Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
On April 24, 1990 NASA had launched Hubble Space Telescope, which is one of the longest-living observatories of the space agency.
Hubble is the first major optical telescope to be placed in space. NASA runs the observatory in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The agency also announced that they will continue to operate Hubble as long it remains productive.

Notes:
The World Health Organisation has announced an initiative called ‘Access to Covid Tools’ (ACT) Accelerator, which will be a collaborative step towards developing a vaccine and managing the pandemic.
Several heads of states and political leaders committed themselves to join this initiative and ensure the availability of vaccine and other drugs associated with Covid-19, to all countries of the world. The European Union will start the funding campaign from May along with European countries and Middle East countries.

Notes:
The Rohtang pass, is located at an altitude of 13,500 ft on the eastern Pir Panjal Range of the Himalayas. The pass which is strategically located to link Kullu valley with the Lahaul and Spiti valleys in Himachal Pradesh, has been opened to the general public by the Border Roads Organisation (BRO).
The BRO completed the snow-clearance process and opened the pass ahead of the target time. This will enable better transportation of essential supplies and relief materials to the remote areas.

Notes:
The Prime Minister of India recently launched the SWAMITVA Scheme, on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj day. It was in news recently, as the Union Minister of Rural Development & Panchayati Raj Narendra Singh Tomar issued guidelines regarding the scheme.
SWAMITVA scheme aims to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties by engaging the latest Drone surveying technology. It is currently being implemented in six states – Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Notes:
A unit of the top IT firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), TCS iON, has recently launched a free online self-certification course for frontline health workers, named ‘Corona Warriors’.
The health workers who are dealing with COVID-19 patients will be offered profession-specific modules. The digital course is available in English and it is offered through TCS iON Digital Learning Hub. The software venture of TCS, Digitate has also announced a platform called ‘ignio Cognitive Procurement’ to assist enterprises in decision making of purchases.

Notes:
The CRISIL rating agency has recently released a report, which slashed the GDP forecast of India to nearly half from its previous estimate to 1.8 per cent for 2020-21.
The agency also estimated that the total losses to be faced by the country would be Rs 10 lakh crore or Rs 7,000 per person due to the impact of the lockdown imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. The agency also asked the government to increase the stimulus response and support.

Notes:
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation which aims to stimulate economic progress and world trade. It is headquartered at Paris, France and has 36 member countries.
Recently, the President of the United States has nominated veteran Indian-American diplomat Manisha Singh as America’s next envoy to OECD. The diplomat had previously served in several significant positions which includes her present role as the Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs.

Notes:
The Government Hospital of Ernakulam, Kerala has deployed a robot named ‘KARMI-Bot’, to serve food and medicines to coronavirus patients in the Covid-19 isolation wards.
The robot has been introduced to reduce risk of the doctors and health workers from being contracted to the coronavirus. Asimov Robotics, a start-up company working under the Kerala start-up mission, has developed the robot. It is also designed to collect trash, disinfect the room and enable video call between the doctor and patients.

Notes:
Basava Jayanthi, the birth anniversary of the 12th century poet, philosopher and social reformer, Lord Basaveshwara, is prominently celebrated in the state of Karnataka.
Also called as Basavanna, he was the founding saint of the Lingayat sect. He was also known for establishing a spiritual democracy called ‘Anubhava Mantapa’ in the 12th century. The era starting from his birth-year is also called as the Basava era in the state.

Notes:
The Ministry of Shipping in its recent statement has announced a compensation of Rs 50 lakh for people employed with major ports in the country.
Under the plan, direct employees as well as contractual labourers are covered. In case they lose their lives to Covid-19, the government will pay an ex-gratia compensation to the dependent members or legal heirs of the port employees. India has 12 major ports situated along the eastern and western coasts.