liangzhu Culture. The first ‘fei’ means the birds flying, implying inclusiveness of human society and the second ‘fei’ represents the mental strength of the athletes.