Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
The United States has begun the first phase of clinical trial of a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus disease.
The initiative is supported by a global coalition founded by India and Norway. It is funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The first participant received the investigatory vaccine in the trial, which is to enrol 45 healthy adult volunteers for approximately six weeks.

Notes:
Business application Khatabook entered into a strategic partnership with former Indian cricket team captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
M.S.Dhoni is set to invest in the firm and also serve as their brand ambassador. Khatabook is an application which helps MSMEs to streamline their business transactions online. The start-up firm has recently crossed 2 crore registered merchants on its app.

Notes:
Phool Dei is the harvest festival celebrated in the state of Uttarakhand. The cultural festival is celebrated to mark the beginning of spring season.
It is usually celebrated in the month of Chaitra (March-April) in the Hindu calendar. The people of the state decorate their houses with flowers as a part of the celebration. Children shower flowers at the doorsteps of houses wishing prosperity.

Notes:
The famous annual Chaitra Jatra festival is celebrated in the state of Odisha. The festival which was scheduled to be held on March 17 at the Tara Tarini hill shrine of the state was cancelled as a precautionary measure against COVID-19 outbreak.
According to the state officials, more than 1.5 lakh visitors usually arrive for the festival and some out of them reach the hill-top to offer prayers, as a part of the festival.

Notes:
Veteran Bollywood actor and filmmaker Imtiaz Khan recently passed away in Mumbai at the age of 77. He was famous for acting in several movies including YaadonKiBaaraat, Dharmatma and Dayavan.
He is the husband of Krutika Desai, who is a popular film and television actress. He was also the brother of late actor Amjad Khan and son of the actor Jayant.

Notes:
Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh paid tribute to the late Goa Chief Minister and former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar ahead of his death anniversary. He also launched a book titled ‘Invincible-A Tribute to Manohar Parrikar’.
Manohar Parrikar was the Chief Minister of Goa passed away due to an illness and he was succeeded by Pramod Sawant as the next Chief Minister. He served as the Defence Minister of India from 2014 to 2017.

Notes:
The Reserve Bank of India recently announced that it will regulate the entire activities of Payment Aggregators (PAs). Payment Aggregators enable the e-commerce sites and merchants to accept various payment instruments from the customers.
As per the guidelines on regulation of PAs and Payment gateways (PGs), the existing PAs should attain a net-worth of Rs 15 crore by March 31, 2021 and a net-worth of Rs 25 crore on or before March 31, 2023. Thereafter the net-worth of Rs 25 crore shall be maintained at all times.

Notes:
Microsoft India and NASSCOM Foundation partnered to launch the ‘Innovate for Accessible India’ campaign. The campaign aims at empowering people with disabilities with the technology required for better access to equal opportunities.
The campaign invites applications from students, citizens and social organisations to build customised solutions that address challenges faced by people with disabilities. The ten best solutions will be provided mentoring support by Microsoft and NASSCOM Foundation, along with financial grants.

Notes:
‘World Cities Summit’ is a global biennial conference hosted by Singapore. This year, World Cities Summit (WCS) 2020 is scheduled to be held from July 5 to 9.
The theme of this year’s summit as announced by the Singapore government is ‘Liveable and Sustainable Cities: Adapting to a Disrupted World’. Leaders from several governments and industry experts discuss on challenges in climate change, social shifts and technological disruptions.

Notes:
The United Nations introduced Language Days in 2010, to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity of various languages.
The United Nations celebrates six Language Days each year, dedicated to the six official languages of the UN, namely Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. Among them, the ‘French Language Day’ is celebrated on March 20, which marks the creation of the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF).