Current Affairs Quiz - March, 2020

Notes:
The US President Donald Trump recently announced that tech giant Google is engaged in the process of developing a website to help with coronavirus test.
He also revealed that more than 1700 engineers are working on the project to develop the website. It will determine whether a test is necessary and will also enable testing at a convenient location nearby. Donald Trump also declared national emergency in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.

Notes:
A passenger ferry service called ‘Ropax’ was launched between Mumbai and Mandwa of Maharashtra by the Union Minister of State for Shipping Mansukh Mandaviya.
The vessel which can carry as many as 200 cars and 1,000 passengers was built in Greece. The Ropax jetty and terminal at Mandwa has been built by Maharashtra Maritime Board while the jetty facilities at Mumbai were set up by Mumbai Port Trust.

Notes:
In the recently concluded All England Open Badminton Championships, Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen won his first singles title. He defeated Taiwanese top seed Chou Tien-chen in straight sets in the summit clash. Last year, Axelsen was the runner-up in the tournament after losing to Kento Momota.
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu Ying is the women’s champion for the third time in four years, after defeating Chinese world number one Chen Yu Fei.

Notes:
Microsoft Bing team has launched a web portal for tracking COVID-19 infections worldwide. The interactive website has been developed to provide up-to-date infection statistics for each country.
It also features an interactive map for number of cases for specific location and related articles from publishers. The portal hosts the data from reliable sources like the World Health Organization (WHO), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Notes:
The Gollapudi Srinivas National Award 2019 is to be presented jointly to two debutant film-makers for the first time since 23 years of its inception.
Aditya Dhar for the Hindi film ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’ and Madhu C. Narayanan for the Malayalam movie ‘Kumbalangi Nights’ are selected as the winners. Both the filmmakers will be awarded at a ceremony in Chennai. The award was established in 1998 after Gollapudi Srinivas, a young director, who passed away tragically.

Notes:
The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras has recently launched a re-skilling programme for women called ‘Career Back 2 Women’.
The programme aims at offering 150 hours of training to re-skill women who have taken a break from their career. The certification course comprises of artificial intelligence, machine learning, cyber security data science and big data. This programme is done through the Institute’s Digital Skills Academy.

Notes:
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud pronounced the landmark judgment, which ordered the government to grant permanent commission to female officers in Indian Navy.
After Indian Army, the female officers of Indian Navy are also to be granted permanent commission, which will let them serve for 14 years against the Short Service Commission (SSC), in which they retire in 10 years.

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:
A bill that seeks to convert three existing regulatory bodies under the Civil Aviation Ministry into statutory bodies was passed by Lok Sabha. The Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was passed by a voice vote and the bill seeks to amend Aircraft Act, 1934.
The regulatory institutions, which are mentioned in the bill are DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), BCAS (Bureau of Civil Aviation Security) and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau).

Notes:
The first Indian-origin Finance Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak unveiled a 330-Billion Pound Rescue Package, which aims to help the businesses of the country to survive the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The £330 billion of loan guarantees will help them meet their day to day needs during the lock-down. He also extended a business rates holiday and cash grant to all businesses in the retail and hospitality sector for 12 months.