Current Affairs Quiz - June, 2020

Notes:
The Tata Group has recently signed a partnership agreement with the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) of Thiruvananthapuram for commercial production of Covid-19 testing kits.
The kits to be produced are based on Reverse Transcriptase Loop-Mediated Amplification (RT-LAMP) technology for Covid-19 detection. The kits provide results in a lesser time against the conventional method. Earlier, Tata Sons had partnered with CSIR- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology to produce CRISPR-based COVID test kits.

Notes:
The Union Government has recently launched a new micro-credit facility scheme named PM SVANIDHI – Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi.
Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry launched the scheme, which aims to provide affordable loans to street vendors. The duration of the scheme is till March 2022 and is expected to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors. The vendors can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs 10000, which is repayable in monthly instalments in one-year tenure.

Notes:
Apex Governing body of men and women’s hockey, Hockey India has recently nominated national women’s team captain Rani Rampal for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.
Rani Rampal is the first Indian to be named as the World Games Athlete of The Year. She played an important role in the FIH Olympic Qualifiers in 2019. Hockey India also nominated other players Vandana Kataria, Monika and Harmanpreet Singh for the Arjuna award.

Notes:
The World Bank recently warned that 60 million people could be pushed into extreme poverty in 2020, after Covid-19 crisis.
The World Bank President David Malpass released analytical chapters from its flagship Global Economic Prospects report. He urged the countries to implement comprehensive policies to boost long-term growth and to address immediate health emergencies. The estimates are likely to increase further.

Notes:
IndusInd Bank has recently launched a mobile application-based facility for opening a current account, thereby becoming the first bank in the country to do so.
The new facility can be used to open current accounts for all kinds of businesses in a few hours. The facility is equipped with the bank’s “Indus Corporate” mobile app and the officials can capture and verify information about customers and their businesses on a real-time basis.

Notes:
As per the recent data from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), as many as 750 tigers have died in the country in the last eight years.
Out of the total mortalities, 369 were due to natural causes and 168 were due to poaching. The state of Madhya Pradesh reported the highest casualties at 173, which is followed by Maharashtra. The data also highlighted that 101 tigers were seized by different authorities across the country between 2012 and 2019. In December 2019, there were 2976 tigers in the country.

Notes:
The state Government of Chhattisgarh has recently launched the ‘Spandan’ Campaign to reduce incidents of suicide and fratricide involving police personnel.
Instructions were issued to senior officers to strictly follow the guidelines regarding counselling and medical treatment for depressed officers and staff by psychiatrists or psychologists in the district headquarters. Yoga classes are also to be arranged. As many as 50 police personnel committed suicide in Chhattisgarh over the past two years.

Notes:
Member countries of the Group of 20 (G 20) recently pledged more than USD 21 billion to fight the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.
Earlier in the month of March, the G20 countries injected more than $5 trillion into the global economy to fight the virus and its economic impact across the world. The member countries also urged the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to support the vulnerable countries.

Notes:
The Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot has recently launched the Raj Kaushal Portal and Online Shramik Employment Exchange through video conferencing.
This initiative will enable the migrant labourers who have lost their livelihoods, to get employment and to provide suitable labour force to the industries facing shortage in labour. The portals have been developed by the State IT Department Rajasthan Skill and Livelihoods Development Corporation. The portal has data of nearly 53 lakh workers and 11.18 lakh industries.

Notes:
India and Denmark have recently signed an MoU for developing cooperation in the power sector, between the two countries.
Under the MoU, a long-time co-operation in power sector is to be developed by collaborating in areas like offshore wind, long term energy planning, variability in renewable energy production, among others. A Joint Working Group co-chaired by Joint Secretary level officials will also be established.