Current Affairs Quiz - April, 2020

Notes:
A seven-member team of researchers from New Delhi-based IGIB (Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology), of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), have developed a low-cost diagnosis method for detecting coronavirus.
Feluda is an acronym for Fncas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay, which is the scientific name of the test. It is also the name of a Bengali fictional character created by Satyajit Ray. The test is set to receive approval shortly and it claims to give results in less than 1.5 hours.

Notes:
‘Khongjom Day’ is commemorated in the state of Manipur every year on April 23, to pay tribute to war heroes of the state, who fought to protect the freedom of the state.
The state remembers the military heroes who sacrificed their lives in the Anglo-Manipuri War 1891 against the British. The state government observed ‘Khongjom Day’ at Khongjom War Memorial Complex, Thoubal district, where the battle was held.

Notes:
The state of Mizoram has launched a mobile application named ‘mCOVID19’, which enables easy transportation of essential goods by the truck drivers to the state from other states.
The new application will act as the online license or pass for the truck drivers. The drivers of the interstate-vehicles will be screened at the entry point. On registering with the application, they will be generated a license called mPASS. An sms with information about the goods and place, will be sent along with a mPASS id, which will be stored at the entry point.

Notes:
The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has bagged three national awards for outstanding contribution by its Panchayati Raj Institutions in socio-economic development projects.
While Panchayat Jamola Lower has been awarded “Child-friendly Gram Panchayat Award 2020”, Panchayat Dhangri has been awarded “Nanaji Deshmukh Gaurav Gram Sabha Puraskar” for improving the socio-economic aspects of the panchayat. Panchayat Zaloora B has been selected as best performer in “Gram Panchayat Development Plans” awards.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy recently launched a scheme in Amaravati, which seeks to provide loans to the women Self Help Groups (SHGs) of the state, at zero percent interest.
The Chief Minister released about ₹1,400 crore for the scheme, which is expected to benefit nearly 8.78 lakh SHGs. The interest component of ₹20,000 to ₹40,000 will be borne by the state government. At present, the SHGs borrow from banks at interest rate of 7 to 13 per cent.

Notes:
The World Immunization Week 2020 is being celebrated from April 24 to 30, this year by the World Health Organisation.
The day is celebrated with an aim to promote the use of vaccines for protecting people across the world from diseases. The theme of this year’s week is Vaccines Work for All. The theme highlights the importance of vaccines and the persons developing them. WHO also announced that about 20 million children in the world today remain unvaccinated.

Notes:
Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging, which means beating with whips, as a punishment, as per the order of the Supreme Court. Hereafter, the judges will pronounce fines, jail sentences or community services as punishments.
Several Human rights activists have been condemning the Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia, which sometimes extend to hundreds of lashes. Recently, a blogger named Raif Badawi was sentenced to 7 years in prison and 600 lashes and then resentenced to 10 years and 1,000 lashes. He later won the European Parliament’s Sakharov human rights prize.

Notes:
Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan was seen in news recently because she has been given a three-month extension after the Central Government made a major top-level bureaucratic reshuffle.
Ms.Preeti Sudan who is at present the Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, was due to superannuate on April 30. The reshuffling has been done amidst the coronavirus pandemic. About 23 senior IAS officers have been appointed as secretaries in different central government departments.

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:
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.